image via: twitter

Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr made headlines on Thursday, not for their press conference promoting their fight in May but for the bet they made against each other.

The fighters agreed to bet their purses for the fight, we are talking about millions of dollars for each fighter and pretty much turned their fight into a winner take all type of thing.

Alvarez reportedly got flustered while speaking with HBO’s Max Kellerman about the fight and offered to wager his entire purse to prove how confident he is that he will beat Chavez Jr.

One official there said Alvarez grew agitated “and said, ‘I’ll bet you my whole purse.’ … People were breathing deeply, and then they shook hands.”

All of it could be for nothing however, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The bet of purses would only become real if they submitted a revised contract for the fight that included this stipulation in it. Otherwise you basically leave it up to the losing fighter to pay up, which would be very unlikely once they have a chance to process things after the fight. Nobody is going to want to lose a fight and part with millions of dollars on top of that.

The fighters repeated the scene from HBO on Univision, when promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who was sitting next to Alvarez, tweeted, “Things just got real! @Canelo and @jchavezjr1 just bet their purse!”

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Bob Bennett, whose office delivers guaranteed purse checks to fighters, said it’s unlikely such a deal — conveniently timed during a four-city promotional tour — ever becomes reality.

“I’m not even sure our deputy attorney general would even allow it — betting purses is a lot of money and doesn’t seem like a wise thing to do,” Bennett said.

“If they want to put that in their new contract, then I’d see, but we don’t condone our fighters betting against each other for their purses. It’s never been done in my time here.”

Written by @IamJoeSports

H/t LA Times