Canelo Confirms Boxing Match in Hometown of Guadalajara: ‘I’m Going To Fight For Jalisco’

The day has come — boxer Canelo Álvarez is coming back to fight on Mexican soil after more than a decade. The best part of all? The 32-year-old’s boxing match will happen in his birthplace of Guadalajara, with the boxer saying he is “ready to go back home and defend” his titles. The fight is set for May 6, and will also celebrate Jalisco’s 200th anniversary as a “free, sovereign state.”

Everything to know about the fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro shared a joint video with Canelo on Twitter, both announcing how “Mexico’s most important boxer is coming back home to fight for Jalisco.” As per Alfaro, the boxing match will be an all-out celebration of the state of Jalisco — so who better to pay tribute to it than Canelo who was born and grew up there?

Alfaro described, “Today we want to honor our past through the people who raise Jalisco’s name up in the present.” Álvarez agreed: “That’s why I’m ready to go back… where I was born, and where my story begun, with the people that always supported me.”

The boxer asserted, “In May of this year, I will fight for Jalisco, and celebrate the greatness of our land together. See you soon.” We can’t wait.

Canelo “always” wanted to go back and fight in his hometown

Meanwhile, the boxer told TV Azteca Deportes that he never doubted bringing his immense talent back to his birthplace. He told the outlet, “I had a lot of offers to fight in many places but I never thought about it, I always wanted to go back here and go back to my homeland.”

While Canelo was born in Guadalajara where he will fight, he lived much of his young life in Juanacatlán. Still, his family always made sure they stayed in Jalisco (no matter the city!) and the boxer loved every minute of it. As per USA Today, he grew up in a family of 10 on a ranch, riding horses and helping his parents with their paleta business.

Álvarez described, “I would help my dad make the popsicles and the shaved ice, to help supply the paletaria,” in Guadalajara. In fact, his parents taught him to be “responsible” and to “work hard” since the very-early age of around five. In May, he will pay back all he’s learned to his hometown — and the boxer is absolutely pumped.

Where to watch the upcoming boxing match

The standout match will go down on May 6 in Guadalajara’s Akron Stadium, where Canelo will fight against rival British boxer John Ryder. The fight is all about how “The King Is Coming Home,” because well, is it really even debatable?

This will be the first time Canelo fights in Mexico since his win against Puerto Rican boxer Kermit Cintrón in November 2011 in Mexico City. While Canelo defends his super-middleweight title, his country will no doubt feel immense pride to have him back.

The boxer also said he is especially pumped for the match because he was “unsure” if he could go through it after a recent surgery. Still, he explained, “Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy.” Us, too.

Watch the epic fight this May 6 on DAZN and DAZN PPV in the U.S. and Canada.