On Tuesday, January 21, 2014, Golden Boy Promotions and Showtime Sports formally announced the March 8 showdown between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) and Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs).
The press conference was held outside the Central Library beside the Cafe Pinot in Downtown, Los Angeles. It began with a charitable gesture by Angulo, who sat in a barber’s chair and cut the long locks of hair that he had been growing since his release from the El Centro Detention center in mid-2012.
Angulo donated his hair to “Locks of Love,” a non-profit charity that “provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.”
When asked by Showtime Sports’ Mauro Ranallo, Angulo stated that his inspiration for today’s charitable gesture came from a fan he knew who was terminally ill and had lost her hair as a result of the illness.
Angulo, who was visibly emotional after cutting his hair, left the stage as the press conference went underway.
Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez, Leo Santa Cruz, and Cristian Mijares were also present at the star-studded event. Ricardo Alvarez, the older brother of Saul Alvarez, will be taking on Omar Figueroa on the undercard of the March 8 pay-per-view. Santa Cruz and Mijares will face each other for Santa Cruz’s WBC Super Bantamweight title.
Alvarez, who is coming off his first loss to Floyd “Money” Mayweather, believes no one wants to see him face a fighter who merely runs. He stated that he chose to fight Angulo because he “is a very good fighter” and that he is a fighter who can “give a punch and take a punch.”
After what was clearly a verbal jab at Erislandy Lara, who was also considered as a possible opponent, Alvarez promised to deliver a good fight. Also, after a few jeers from many Angulo fans, he stated “I’m glad there are Angulo fans here, but my fans are better.”
[slideshow_deploy id=’12107′]’ All Photos by Gabe Rivas / Round By Round Boxing
