Boxing
Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez's touching moment was the perfect lead-in for Matchroom Mexico, says Eddie Hearn
Watch Martinez vs. Cordova live on DAZN
There's a real buzz around boxing in Mexico right now. After last weekend's 'Tribute To The Kings' saw Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jr. return to the ring against Hector Camacho Jr. and UFC legend Anderson Silva, respectively, the coming weekend sees the first fight night of a four-part series.
Last month, Matchroom and DAZN announced they had teamed up with Canelo Promotions and Clase y Talento to bring elite-level boxing back to Mexico, allowing world champions such as Julio Cesar Martinez the opportunities to defend their crowns on home soil, while also giving some of the country's most-promising talents greater chances to follow their dreams.
Central to those plans are both Eddie Hearn and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, with the Matchroom boss crediting the WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight champion for the impact he is having on the sport back in his homeland.
Speaking to the DAZN Boxing Show, Heard said: "Working with him I'm just seeing the realness of Saul Alvarez; his personality, his kindness, his father's side, him as a husband. I don't know how you can't love this guy."
Though his stature in Mexico has grown in recent years, Canelo has often been left in the shadows of Chavez Sr., but after joining the 58-year-old in his corner last Saturday, Hearn now believes the four-weight world champion has gained the adulation he deserves.
"I think he's a huge hero there. But I do agree that there's always been that question of who is the greatest, is it Chavez or is it Canelo. But I think that at the weekend was a really nice sign of unity."
"I loved it and of course that leads us to our shows, back in Guadalajara this Saturday live on DAZN, which is really exciting.
"In Mexico, there are so many unbelievable fighters and this project is enabling the already established fighters, like Julio Cesar Martinez who will defend his world title, to fight at home.
"But it also enables the young talent to get opportunities where they don't. Eddie Reynoso has got like five fighters on the card, guys I don't know who are 15-0 or 16-0 and on the other side, it's like 18-0, 17-1. It's fun and exciting. We want war.
"We've been having Mexicans come into our shows in the UK, and they've been kicking our butts. Now they're going to get a chance to grow in their own country and to become stars in their own rights and change their lives."
