"Sales for this event are excellent so far, better than expected and I feel 99% confident about this fight. In my opinion, this is the most anticipated fight of the year and we are expecting great numbers, 1.5 million or more," stated Golden Boy Promotions founder Oscar De La Hoya, who spoke during a conference call to promote the upcoming November 21 showdown between middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former jr. middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Check out what else he had to say!
OSCAR DE LA HOYA
Q. Oscar, I have a quick question for you. Has there been a decision made to the other fight on the pay-per-view telecast because of the Andre ward injury?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Not yet. We're still discussing that with Roc Nation, so we will have an answer for you shortly.
Q. Oscar, you're promoting a fight with your guy going up against someone trained by Freddie Roach. You've fought with Freddie Roach in your corner. You've fought somebody else who had Freddie Roach in their corner, so you've got a hell of a perspective on what he may or may not bring to a fighter. Can you talk about that?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Yes, Freddie Roach is going to have Miguel Cotto in tip-top shape. Freddie Roach is going to have Cotto probably stay on his toes. The question is, how long can Cotto stay on the toes? That's the million dollar question. One thing for sure is that Freddie Roach is a great trainer, and he's going to have Cotto in tip-top shape to go the distance, and we obviously expect a Miguel Cotto that's going to come in strong and be ready.
Q. Oscar, knowing about the different ways to watch this fight, tickets, closed circuit and at movie theaters, what is your projection in terms of Pay-Per-View sales for this fight?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Sales for this event are excellent so far, better than expected and I feel 99% confident about this fight. In my opinion, this is the most anticipated fight of the year and we are expecting great numbers, 1.5 million or more. We will wait and see.
Q. Oscar, in this fight you are gambling the future of the most important card on the stable of Golden Boy. What does it mean for the company to win or lose this fight?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: We are not gambling. This is a great event for all the fans and for all of boxing, I don't see it as a game. We feel that Canelo and the people deserve the best fights, period. The most important thing is that the fans are very happy with the fight. We know Canelo is very well prepared. Cotto will be well prepared and I can imagine that the fight will be very entertaining for all the fans.
Q. Oscar, are you in agreement that win or lose this fight will make a big difference for Golden Boy as a company?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Not at all. It's not about winning or losing, it's about making the best fight for the people and I am sure both fighters will give the fans a great night of boxing.
Q. Oscar, as you mentioned in the opening, Puerto Rico versus Mexico is always a huge event. You are the only one on this call who can speak to preparing and being a part of that. Have you spoken to Canelo about how not to let the enormity of the event overtake the task at hand, which is beating Cotto?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Well, yes, I mean, look, he's a professional. They know what they are doing. They have a great team. They know the magnitude of this event. When you get Puerto Rico versus Mexico, what's involved is passion, passion and the fighting spirit, and fighting with a lot of heart, you know, that's what we're going to get on November 21st.
They know that firsthand. We feel that this event, people are going to watch because they know they're going to get guaranteed fireworks because of that Puerto Rican/Mexican rivalry.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Thank you to all the press. We will be sending out a release to everyone on all the activities for fight week. We have a lot of great things in store for you, including a showing of HBO's 24/7 for the media, dinners, obviously the press conference of the rival and we will see you fight week, next week. Thank you.
CECILIA ZUNIGA: Thank you for joining the call. Like Oscar mentioned, we will be getting out information very soon in terms of fight week activities, and we look forward to seeing you all next week.
Cotto vs. Canelo, a 12-round fight for Cotto's WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championships, takes place Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The fight is presented by Roc Nation Sports, Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra; Mexico, Live it to Believe it!; O'Reilly Auto Parts; Tequila Cazadores and Corporate Travel Made Simple (ctms). Also featured on the pay-per-view telecast will be Takashi Muira vs. Francisco Vargas in a 12-round fight for the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship presented in association with Teiken Promotions, and Jayson Velez vs. Ronny Rios is a 10-round featherweight bout. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Randy Caballero vs. Lee Haskins, a 12-round fight for the IBF Bantamweight World Championship, is presented in association with Bristol Boxing Ltd. and will be featured as part of the preliminary undercards available on digital platforms starting at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.
A limited number of tickets priced at $2,000, $1,750, $1,250 and $650, not including applicable service charges, can be purchased at the Mandalay Bay box office, ticketmaster.com, mandalaybay.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. Ticket orders are limited to four per person.
Tickets for closed circuit viewings of Cotto vs. Canelo are priced at $75, not including applicable service charges and can be purchased at all MGM Resorts International Ticket Offices, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.
Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez will be presented live with Fathom Events in select theaters nationwide. Tickets for theater screenings of Cotto vs. Canelo can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations visit www.fathomevents.com/event/cotto-vs-canelo-live.
Sports bars, restaurants, casinos (outside of Clark County, Nevada) and other commercial establishments can order Cotto vs. Canelo by contacting Joe Hand Promotions at (800) 557-4263 or by visiting www.JoeHandPromotions.com. Joe Hand Promotions is the exclusive commercial distributor for Cotto vs. Canelo throughout the United States and Canada.