Mayweather has hit the talk show circuit since his victory over Robert Guerrero and has told anyone who will listen that he plans on fighting again in September.
If that would happen, it would be the first time in 10 years that Mayweather had two fights within a four-month time period.
The good news for Mayweather is that his fight with Guerrero was more like a sparring session, so he didn’t take any heavy damage, besides brushing his hand punching Guerrero in the face.
Canelo is the opponent that Golden Boy and Showtime wants for obvious reasons. Canelo is coming off a big win over Austin Trout and his star is rising very quickly. You never wait too long with a rising star to get him into a mega fight, because you always run the risk of him losing to a lesser opponent.
Secondly, it is the biggest fight that can be made in boxing. While speculation grows the PPV numbers aren’t looking to hot for Mayweather vs. Guerrero, that wouldn’t be the case for Mayweather vs. Canelo.
Here is what Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer had to say about the current negotiations.
“I am working on the fight,” Schaefer said. “I’m crunching the numbers. You should see my calculator — it’s red-hot. I am working on a lot of fights, but this is my No. 1 priority.”
“This is something I am pursuing and I am having conversations with both sides,” Schaefer said. “Canelo wants the fight and Floyd has never turned down an opponent.”
The main issue wouldn’t be about money, it would be about weight.
Canelo is a big Junior Middleweight and Mayweather to be honest is a small welterweight. Mayweather has jumped up to 154 for fights when it suited his financial pockets (against Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto), but normally it is the challenger that has to make the sacrifice. Mayweather has never weighed more than 151 pounds for any of his 154 pound title fights, so I don’t think he would be too keen on fighting Canelo who might walk into the ring at 170 pounds or more.
Canelo has to be smart about this, if he wants the fight as much as he says he does, he is going to have to come down a little. Maybe 147 is unrealistic, but 150 would be a reasonable compromise.
This can’t drag out forever, it will either be announced or not in the next couple of weeks. Clock is kicking toward September 14th.