BOXNATION LANDS THE BLOCKBUSTER

By Frank Warren

I am absolutely delighted that what will probably be the most eagerly anticipated fight of the decade between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin has found the perfect UK home in BoxNation.

September 16 is the date to ring in your diaries – if you haven’t already – and we are planning to make it a bumper night of top class boxing on the Channel of Champions.

The full mechanics of how the UK public can access the fight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will be posted very soon, but I can confirm that we are putting together an exciting card at the Copper Box for starters that will feature the other world middleweight champion, Billy Joe Saunders.

When I say this is likely to be the standout fight of the decade, I know there will always be an argument for Mayweather-Pacquiao from 2015, which I believe was the highest-grossing fight of all time.

It didn’t, however, as many in the game suspected as much beforehand, live up to expectations and many fans were left underwhelmed by the spectacle.

This fight is about boxing of the highest order and it will be brought to UK viewers by a channel that is all about boxing.

For us, it is a standard-bearing fight for the sport between two very respectful guys who are top exponents of their trade and in their prime.

It is like a throwback to some of the great fights we had in the seventies and eighties.

What I like about the fight is that nobody is overly confident in nailing their colours to the mast because you can make such a strong case for both fighters.

Golovkin holds no fears over venturing into Vegas on a Mexican holiday weekend where 90 per cent of the audience will be firmly backing their man, while Canelo will carry the weight of expectation on his shoulders and won’t want to disappoint his legion of fans.

The atmosphere and electricity around this fight is going to be something else. The spark will light the blue touch paper and I think we are going to be in for a classic on the night.

Both fighters, particularly Golovkin, have been kept busy, although I do believe the Kazak will benefit from taking a breather following his laboured victory over Daniel Jacobs.

Of course, his taking of a mini-sabbatical was a blow for Billy Joe and I noted a few comments made about this in the wake of the press conference in London on Monday.

To set the record straight, the fight was made, we had the contracts and Bill was in training ready to go, before Golovkin’s people withdrew from the fight because they believed, probably rightly, that he was in need of a rest.

Myself and Bill were all set to be at ringside for the Jacobs fight to make the announcement and it was at their request that we ended up not making the trip.

That is a fight for the future now and we wait and see if Golovkin, with his batteries recharged, remains the proud owner of three world middleweight titles after September 16.

More from Frank tomorrow on the collision between boxing and the UFC on August 26