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BEHIND THE NEWS:
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, hits Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, during their welterweight title fight on Saturday, May 2, 2015, in Las Vegas. Mayweather Jr. will be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Photo by: Isaac Brekken / AP
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Editor’s note: “Behind the News” is the product of Sun staff assisted by the Sun’s AI lab, which includes a variety of tools such as Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity AI, Google Gemini and ChatGPT.
A new chapter in Las Vegas boxing lore will emerge tonight when two of the sport’s most elite champions collide at Allegiant Stadium.
For the first time, the Raiders’ $2 billion home will host a championship fight, as Canelo Álvarez defends his unified super middleweight titles against the undefeated Terence Crawford.
This showdown brings together boxing royalty from different eras.
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) enters as an unblemished three-division world champion. Across the ring stands Álvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs), the Mexican superstar who has conquered four weight divisions and cemented his legacy as one of boxing’s most celebrated figures.
It’s not the first time Álvarez has broken in a venue. On May 7, 2016, he beat Amir Khan in the first boxing card at the newly opened T-Mobile Arena.
The venue itself adds to the occasion’s grandeur.
Allegiant Stadium, which opened in 2020, is projected to host 60,000 fans to witness another milestone in Nevada’s storied boxing tradition.
The birth of professional boxing in Nevada
Nevada holds a unique position in American boxing history as the first state to legalize professional boxing. In 1897, Gov. Reinhold Sadler signed legislation specifically to allow the heavyweight championship fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and James “Gentleman” Jim Corbett in Carson City on March 17, 1897 [1]. This strategic legalization was enacted to stimulate economic growth and tourism at a time when mining and ranching industries were declining. Remarkably, this fight also became the first feature film shown in the United States, bringing great exposure to Nevada [2].
Nevada’s mining boomtown era
Before Las Vegas became synonymous with boxing, Northern Nevada’s mining boomtowns like Goldfield and Reno hosted major fights. The 1906 lightweight championship fight between Joe Gans and Oscar “Battling” Nelson in Goldfield became one of the highest-grossing boxing gates in America at the time [3]. Promoter “Tex” G.L. Rickard used this fight to establish Nevada as a key venue for boxing, leveraging the rowdy mining culture and gambling scene that characterized these frontier communities.
Reno continued this tradition by hosting the heavyweight title fight between Jack Johnson and James Jeffries — the “Great White Hope” — on July 4, 1910 [4]. This “Fight of the Century” drew national attention and positioned Northern Nevada as an early hub for major boxing bouts.
Legendary heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey also fought multiple bouts in Nevada towns like Reno, Goldfield and Tonopah starting in 1915, further cementing the Silver State’s reputation in boxing history [5].
The boxing capital
Casino funding attracted iconic promoters like Don King and Bob Arum, who created some of the biggest fights ever and helped birth the pay-per-view industry anchored in Las Vegas [6]. The sport became deeply intertwined with Nevada’s tourism strategies, with boxing helping fill casinos and attract visitors.
A major milestone came Jan. 29, 1994, when the MGM Grand Garden Arena hosted its first boxing card, just over a month after the venue opened [7]. The card was promoted by King and featured notable fighters such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad and Thomas Hearns, marking the beginning of MGM Grand’s reign as one of the world’s top boxing venues.
Caesars Palace also played a crucial role in establishing Las Vegas as the boxing capital through its iconic outdoor fights in the 1970s and 1980s, including several Muhammad Ali bouts [6]. The Thomas & Mack Center has also hosted significant bouts since the 1980s, serving as a key venue during Las Vegas’ rise as “Fight Town” [8].
Las Vegas is home to some of the highest-grossing pay-per-view boxing events in history. Fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Álvarez have headlined record-breaking PPV events, with the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight in 2015 setting massive revenue records [6].
Álvarez a proven hit in Las Vegas
Álvarez has become one of Nevada’s most successful boxing draws, with an outstanding record in the state. His professional record stands at 63 wins, two losses and two draws, with a knockout rate of 62% [9].
Most of his high-profile title defenses and major PPV events have taken place at iconic Nevada venues like the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena, including victories against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, Caleb Plant and William Scull [10].
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