By Dan Ambrose: All the signs are there that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is bluffing about IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander being his leading candidate for his May 4th fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to Dan Rafael, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said he’s still under the impression Alexander will be facing Kell Brook next, and Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn thinks Mayweather is bluffing.
The only logical reason for Mayweather to be steering the boxing public in the opposite direction is if he’s trying to get his intended opponent, which is thought to be WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, to accept a smaller purse split for the fight. In theory if Guerrero thinks Mayweather could go with another opponent, then he might be willing to take less money for the fight just so he can still face Mayweather.
Unfortunately, the public reaction has been so overwhelmingly negative towards the Mayweather-Alexander fight that it’s actually worked against Mayweather, if he is bluffing, because no one wants to see him fight Alexander. Based on this, Guerrero should ask for even more money because Mayweather clearly doesn’t have a lot of options unless he’s willing to think bold and face WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Devon Alexander’s trainer Kevin Cunningham told Dan Rafael of ESPN “Devon is focused on getting his [right] biceps 100 percent. That is all we are focused on.”
The injury to Alexander’s bicep occurred this past week and Cunningham estimates it’s going to take 6 to 8 weeks for it to fully heal. Would Mayweather be crazy enough to sign an opponent with a preexisting injury that could potentially wipe out his May 4th fight date? I don’t think he would. All the marketing that would go into the fight would go down the drain, and believe a Mayweather-Alexander fight would need tons of marketing to interest the boxing public.
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