Dueling boxing cards able to co-exist

There are two big fights Saturday in Las Vegas, but the real fight has been the battle between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank to win the hearts and wallets of boxing fans.

When it's all said and done, it might be a draw.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez will fight for Chavez's WBC middleweight title in front of a sellout crowd of 19,186 at the Thomas & Mack Center, while close to 15,000 are expected to watch WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defend his belt against Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand Garden.

It's rare to have two major fight cards go head-to-head in the same city. But Golden Boy refused to move off its date at the MGM, and it appears it will be rewarded for standing its ground.

"I wasn't worried for a second," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said Wednesday. "We always work hard to make our events successful, and we knew with this card headlined by Canelo Alvarez we had a winner.

"Las Vegas is a big-event town, and when you provide a good product, the people will support it."

Schaefer said Golden Boy had reserved the date of Sept. 15 - Mexican Independence Day - in June in anticipation of Alvarez fighting. Top Rank came in with Chavez-Martinez in July, and the Nevada Athletic Commission approved the date.

"The only issue we had was making sure we had enough staff to properly oversee both events," NAC executive director Keith Kizer said. "As it turned out, it's going to be a big weekend for the city and the state, so we're very pleased to see both promotions are doing well.

"We're going to have 35,000 people watching boxing at the same time in the same city. And if you throw in the 6,000 closed-circuit seats at the Wynn for Chavez-Martinez, you're talking over 40,000. That's huge."

Schaefer said the rumors that GBP was offered more money to vacate Las Vegas to Top Rank weren't true, and despite pressure from some media members to move to Friday, Schaefer refused to give in.

"Why should we change?" he said. "We had a deal in place with the MGM. We had sponsors lined up. We had a deal with Showtime to televise the fight. Most of all, we made a commitment to the fighters. That day is very important to Canelo and the Mexican people. We weren't going to do that to him and the fans."

To that end, Alvarez's title defense against Lopez is being shown in Mexico on Televisa. According to the Los Angeles Times, that TV deal is worth an additional $1 million to Alvarez, whose purse is $2 million. Moving off Saturday and off Televisa would have been a financial blow to Alvarez.

"You make deals and arrangements, and you need to keep your word," Schaefer said. "I'm glad we're doing well. We stood by the MGM, and the MGM has stood by us."

Golden Boy and Top Rank priced their fight cards within reasonable reach of the fans. Golden Boy's prices ranged from $25 to $400, and Top Rank's prices ranged from $25 to $600. Top Rank's live gate at the Thomas & Mack is going to be $3 million, with Golden Boy's expected to be about $2.6 million.

"I think the pricing was very important," Schaefer said. "You've got to give people value if you want them to come to your event."

Still, Schaefer remains miffed by Top Rank's decision to share the date and the town.

"With every passing year, Bob Arum becomes more impossible to deal with," Schaefer said of the 81-year-old Hall of Fame promoter. "When you're 100 years old, I guess he feels he can do that and get away with it.

"Frankly, I'm not concerned with what they're doing. It's wasted energy, and I'm not going to get into it with (Top Rank). They're doing their thing, and we're doing our thing. If they do great, I'm happy. If they don't do great, I'm happy.

"But I'll tell you I'm happy that Las Vegas is going to do great this weekend. I think it's great for the city to be able to support two major fight cards. It shows you that boxing is well. And for one night it doesn't need Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to carry it."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.