A historic landmark may host a professional boxing match this summer.
According to Ring, WBO Junior Welterweight Master Teofimo Lopez is close to an agreement to enter the ring on Alcatraz Island.
Ring notes that the Riyadh season promoter Turki Alalshikh recently told ESPN that he hoped to host a match in the former prison that became the museum one day. Lopez is fighting for the brand.
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Alcatraz Island could host a championship boxing match this summer. (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
“You know, sometimes I come in mind that I want different places to do [fights]. Sometimes in mountains, maybe a day in the pyramids of Mexico, a day in [the] Eiffel Tower in France, [the] Colosseum in Italy, “Alalshikh said.
It is unclear if the title would be ready to get hold of, but given that Lopez defended his title twice last year, it seems likely.
The prison opened in 1934, but it did not even last 30 years.
Given its 1.25 km distance to land, Bay Area Island was considered practically escape -resistant, although there were 14 documented attempts to escape.
The most notorious was June 11, 1962, Escape by John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris, who inspired “Escape from Alcatraz“
Teofimo Lopez celebrates after defeating Jamaine Ortiz in their WBO Junior Welterweight World Title Bout at Michelob Ultra Arena. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
It is still a mystery whether the three reached land and survived. The FBI ended escape that drowned due to harsh conditions.
The three prisoners chiseled an escape route from their own prison cells and built provisional, paper Mâché heads.
The last attempt at escape from the prison, almost six months later, inspired what has become the swimming route for the “escape from Alcatraz” triathlon.
Both Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly earned time in prison.
Low fog swirls around Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge under clear sky when both sailing on San Francisco Bay 16 September 2020, in Berkeley, Calif. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Lopez is 21-1 with 13 knockouts, but has not fought since June, a 12-round unanimous decision-making victory over Steve Claggett.
