Canelo Alvarez to meet Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in massive Cinco de Mayo showdown

Growing up as a young boxer in Mexico, Canelo Alvarez counted Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. as his idol, as did many of his countrymen. The elder Chavez is one of the top fighters in boxing history and remains the greatest sports hero ever in Mexico.

That could make things awkward for Alvarez, who announced on Friday that he will fight Chavez’s son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., on May 6 in what should a massive bout on HBO Pay-Per-View. The site has yet to be determined, though T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, appear to be the front-runners.

The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 164.5. Chavez has fought recently at light heavyweight while Alvarez still holds the WBO super welterweight title.

Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez said, not without good reason, he thinks ticket sales could reach 100,000 if the match were held at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Alvarez, though, said he won’t allow his view of Chavez Sr. to impact him against Chavez Jr.

“It doesn’t change anything [because] we’re in a different era,” Alvarez said on a conference call. “The father is one thing. The son’s another. I still have affection for the father. He’s still an idol. I’m always going to respect him because he fought in his era and he did so many great things for Mexico. But fighting his son has nothing to do with that. Fighting the son is going to be a great fight. It’s going to be a big fight in the history of Mexico and it’s two totally different things.”

Alvarez is arguably the biggest star in boxing today, but Chavez Jr. still has a large following among Mexican and Mexican-American fans.

Chavez (50-2-1, 32 KOs) fought at 168 pounds in December but was at light heavyweight for three of his four fights prior to that. He’s frequently had an issue making weight, and Gomez said there is a significant penalty clause in the contract for missing weight.

He was asked about a rumor that it would be a $1 million per pound fine.

“I can’t confirm or deny that,” Gomez said. “There are significant penalties, but I really can’t go into the details of the contract. But there is going to be a significant penalty.”

Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) is risking another major fight in the fall by moving up from super welterweight to meet Chavez at 164.5. If Alvarez wins on May 6 and Gennady Golovkin defeats Daniel Jacobs on March 18, the two are expected to meet in September in what would be a massive pay-per-view bout for the middleweight title.

But Alvarez dislikes Chavez Jr. so much, he is willing to risk that fight to get Chavez in the ring.

“I hope he trains well and gets ready for this fight,” Alvarez said. “I want to see the best possible Chavez, because I don’t want any excuses. After this fight, I don’t want any excuses when I beat him. Regardless of whatever’s happened to him, I want him to train hard and be the best possible Chavez because I want an end to this.

“Yes, there is plenty of rivalry between us. He talks so much about me. He talks bad about me. He’s talked bad about me in the past. He’s criticized me in the past. Now that the fight is here, I want to prove who is the better man.”