Alvarez, 35, had elbow surgery last year and will miss the weekend in which he has always been the main character. He has wrestled on Cinco de Mayo weekend every year since 2015, except for 2018 and 2020.

Saturday’s event will be hosted by David Benavidez, who will move up to cruiserweight to face unified champion Gilberto Ramirez. Benavidez previously had mandatory super middleweight status during Alvarez’s undisputed title fight.

Alvarez last fought in September during Mexican Independence Weekend, losing a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford. It is expected to return in mid-September on the same holiday weekend.

His presence on Saturday drew attention because the co-main event will be a fight for the WBA 168-pound title. Munguia vs. Winner Resendiz will hold the belt in Alvarez’s division, which will make the outcome crucial to his next opponent’s options. No direct link has been confirmed, but a different name has been added to the current title image as a result.

If Resendiz wins, he becomes a huge high reward and manageable risk target should Saul return home. Resendiz is tough and has that unrelenting “Toro” style, but he’s technically the type of aggressive fighter that Saul has long timed and countered with ease.

The event will be broadcast on Prime Video and DAZN. Former promoter Oscar De La Hoya is also expected to be in attendance to support his fighters, including Ramirez and Oscar Duarte. In recent years, De La Hoya has publicly criticized Alvarez.

A major obstacle has been revealed that could derail plans for a potential fight between David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol.

After reigning supreme at super middleweight and lightweight heavyweight, reigning WBC 175-pound world champion Benavidez begins his toughest test yet with a monumental 25-pound jump to the cruiserweight division. on Saturday evening, a clash with unified champion Gilberto Ramirez.

However, even if he is successful against Ramirez, the “Mexican Monster” has vowed to return to lightweight heavyweight in pursuit of a chance to claim the undisputed crown against WBA, WBO and IBF titleholder Bivol.

Although there is a lot of interest in this fight, Eddie Hearn said Fighting the noise that Bivol has a “loose obligation” to take part in the trilogy with Artur Beterbiev.

“I think Benavidez-Bivol is a great fight, but we have some loose commitments with the Beterbiev III fight, which if called upon, we have to take.

“But if that’s not the case, Benavidez is absolutely the right fight. I think it’s a great fight, it’s two guys pound for pound.

“I really think Benavidez will beat Ramirez, and if that happens, if Dmitry comes through on May 30, which is what we expect him to do, why not fight Benavidez?”

Bivol will defend two of his three titles against German Michael Eifert next month, while Beterbiev considers his own “fine-tuning” in preparation for a third meeting with his rival.

The man known as “Fan Man” became boxing’s strangest punch line – but the ending wasn’t witty at all.

As a teenager, watching what looked like an unidentified flying object hurtling towards the ring, causing instant chaos, was something that had never been seen before. Two feet dangling in the air before he plummeted downwards with what looked like a huge office fan strapped to his back, it was one of those moments that could only happen in a cubicle.

What followed wasn’t confusion – it was panic.

Judy Bowe, six months pregnant and sitting at ringside, heard the overhead lights crackling and thought it was gunshots. Debris fell from above as the scene around her crumbled. She fainted and was taken away in an ambulance, Reverend Jesse Jackson holding her hand while Riddick Bowe stood in the ring, not knowing whether to stay or leave.

For a moment, no one knew whether they were watching a fight or something much worse.

“It was a mess,” Bowe’s manager Rock Newman said later, and it barely scratched him. Fans rose to their feet, security moved in, and a man who had just fallen out of the sky was dragged into the crowd and beaten when his parachute broke free from the overhead lights.

HBO’s Jim Lampley called it a “disruption monster.” He wasn’t exaggerating.

Nobody saw him coming. Some people thought it was part of the show. Actress Demi Moore even leaned in and asked if it was planned. This did not happen.

It seemed like a joke to me at the time. There wasn’t one left.

James Miller circled Caesars Palace for a few minutes before walking straight into the biggest fight of the night. His legs got caught in the ropes, the canopy got tangled in the rigging, and within seconds, the heavyweight title rematch between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield turned into something no one in boxing had ever seen.

Referee Mills Lane stopped the action at 1:50 of the seventh. What should have been a routine round turned out to be a 21-minute delay as the judges tried to figure out what to do next.

“There is nothing in the regulations about this,” admitted the head of the Nevada state commission, Marc Ratner.

Finally the fighting resumed. Holyfield won by majority vote, avenging his loss and regaining the titles.

But the fight was no longer the whole story.

The man at the center of things walked away with a novel nickname – “Fan Man” – and took his place in boxing folklore. He joked that he was the only one who got knocked out that night. For a while, that was it – a clip, a replay, something weird to laugh about between rounds.

This wasn’t the end.

A few weeks later, Miller flew over an NFL playoff game and then traveled to England, where he broadcast a football game and even landed near Buckingham Palace before being imprisoned and deported. Each feat pushed the envelope a little further without really explaining why.

Things weren’t the same away from the cameras.

Health problems took away the flying that defined him. Coronary heart disease, surgeries and mounting medical bills forced him to close his business. The man who fell out of the sky in a world title fight has been grounded for good.

In September 2002, he drove into the Alaskan desert and disappeared.

A few months later, hunters found his body deep off the trail. He took his own life. He was 38 years venerable.

His girlfriend was pregnant at the time. Their son was born before he was found.

For most, “Fan Man” remains a clip – a strange interlude played between rounds of the heavyweight classic.

The fall wasn’t that story. What happened next was more significant.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.