Canelo will have tough time keeping May 2nd date without Cotto

By Boxing News - 12/27/2014 - Comments

canelo433By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) has backed himself against a wall by insisting that he fight on May 2nd no matter what. Canelo is directly challenging the much more popular Floyd Mayweather Jr for the May 2nd date.

Canelo wants the date due to it falling on one of the Mexican holidays. Canelo feels that a Mexican fighter should fight on those dates rather than someone like Mayweather, and Canelo believes that he should be the one that is fighting on the date.

Mayweather is the much more popular fighter and the more accomplished fighter as well. Mayweather has won world titles in four different divisions. Canelo has won just won world title, and that was in his catch-weight fight against Matthew Hatton in 2011 when Canelo fought a welterweight for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title rather than an actual junior middleweight.

Where Canelo might have a problem keeping the May 2nd date is if Miguel Cotto decides he’s not happy with the negotiation terms. It’s doubtful that Canelo will bend to Cotto’s wishes even though he’s the A-side in this fight. Without Cotto, Canelo will not be able to hold onto the May 2nd date unless he fights a big name like Manny Pacquiao or Gennady Golovkin.

The chances of those fights happening are zero. Pacquiao would be the only option because there’s no way that Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya would throw the 24-year-old red-headed Canelo into the ring with Golovkin right now, because he would likely wreck the Canelo train before it’s even left the station. But without either of those guys, Canelo will find it near impossible to keep the May 2nd date.

Mayweather wouldn’t have to fight anyone of real talent in order for him to get the May 2nd date. He could literally face almost any welterweight in the division and still get the May 2nd date.

Canelo will be in the same predicament in September for another Mexican holiday that he plans on fighting on. Unless Canelo puts his neck on the line by facing Cotto, Golovkin or Pacquiao, he’s not going to be able to get the September fight date.

What this means is that by Canelo insisting on fighting on the Mexican holidays in 2015, it’s forcing him to take risky fights each time out if he wants to bump Mayweather from those dates. This means there can’t be anymore soft touches for Canelo like Alfredo Angulo, Josesito Lopez and Shane Mosley. Canelo will be forced to fight dangerous guys in both of his fights in 2015 if he wants to keep the Mexican dates.

One can only imagine what Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya thinks about this. Perhaps he hasn’t fully digested what it means for Canelo to be fighting on both Mexican holidays. If De La Hoya doesn’t realize it now, he’ll understand when both of those dates happen next year.

There can be no protecting of Canelo. He either fights a dangerous guy like Golovkin or Pacquiao or he gets bumped by Mayweather from those dates. Canelo won’t be able to pick an easy mark and expect to keep those dates. There can be no record-padding fights for him in 2015.

Once Mayweather is gone in 2016, Canelo can pretty much fight whoever he wants on the Mexican holidays because he won’t have anyone to compete with him. However, is Canelo loses both of his fights in 2015, then it really won’t matter if he takes both of the Mexican holidays in 2016. His stock will have dropped so badly that he can fight on any date he pleases, but he’ll likely bring in poor ratings on pay-per-view.



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