By Dan Ambrose: A stubborn Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) is insisting that he’ll be fighting on May 2nd on Cinco de Mayo in 2015 despite the fact that the arguably more popular WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr has already said that he intents on fighting on that date.
Canelo previously said that he was going to be fighting on the Mexican holidays in May and September regardless if Mayweather would be fighting on that date, because he wants to take those dates back.
The problem with Canelo opting to fight in May of next year is that he’s not proven himself to be a big enough star on his own to head-line a fight and bring in huge pay-per-view numbers where he’s the A-side.
Even in a fight against Miguel Cotto on May 2nd, the fight will likely be crippled badly in terms of pay-per-view sales if the two of them choose to compete with Mayweather for that date. Mayweather would be fighting on Showtime while Canelo and Cotto would be fighting on HBO.
It would be a huge mistake for Canelo and Cotto to compete with Mayweather for that date, because it would likely mean a lot fewer pay-per-view buys for them. The thing is neither Canelo nor Cotto has a deal like Mayweather has with Showtime in terms of being guaranteed a huge $20 million+ payday each they fight.
The money that Canelo and Cotto make on PPV will be contingent on them bringing in a ton of PPV buys, and it’s likely that they won’t be able to bring in those buys if they have to compete against Mayweather with him fighting on the same night.
“As I’ve said and I’ll say it again. I am going to fight on May 2 and I’m not going to move from the date,” Canelo said via Sportsworldnews.com. “Everything being maneuvered is to fight on May 2 and September 12, and I’m not going to back away from those dates for nothing.”
It’s too bad that Canelo is insisting on fighting on the same date as Mayweather, because it will likely mean fewer PPV buys for him. Cotto might want to tell Canelo that he’s not interested in fighting him in May.
At 34, Cotto is on the downside of his career and finishing up a long career. He can’t afford to lose out on money by trying to compete with a popular fighter like Mayweather on the same night. Cotto might be better of telling Canelo that if he wants to fight him, then he should do it on a date that Mayweather isn’t fighting.
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