‘Canelo’ Alvarez dumps Televisa after manslaughter accusation

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez dumped Televisa after it blamed him for the death of sparring partner Javier Jauregui.

Guadalajara-born boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has ended his alliance with Mexican broadcaster Televisa following accusations that he was responsible for the death of sparring partner Javier Jauregui.

Alvarez, the former WBC and WBA Light Middleweight Champion, enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with Televisa, the world’s largest Spanish-language media outlet, for over five years, culminating in a bout with Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last September. Alvarez lost on points but the highly anticipated fight broke box-office records and was broadcast by Televisa to a record audience of 45 million in Mexico.

Yet Alvarez’s stock has since fallen and he was fortunate to win by technical knockout against his next opponent, the decidedly less glamorous Alfredo Angulo, on March 8. A week later, despite having helped fuel – and profited from – Alvarez’s rise to superstardom, Televisa publicly turned against him.

In consecutive weekly issues, Televisa-owned magazine TV y Novelas explicitly blamed Alvarez for the death of his friend and sparring partner  Jauregui, a former lightweight champion who died in Guadalajara on December 11. Jauregui died at the age of 40 from a stroke, which TV y Novelas alleged was the result of “the terrible blows that he received during his training sessions with the redhead ahead of his fight against Angulo.”

Alvarez paid for Jauregui’s funeral and delayed a trip to watch his brother Ricardo fight in San Antonio, Texas in order to attend the service. Enraged by the allegations against him and the lack of support he felt from Televisa, Alvarez opted to rupture his partnership with the broadcaster ahead of his fight with Cuban boxer Erislandy Lara.

“I’ve decided that my fight on July 12 will not be televised by Televisa for professional and personal reasons. Thanks for your support and we will continue looking for what’s best for all of you and for me,” Alvarez posted on Instagram on April 8.

The fight may not be televised in Mexico unless a compromise agreement is reached with Televisa or an alternative broadcaster is found, with rival network TV Azteca being one such possibility.

Golden Boy Promotions owns Alvarez’s television rights in the United States but the promoter has not clarified conflicting reports over whether the boxer retains ownership of such rights in Mexico.

This is not the first time that a member of the Alvarez family has been accused of killing someone. Canelo’s brother Victor Alvarez is wanted by the Jalisco authorities for allegedly shooting dead Luis Enrique Gama Partida at a private party in the town of Juanacatlan in November 2012.

Canelo is also no stranger to controversy himself, having allegedly hospitalized fellow boxer Ulises “Archie” Solis at a Guadalajara training facility in October 2011.