Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight Champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) made their grand arrivals today at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino in Las Vegas ahead of their highly anticipated clash on Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena, produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at the special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
They were joined by Joseph "JoJo" Diaz, Jr. (24-0, 13 KOs) and Jorge "Pilon" Lara (29-0-2, 21 KOs) who will face off in the co-main event in a 12-round WBC Featherweight title eliminator; and by HBO Pay-Per-View® undercard fighters Randy "El Matador" Caballero (24-0, 14 KOs) and Diego De La Hoya (19-0, 9 KOs) who will face off in a 10-round super bantamweight battle for the Caballero's NABF Super Bantamweight title and the vacant NABO Super Bantamweight title; and by Ryan "Blue Chip" Martin (19-0, 11 KOs) and Francisco Rojo (20-2, 13 KOs), who will battle it out for Ryan's WBC Continental Americas and the vacant WBA Intercontinental lightweight titles in the opening bout of the HBO Pay-Per-View®telecast.
Below is what the fighters had to say at today's grand arrivals:
GENNADY "GGG" GOLOVKIN, WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight Champion:
"It's amazing to be in Las Vegas. But the bigger thing is the fight is finally here. I am Gennady Golovkin until I walk into the ring. And that's when I turn into Triple G. It's not that I'm mean, or angry. I'm just more focused. This is the perfect fight for fans. And the perfect fight for me. I will enjoy it."
"I've wanted him [Alvarez] because of the Cotto fight when he became the mandatory challenger. I'm old school. I think there should just be one champion. All my career I've been denied the fights I've wanted [Felix Sturm, Sergio Martinez, Miguel Cotto]. That ends Saturday night."
JORGE "PILON" LARA, Featherweight Contender:
"I'm excited to be here and excited to be on such a big card. I'm also excited to be fighting against such a great rival like Joseph Diaz Jr., and on Saturday I expect to end with my hand up in the air. I don't know much about him [Diaz]. I know that he is undefeated, so he's got to be a pretty hard opponent. I did prepare myself well for this. You can see that I'm going to steal the show because everyone knows that when I come to fight, I come to fight."
RYAN "BLUE CHIP" MARTIN, WBC Continental Americas Champion:
"It's my first fight in Las Vegas. This is a tremendous turnout. I'm super excited to be here. Great fans. Great atmosphere. I'm ready to put on a show Saturday night, a boxing clinic. And I hope you guys will be there to see it."
"[Rojo] is a tough fighter. He's a top fighter in the WBC. But's all about me. I'm going to put on a great show Saturday night--a straight boxing clinic. So it's just fun for me Saturday night. I'm just going to go in there and do my thing. All of the hard work has been done between me and my team, and Saturday night is just going to be a showcase."
Canelo vs. Golovkin is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions and sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD; Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle; O'Reilly Auto Parts. Better Parts, Better Prices...everyday!; Fred Loya Insurance; Interjet; Thor: Ragnarok; Fathom Events; Tsesnabank; and Capital Holdings. Diaz, Jr. vs. Lara is 12-round WBC Featherweight Title Eliminator bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Caballero vs. De La Hoya is a 10-round fight for the NABF and vacant NABO Super Bantamweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Martin vs. Rojo is a 10-round lightweight fight for the WBC Continental Americas and vacant WBA Intercontinental Championships presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets for the closed circuit telecast of Canelo vs. Golovkin at Bellagio Resort & Casino, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino and Circus Circus Las Vegas are priced at $75, not including applicable fees. All seats are general admission and are currently on sale. Tickets may be purchased at any MGM Resorts International Box Office, by phone with a major credit card at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing, @TomLoeffler1,@JosephDiazJr, @RandyELMatador and @DiegoDeLaHoya; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, https://www.Facebook.com/gggboxing/ and www.Facebook.com/HBOboxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @josephdiazjr, @randyelmatador, and @diegodelahoya94; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG.