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Home » De La Hoya sees Canelo as the natural successor to Mayweather

De La Hoya sees Canelo as the natural successor to Mayweather

De La Hoya promotes this weekend’s clash for Canelo against WBO super-welterweight champion Liam Smith and says the Mexican superstar is on course to be the number name in the sport.

“Well, I mean, look, it would be very impressive. But at this point nothing surprises me with Canelo. Like I said, he’s only getting better. He has a tremendous fan base, and ticket sales show it. He has millions and millions of fans around the world, and ticket sales are proving that,” explained the former fighter.

“So I believe that it’s not if he outsells the Pacquiao fights at the AT&T arena. I think the question is going to be when he outsells the Pacquiao ticket sales at the arena. I strongly believe that at the age of 26 years old, Canelo is a bigger star and a better fighter compared to any fighter out there today.

“The passing of the torch has already taken place. With Mayweather being retired, Canelo is the face of boxing now. He’s proven it with ticket sales. He’s proven it with Pay-Per-Views, and he’s going to prove it once again by outselling Manny Pacquiao at the AT&T arena.

“So I believe this is just the beginning for Canelo, and he has a long future ahead for himself. We can’t wait to be part of it.

“We really can’t say how many Pay-Per-Views he’s going to sell, but we’re expecting a big number as always. We strongly feel that Canelo’s star power is only growing. And as we get closer to the fights, we’ll have a better indication.

“But we always gauge our numbers by how many tickets we’re selling in the arena. And as you know, we’re outpacing Manny Pacquiao in ticket sales at the AT&T Arena. So we expect a really strong number come September 17.”