20 little-known facts about Canelo Alvarez

NEW YORK CITY - JUNE 20: Hennessy, the world's best-selling Cognac, presents Lineal and RING Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez with a custom engraved bottle of Paradis Imperial during the Canelo vs. Golovkin press tour at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Hennessy recently announced its partnership with Canelo who, like Hennessy, has a passion for pushing the limits of potential to Never stop. Never settle. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Hennessy) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Canelo Alvarez throws a left at Miguel Cotto during their middleweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on November 21, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images) /

19.Canelo vs. Cotto was the first non-Mayweather, Pacquiao or De La Hoya PPV with 900,000 buys since 2002

This fact is a mouthful, but it’s a clear indication of Canelo’s star status. When the collective boxing world was still suffering from Mayweather-Pacquiao fatigue, many wondered where the sport would go. It was apparent that Canelo had become the de facto biggest star in boxing, but how much could he carry a pay-per-view? As it turns out, quite far.

Outside of Mayweather-Pacquiao, 2015 was a dull year for pay-per-view events. The only other big fights of note were Mayweather vs. Berto, which bombed, Golovkin vs. Lemieux, which did a measly 150,000 buys, and Canelo vs. Cotto. It was an easy fight to market, as they’re two big names and could carry on the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry, but they fought in the much smaller Mandalay Bay Resort. While initial projections for the fight were 650,000 buys, it ended up doing 900,000.

Mark Taffet, the executive behind HBO’s pay-per-view model, revealed just how big the fight ended up being:

"At 900,000 buys and $58 million in PPV revenue, Cotto-Canelo performed superbly. Not since [Lennox] Lewis-[Mike] Tyson in 2002 has a pay-per-view fight generated at least 900,000 buys without featuring [Floyd] Mayweather, [Manny] Pacquiao or De La Hoya. It puts an exclamation point on the biggest year in pay-per-view history. I couldn’t be more thrilled for boxing, Golden Boy, Roc Nation and the fans."

De La Hoya has committed to the proven formula of having Canelo fight twice a year, on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day, to turn his bouts into a national holiday. But ever since Mayweather initially retired, Canelo has proven that he can generate a big audience no matter his opponent.

Consistently winning keeps him relevant, and even if he loses to Golovkin he’ll remain the biggest star of the sport. But imagine what a win would do for him.

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