Boxing’s Big Matches During Cinco de Mayo Weekend In Las Vegas Carry Big Live Gate Punch
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
You have to be a hardcore boxing fan to plant yourself in the concrete of a Las Vegas arena plaza on the year’s hottest day to date.
Such was the case for thousands of fans who descended on T-Mobile Arena on the Strip to catch a glimpse of Canelo Alvarez. ESPN’s pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer and the sport’s top draw contends for a light heavyweight title against Russia’s Dmitry Bivol Saturday night.
For nearly three decades, the most important boxing events on the planet have been held on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Most notably, they’ve taken place here in Las Vegas.
For the past 10 years, Canelo, the current IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring Super Middleweight champion, has fought during this weekend every year with the exceptions of 2018 and 2020. He’s captured four different divisions, and is only the fourth Mexican fighter to do so.
“I’m happy to be here representing my country on an important date,” Álvarez told reporters in Spanish earlier this week.
Boxing on Cinco de Mayo is serious big business for Las Vegas. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, ten Cinco de Mayo weekend boxing events are listed in the top 35 all-time grossing live gates over the last 12 years. In total, those events grossed a live gate of $171.7 million.
It wasn’t until 2003 that boxing promoters understood the gobs of cash, and impact of Cinco de Mayo. That’s when championship boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya faced Yory Boy Campas.
Fast forward to May 5, 2007, Floyd Mayweather taunted fans by strutting into the ring inside the MGM Grand Garden arena wearing an enormous white sombrero and covered with the colors of the Mexican flag.
Won by Mayweather via split decision, the fight generated a $19 million live gate, 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and total revenue of about $165 million.
De La Hoya, made $52 million to Mayweather’s $25 million in that fight.
Canelo vs Gennady Golovkin 2 was cancelled in 2018 after a pair of failed drug tests for Canelo. He maintained he was a clean fighter who tested positive as a result of contaminated meat. In the aftermath, Las Vegas took an indirect revenue hit noted by the boss of the largest employer in the state of Nevada.
On an earnings call following the cancellation announcement, then MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren cited the fight falling through as one reason why the company lowered its second-quarter margin expectations.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KO) will be challenging for the WBA light heavyweight title held by Bivol (19-0, 11 KO), who is a significant underdog despite his status as an unbeaten titleholder.
The soon-to be 32-year-old is still looking to take on all comers. Something you don’t experience a lot in the promoter song and dance surrounding the sport of boxing.
“I like the idea to be undisputed at 175,” Alvarez said. “I’ll fight everybody. I don’t f—ing care.”
The fight marks a return to the 175-pound division after Alvarez captured the World Boxing Organization light-heavyweight belt in November 2019 with an impressive 11th round knockout of veteran Sergey Kovalev.
In deference to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Bivol’s Russian national anthem won’t be played and Russian flag-waving in the ring will not be permitted.
It should be acknowledged that May 5 isn’t Mexican Independence Day. It marks the Battle of Puebla, the defense of Mexican territory against the French invasion. On that day, in 1862, 2,000 Mexican soldiers defeated a 6,000 strong French army.
The celebration was promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to establish good relations with the country’s Latin American neighbors.
Since then, Cinco de Mayo has undisputedly become the biggest marketing ploy for boxing.
PSA
