Canelo Alvarez wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather
After losing a decision in 2013, Canelo Alvarez wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
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2 min read
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Canelo Alvarez wants Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The two men squared off in the most lucrative pay-per-view of all time in the fall of 2013, but now that their record appears in jeopardy with the imminent match between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the popular red-headed Mexican is hoping for another bite at the "Money" team’s apple.
Mayweather won a wide decision in Las Vegas in a 152-pound catch-weight fight whose judging was more memorable than the combat itself. Mayweather was viewed as a near shutout winner by most observers, but ringside judge CJ Ross scored the bout even, six rounds to six.
She announced a self-imposed sabbatical a few days later and hasn't returned to the big stage.
"Hopefully, we can get the Mayweather rematch down the line," Alvarez told ESPN Deportes. "I did learn a lot in that fight. We got experience from that fight. I always try to look at the positives in things. But I know I’m not going to fight in a weight class that's not mine."
Alvarez had staked a claim to the May 2 date and was initially rumored on the verge of a challenge of WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, but that fight fell through and he gave up his claim on the date to instead agree to meet slugger James Kirkland on May 9 in Houston.
The hyperbolic run-up to Mayweather-Alvarez was record-setting in its own right and included a 10-city press tour over nine days in which the fighters went face to face in New York, Washington, D.C., Grand Rapids, Mich., Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Mexico City, Houston, San Antonio, Texas and Los Angeles.
Alvarez earned the lion’s share of fan reaction in all but Grand Rapids -- Mayweather’s hometown -- which cemented his status to both promotional and television executives connected to the event.
"I don't think [Mayweather has] had an opponent like that since Oscar De La Hoya," Showtime's Stephen Espinoza told CBSSports.com in 2014, before Alvarez left the network to sign an agreement with HBO. "Oscar, at that point, had been an icon in the sport for a very long time. This is a [23-year-old] kid. The amount of fan support and hysteria he created did take Floyd by surprise. Floyd didn't expect it."
Presumably, though, Alvarez would need to re-establish himself beyond a Kirkland victory -- perhaps with a defeat of Cotto and a middleweight belt -- in order to interest Mayweather again, assuming he defeats Pacquiao.
"In the long run, I think we may see a rematch if circumstances warrant," Espinoza said. "Stylistically, it may make sense to put them in the ring again, if there's a chance the result could change."
