Sulaiman says Mayweather must fight Guerrero next, not Alexander

By Boxing News - 02/06/2013 - Comments

mayweather3432By Chris Williams: WBC president Jose Sulaiman says WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr’s next fight must be against WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, and not against IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander, according to The Record.

It looks like Sulaiman won’t allow the World Boxing Council to sanction the fight if Mayweather chooses to fight Alexander, and the IBF is saying the same thing. Alexander is under contract for a title defense against #1 IBF contender Kell Brook, so if Mayweather decides to face Alexander, it won’t be with Alexander’s IBF title being on the line.

It would be interesting if Sulaiman were to strip Mayweather of his title for failing to fight Guerrero because that would be like shooting himself in the foot. Guerrero will never be as popular as Mayweather, and he’ll never bring in the same kinds of pay per view numbers – or sanctioning fees – that Mayweather does.

If Sulaiman strips Mayweather, then he’ll be stuck with the less than popular Guerrero as his WBC champion if the WBC gives Guerrero the strap outside of the ring. We also could see Guerrero fight #2 WBC Luis Carlos Abregu in what would be a really hard fight for Guerrero because Abregu can punch, and he’s fighting at a higher level right now than Guerrero’s last two opponents Andre Berto and Selcuk Aydin.

Mayweather doesn’t need any titles on the line for a fight against Alexander to bring in 1 million buys. The world titles are just meaningless fluff for him now, something that’s mentioned by the HBO talking heads and immediately forgotten by boxing fans. The only thing fans want to see is Mayweather fighting, and they won’t care if he’s fighting someone less than popular.

Sure, it would bring in bigger numbers if Mayweather were to fight a Mexican fighter on Cinco de Mayo on May 4th, but it’s necessary for him to bring in 1 million buys. I’d much rather see Mayweather fight Alexander than Guerrero any day of the week. It was really off putting to watch Guerrero getting away with fouling Berto in his last fight, and Mayweather doesn’t need to fight someone that could turn the fight into a rough fouling contest instead of a fight.



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