LAS VEGAS — The fans, many of whom sported red, white and green attire, roared when the Mexican boxing legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Julio César Chávez were shown on the big screen at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night.
They cheered even louder when, in the final undercard bout, Francisco Vargas of Mexico recorded a stunning ninth round technical knockout victory over Takashi Miura of Japan to win the World Boxing Council superfeatherweight championship in a match that Vargas seemed on his way to losing.
The partisan crowd felt certain: Their native son, Saúl Álvarez of Mexico, known as Canelo, was going to deliver an emphatic victory over Miguel Cotto, his rival from Puerto Rico, in their middleweight bout.