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Canelo defends undisputed 168lb crown in Vegas
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Crawford moves up two divisions for title shot
Allegiant Stadium is filling up nicely as Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez trade blows in the second-to-last preliminary bout. The $2bn home of the NFL’s Raiders has been configured for more than 70,000 spectators and the seats appear close to 90% full right now. Ticket prices for tonight’s card were discounted over the last few days amid an unusually sedate atmosphere for a Canelo fight week, giving rise to concerns over whether the stadium would fill to capacity.
Why? Some had pointed to the so-called Trump slump, the decline in international tourism that has impacted Las Vegas in recent months as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The likelier theory is that while most of boxing’s more recent super-fights have required years of wrangling and spent years in the public consciousness before coming to pass – Mayweather v Pacquiao, Álvarez v Golovkin, Crawford v Spence – this one materialized practically overnight. A year ago, Álvarez v Crawford was more a bar-room flight of fancy than plausible matchup given the weight gulf. Now, suddenly, here it is.
