Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest star, is returning to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for his middleweight world-title-unification fight against Daniel Jacobs on May 4, Golden Boy Promotions made official on Wednesday.
Ever since the 160-pound megafight was signed in mid-January, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya said that T-Mobile Arena was the likely site for the Cinco de Mayo weekend fight, but the deal took time to complete.
“Fights of this magnitude have a home, and that home is Las Vegas,” De La Hoya said. “Ever since Canelo Alvarez introduced T-Mobile Arena to boxing fans, he has hosted his biggest fights there. On May 4, we expect a full house of fans from all over the world to watch Canelo capture another world title with a great victory over Daniel Jacobs.”
Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs), 28, of Mexico, will be fighting at T-Mobile Arena for the fifth time in his past seven fights. It was the site of both of his megafights with Gennady Golovkin in 2017 and 2018, as well as his knockout victory over Amir Khan in his first appearance at the arena in 2016 and his one-sided rout of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2017.
The fight will also be the second of Alvarez’s record-breaking five-year, 11-fight, $365 million deal with sports streaming service DAZN, which he kicked off on Dec. 15 with a one-fight rise to super middleweight to knock out Rocky Fielding in the third round, earning a secondary world title at Madison Square Garden in Alvarez’s New York debut. Now he is returning to Las Vegas, where most of his major fights have taken place.
“I inaugurated this arena to boxing at an international level, and it’s a place where I have had some of my biggest fights,” Alvarez said. “This fight against Daniel Jacobs will not be the exception. I am ready to capture another world title in front of a packed house, listening to the unconditional support of the fans in attendance, and also for those who will watch this fight through the screens of a huge platform in DAZN. I want it so when people talk about T-Mobile Arena, they say that is where Canelo Alvarez fights.”
Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs), 32, of Brooklyn, New York, has been primarily an East Coast fighter. The fight with Alvarez will be Jacobs’ first fight in Las Vegas since his first world title fight and first loss, a fifth-round knockout to Dmitry Pirog in July 2010 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
“I’m thrilled that this huge night has landed in Las Vegas,” Jacobs said. “I made my debut there in 2007, but I haven’t boxed there for nearly nine years. Scheduling the biggest fight of my career at T-Mobile Arena is the perfect occasion to return to the bright lights and shine on a massive stage. Canelo is a champion and he’s fought the best, so it’s an honor for me to face him, and of course it’s a brilliant fight for the fans. But my legacy is on the line and I have a lot to gain — I want to be a Hall of Famer one day, and this is the sort of fight that will get me there.”