Canelo and Chavez Jr. make weight

By Alejandro Ramirez

Las Vegas, Nevada–As we sit in wait the afternoon before Mexico’s “Super Bowl” of boxing matches, we reflect on the preview the boxing community was provided yesterday at the Canelo vs. Chavez Jr Weigh-ins. The atmosphere in the Grand Arena was reminiscent of a Mexican World Cup match except the arena was split between Canelo’s faithful and those that were raised in the glory of Chavez Sr. and now his son.
Just to enter the arena was chaos, as the hoards of faithful seemed confused with free entry versus paid VIP entrance. Pair that with the masses that seemed to be unexpected and there you have the weigh-ins. Aside of all of this, the event itself was as expected. Mariachis, regional Mexican music, and the colors of Bandera were the backdrop to a lot of boxing’s elite. The main event began with announcer Michael Buffer reading the TV undercards up and comers Ronny Rios, Ryan Garcia, and Jojo Diaz. After those weights had been recorded, Buffer’s vocals echoed the arena with the other notable fighters such as Lucas Matthyssee, who will be fighting veteran Emmanuel Taylor, and David Lemieux who will take on Mexican boxer, Marcos Reyes.
By this time, the arena was filled to the weigh-in capacity, and it was time for the main event icons to take the stage. With the majority of Chavez Jr fans sitting on the right side of the arena, Chavez Jr. took the stage and immediately raised his hands to greet his following. Canelo on the other hand took much longer to take the stage, as the entrance deemed proper to a total Golden Boy Promotions production. When Saul Alvarez took the stage, he looked focused and showed proper, as he and his team were outfitted in his CA team gear. Both fighters shed themselves of their attire and took the scale with both weighing in at a 164 lbs. After weighing in they took center stage to face off and after a 45-second stare down, Canelo surprisingly began to shadowbox leaving Chavez Jr. standing in confusion. The crowd erupted and both parted to reach out to their fans.
All in all, it was a great transitional event exemplifying a new “Floyd Mayweather Free” Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas.