By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – There were no upsets on the scale. No penalties, either.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. lost the pounds and saved himself a lot of money Friday on the eve of his 164.5-pound fight against Canelo Alvarez Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
The fighter known for his failures on the scale made it with half-a-pound to spare. Both were at 164 even.
“I’m happy he made weight,’’ Canelo said.
Probably not as happy as Chavez Jr. He would have been $1 million lighter if he had even come in at 164.51 pounds, according to a penalty clause in the contract. That’s a lot of dough for a fraction of excess flesh. But this is boxing, prize fighting. The idea is to keep the wallet fat.
According to purses filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Canelo is guaranteed $5 million. Chavez Jr.’s guarantee is $3 million. But the guess is that both will collect much more by the time undisclosed percentages of the pay-per-view television money. There are also deals with Mexican TV that were not included in the numbers filed with the Commission. According to a variety of sources with camps, Canelo could wind up with $20 million. For Chavez Jr., the final take could be as much as $8 million.
It depends on the number of paying customers for HBO’s pay-per-view telecast (6p.m. PT/9 pm ET).
It’s hard to guess, especially amid today’s technology and all the ways there are to steal a telecast. But within the MGM Grand, the bout’s host casino, there was a growing buzz for a fight between the redheaded Canelo (48-1-1, 34 KOs) and the son of a fighter with a name as iconic as any in Mexico.
Odds favoring Canelo have stayed at about 5-to-1 throughout the last week at books up and down the Vegas Strip.
They are based in part on Canelo’s stubborn consistency and record, which includes bouts against some of the elites in the game. Canelo appears to be getting better. When the fight with Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) was announced, it was seen as a way for Canelo to finally make the jump from junior-middleweight to middleweight (160) for an anticipated showdown with Gennady Golovkin.
That’s still the Golden Boy Promotions’ plan, perhaps for September, although there’s some talk that Canelo might fight Canadian David Lemieux before he takes on GGG. It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Lemieux is on the undercard against Mexican Marco Reyes.
With the stakes as big as they are and a Mexican fan base divided just about down the middle between Canelo and Chavez Jr., every word and move has been analyzed and over-analyzed, interpreted and misinterpreted. At Friday’s weigh-in, it was all about body language.
Chavez Jr.’s thin upper body looked like it could be a very big target for Canelo punishing array of combinations. Then again, there was some talk that Canelo came into the weigh-in too heavy. He has been most effective in his career when he tips the scale at 155. He was heavier at this weigh-in than ever. The guess is that he will be heavier, anywhere from 170 to 180, at opening bell. Will the added weight make him slower? Could the extra pounds result in fatigue if the bout goes into the later rounds?
Meanwhile, Chavez Jr. wouldn’t say how much heavier he expects to be at opening bell. The best guess was that he would be between 175 and 180 pounds.
“I want to push him, impose my size on him,’’ said the 6-foot-1 Chavez Jr., who is four inches taller than the 5-9 Canelo. “That’s my strategy.’’
Maybe, it’ll work. On one scale of expectations, he’s already ahead of the game.
