Canelo Alvarez and Josesito Lopez held public workout sessions at the MGM Grand on Wednesday afternoon. Right here, you can find a collection of photos and notes from that event, as well as a few additional notes on Knockout Kings, such as Brian Kenny and Paulie Malignaggi joining the announcing team for the event.
Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya pose for a photo in a ring in the center of the MGM Grand hotel lobby, just steps away from Canelo’s Saturday blockbuster showdown against breakout star Josesito Lopez.
The 28-year-old Lopez, of Riverside, Calif., registered the Upset of the Year when he knocked out Victor Ortiz last June 23 on SHOWTIME. The rising star is looking to earn another big win over the undefeated Canelo on Saturday, live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT)
Mexican superstar and WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarezgreets the crowd during a workout at the MGM Grand hotel lobby on Wednesday. Canelo will defend his title against breakout star Josesito Lopez in Saturday’s main event of “Knockout Kings.”
The crowd at Wednesday’s workout in the MGM Grand hotel lobby cheered on 22-year-old Canelo, a sensation in his home country of Mexico, where his fights have garnered higher TV ratings than the national soccer team.
Canelo and Lopez will headline a four-fight, three world championship event that also features WBC Featherweight World Champion Jhonny Gonzalez defending his crown against former World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon, former World Champion Marcos Maidana squaring off against perennial contender Jesus Soto Karass and Leo Santa Cruz defending his IBF Bantamweight World Championship against former Two-Time World Champion Eric Morel.
Excited fans react to the arrival of Canelo during Wednesday’s workout. Saturday’s Quadruple-header features eight fighters with a combined record of 288-16-5 with 206 KO’s and a knockout percentage of more than 70 percent.
Emmy award-winning broadcaster Brian Kenny, the longtime anchor of ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights and current anchor and host on MLB Network, and WBA Welterweight World Champion Paulie Malignaggi have been added to the broadcast team for this Saturday’s four-fight card.
The 22-year-old, red-headed Alvarez’s fights have garnered higher TV ratings in his home country than the national soccer team. Lopez registered the Upset of the Year when he knocked out Victor Ortiz last June 23 on SHOWTIME. Fireworks are sure to fly in one of the three world title fights at MGM Grand on Saturday.
Kenny, who will host the telecast, will join blow-by-blow announcer Mauro Ranallo, expert analyst Al Bernstein, ringside reporter Jim Gray and special guest analyst, Malignaggi, to help set the stage for a mega fight card on SHOWTIME featuring eight fighters with a combined record of 288-16-5 with 206 KO’s and a knockout percentage of more than 70 percent.
Malignaggi, who’ll be making his debut at ringside for SHOWTIME, will defend his 147-pound world title against Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano in one of three world title fights on SHOWTIME on Oct. 20 from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
SHOWTIME will bring boxing fans closer to the action with a live stream of both Thursday’s press conference and Friday’s weigh-in from MGM Grand. For the press conference at The Hollywood Theatre and the weigh-in at the Grand Garden Arena, log on to ustream.tv/shosports. The press conference begins at 1 p.m. PT on Thursday. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. PT.
