I cannot speak for the entirety of those two populations, but can offer my take having grown up in a Mexican household and in Chicano communities. A big question posed remains to be answered: which side will La Raza take?

Will the people stand behind the red-headed self-made superstar, despite the events of recent years? Can they forget the disappointing behavior of the legend’s son? In the lead-up to Mayweather-Canelo and the few fights after, it could be said without a doubt that nuestro gente were behind Canelo. The rags-to-riches story embodied success being earned from the sweat of one’s own brow, contrary to the respect Chavez Jr. was afforded by association to his father.

If the internet is to be believed, the humbled stance of Chavez Jr. has garnered respect. Anyone can admit their strengths, but to admit (and even embrace) one’s shortcomings goes against the grain of Mexican machismo in a way that can’t be faulted, especially for Chavez. On the same note, Canelo vacating his title did not play well to the crowd. Further, the posturing after his fights against Amir Khan and Liam Smith without any visible results of progress to finalizing the Golovkin fight did little to regain any lost ground.

All of this is said to bring spectators around to the very real possibility that there may be more red headbands for Chavez in T-Mobile than may be expected. Jr. indirectly admitting to having fallen short of the expectations of the Chavez name and Canelo talking tough in the media without following through bode well for the former.

Generations of Chicano and Mexican fans grew up idolizing Chavez Sr. (myself included). Family and friends from all over town would come over for carne asada and to watch Chavez Sr. destroy the next no-hoper on the bill. There would be bets on when the KO would come. We all knew it wasn’t the best opposition, but he fought often throughout Mexico and the US to give the people a chance to see him live. These days, I can’t get my Tongan Mastiff to stop barking when Canelo is on the screen.

Call it clever work by the Golden Boy marketing machine, but I can’t deny that I’ll be Team Chavez on May 6th, though not for the reasons one may think. Chavez Sr was Superman to me, and while Jr definitely didn’t live up even remotely to what was expected of him, he has accepted his reality and is aiming to make amends. He comes into May 6th knowing the crowd will be predominantly pro-Canelo and only a small contingent of those in attendance will want to see his redemption.