Canelo vs Ortiz: Richard Schaefer Confirms Interest in Sept. 15 Fight

Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer has confirmed interest in a rumored, potential September 15 fight between WBC junior middleweight titlist Canelo Alvarez and Victor Ortiz, and is already beginning to hype the possible matchup:

"That would be a barnburner. If Canelo would fight Victor Ortiz - it can only be an exciting fight. That would be one of those fights that going into, where you can probably leave the judges at home and based on what we've seen on Saturday - that might be a good thing," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO) needs a name opponent for the PPV date, booked for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO) has to win against Josesito Lopez on June 23 (and also come out with no significant damage), but right now it's starting to look like this fight is a serious possibility.

Obviously there will still be doubt about this coming off. It's such a good fight that we almost have to assume it won't happen. Both fighters are young (Canelo turns 22 next month, Ortiz is 25), strong, and still on the rise. They're also two guys being positioned as major stars for Golden Boy's long-term future.

With the date and the matchup, I think this fight could be a good second-tier hit on pay-per-view. Obviously it's not a Mayweather or Manny fight, but I see no good reason it can't do 400-500,000 buys or so, and that would be a major success. If promoted right, it could be on the same level as the Cotto-Margarito rematch in December, which did about 600K on PPV and made a lot of money. Remember, these aren't fights where anyone is being paid $20-40 million as the A-side of the main event.

Keep those fingers crossed -- I'm letting myself get my hopes up and will be sorely disappointed now if we wind up with Alvarez vs Carlos Quintana, and it's not because Ortiz loses or suffers an injury he can't come back from so quickly. You don't have to do the same, but I'll tell you, it's fun.