Canelo vs Khan preview: Numbers show Canelo Alvarez is boxing’s biggest star

When Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan enter the ring Saturday night, it will be the first boxing PPV in a new era – the post-Mayweather, post-Pacquiao era. Both men have recently retired (though Mayweather is pretty clearly heading towards a comeback, and Pacquiao leaves the door open as well), leaving boxing temporarily lacking a top star.

Enter Saul Canelo Alvarez. The 25 year old Mexican fighter is often refered to as boxing’s next big star, or a star in the making. But those titles miss an important fact.

Canelo Alvarez is already boxing’s biggest star.

Yes, that includes a caveat that Mayweather will easily reclaim that title should he return (Pacquiao though? I’m not so sure there.), but the numbers for Canelo show the reality. Take a look:

900,000That’s the PPV buys for Canelo vs. Cotto. It’s the highest PPV buys for any boxing PPV period in the aftermath of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, and that includes fights from both Mayweather (550,000 vs. Andre Berto) and Pacquiao (approximately 450,000 vs. Timothy Bradley). As a comparison, the Golovkin vs. Lemieux PPV drew 150,000 – maybe less. This 900K number is significantly up from Canelo’s two previous non-Mayweather PPVs, which were both 300-350K.

The obvious question is how much of this is due to Miguel Cotto? Well, consider this number: 350,000. That’s the buys for the previous Cotto PPV outing …

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