Mayweather’s next opponent still a mystery; Khan fight not happening

10/03/2013 Jeff Sorby

floyd432 On Wednesday both Team Khan and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said that a fight between former two division world champion Amir Khan and Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t happening. According to Dan Rafael, Ellerbe calls it nothing more than rumors that Floyd will be fighting the struggling Khan, and Team Khan is saying that Khan will possibly be fighting IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander on December 7th.

This leaves the question about who Mayweather Jr. will be fighting on May 3rd next year. He’s selected the Cinco de Mayo holiday to fight, so it makes a lot of sense for him to fight a Mexican fighter or least a Hispanic fighter. Unfortunately, there’s not too many names for Mayweather to fight at 140, 147 or 154 if he’s looking to a top Hispanic fighter.

“Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag”: Chavez Jr. at 168, Cotto’s Last Dance? & Khan’s Pursuit of Mayweather!!!

09/30/201309/30/2013 Vivek Wallace

Marco G. (Miami Lakes, FL): I’m a Chavez Jr. fan, but I was totally disgusted with the outcome of the fight! I’m beyond entertaining the thought of what our sport can do to fix this criminal activity. But I would like to know how you think he will perform at 168lbs?

Vivek W. (ESB): I think the pending move to 168lbs will demonstrate that it’s both a curse and a blessing, as all positive effects of this move will be nullified by the reality it brings. When we look at his past fights, Chavez Jr. has shown what some view to be a “very good chin”. But few stop to actually question whether or not this has anything to do with the fact that he’s taking shots from men who are naturally much smaller.

Virgil Hunter: Khan is in for a rude awakening if he fights Mayweather

09/30/201309/28/2013 Michael Collins

The latest talk is that former two division world champion Amir Khan may choose to bypass the risky fight against IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander on December 7th in order to sit around until May to get a much bigger money fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Khan’s promoters at Golden Boy Promotions wanted him to fight Alexander in order to give Khan a chance to pick up his IBF 147 lb. title and show boxing fans that he would be a worthy opponent for Mayweather.

Khan’s trainer Virgil Hunter doesn’t know what Khan is going to do, but he feels that he’s going to need to dedicate himself fully to the sport if he wants to beat a talented fighter like Mayweather.

Left-Hook Lounge: Does Mayweather’s Legacy Hold Up in History? Will Chavez Jr./Canelo Happen? What next for Floyd?

09/23/2013 Vivek Wallace

Javier R. (Ontario, CA): Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. recently had some critical comments about Canelo. I know the problem between Goldenboy Promotions and Top Rank will prevent us from seeing this fight, but if it were to happen, who do you see winning?

Vivek W. (ESB): Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez currently fights at 154lbs and Chavez has struggled to make weight at 160. I wouldn’t rule out a move to 160lbs at some point for Canelo, but will that move come before Chavez Jr. is forced to move up in weight? I think it’s really tough to say. Focusing on the question itself, if the stars do align and these two men somehow square off, personally, I don’t think it’s a very easy night for Canelo. I know that all the Mayweather detractors will suddenly try to take away from his ability and say that he’s “young” and “untested”, or “not as good as the media made him out to be”. But the reality is that the kid simply loss to not only the best in this era, but arguably the best in any era.

“The One” Sets All-Time Money PPV Record

09/21/201309/19/2013 Showtime Boxing

NEW YORK (Sept. 19, 2013) — Last Saturday’s blockbuster boxing event — THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO — ranked as the highest-grossing pay-per-view of all time, with nearly $150 million in U.S. pay-per-view revenue reported to date. The news was announced today by Showtime Networks Inc., a division of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS), in conjunction with event promoters Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. The SHOWTIME PPV presentation of THE ONE surpassed the previous record of $136 million generated by Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing event in 2007.

Preliminary reports from distributors show pay-per-view buys projected to be 2.2 million. While not fully reported from all distributors, the total buys could challenge the existing record of 2.48 million pay-per-view buys set by De La Hoya vs. Mayweather. The initial report immediately following the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather event in 2007 was 2.15. THE ONE has already exceeded the previous #2 event, the infamous World Heavyweight Championship bout between Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II (1.95 million, 1997).

How Great Is Floyd Mayweather? An Open Letter From An Open Mind

09/20/201309/19/2013 Vivek Wallace

Last Saturday the world watched as Pound-for-Pound king, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather faced Mexican warrior, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Fans, media, skeptics, and beyond viewed this as a classic grudge match pairing “old school” vs “new school”. Narrow betting odds across the globe displayed what most viewed to be an inherent danger involved for the aging Mayweather. By the end of the night that same group of people would have paralleled thoughts yet again; only this time, of a vastly different variety.

When headlines around the world fell off the press, there was only one “shock” to be reported. That “shock” was the incredulous and utterly criminal scoring of female Nevada based judge, C.J. Ross. Many took it upon themselves to condemn her, but the greatest lesson to be taken from this spectacle was the fact that Ross wasn’t alone in error. We all were. Our biggest error as fans coming into the fight was viewing Golden Boy Promotions’ title theme, “THE ONE”, as a question; as opposed to comprehending the fact that it technically served as the answer. What we witnessed for 12 full rounds was a level of mastery demonstrated with ease in a way that few in the history of the sport could display at any point in their respective careers; let alone at the ripe age of 36.

Record numbers in Mexico! “The One: Mayweather vs. Canelo” bout was the biggest boxing event ever on Mexican television

07/21/201909/18/2013 Golden Boy Promotions

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 18) – Nearly 8-out-of-10 households in Mexico with a television set tuned into last Saturday’s “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” mega-fight live on Televisa’s Channel 5. The 12-round majority decision fight, which Mayweather won, garnered a national rating of 41.1 points, which equates to a 77 percent share, 22.1 million viewers and 5.9 million television households, making it the highest-rated boxing program ever on television in Mexico. The telecast peaked with a National rating of 42 points (78.4 percent share/22.6 million viewers6 million television households) and the total program average from 8:00 p.m. CT to 12:30 a.m. CT was 30.1 points (16.2 million viewers/4.3 million television households).

“Boxing fans demanded “THE ONE” and when we gave it to them they responded with these record ratings,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “This proves that great fights with great fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez will always strike a chord with viewers and that Canelo is undisputed as the biggest star Mexican boxing has today.”

Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez – strategies and conclusions

09/19/201309/18/2013 Ivan Ivanov

The hype has been dispelled by harsh realizations, the euphoria (if any) has winded down and it may be time for some conclusions. Saul Alvarez and his team must have reached several revelations while Floyd Mayweather backed up braggadocio on Sept. 14.

Floyd Mayweather imposed his ‘blueprint” from the start and needed to make only small adjustments as the fight went on. He often anticipated his opponent’s actions taking advantage of the weaknesses he and his father mentioned before the fight. He used one small halfway-back movement on top of his usual routine to dampen Alvarez’s right hand. Floyd positioned himself as his opponents expected but he did not move in the direction his opponent expected. On top of that as an additional precaution he used this unobtrusive angle maneuver which seemed to hypnotize team Alvarez and they did not address that issue. FMJ’s game consisted of performing all the basics of boxing but performing them exceptionally well. His game reminded me of the Cuban amateur style, the same feet position and wide use of all defensive dimensions while throwing long-range scoring shots. Scoring shots favor speed and endurance while power punches consume a lot of fuel. His father’s instructions were “touch him to the body”, not “hit him”.

Why Mayweather should fight Amir Khan in London

09/18/2013 Shaun Ramirez

Floyd Mayweather Jr, widely regarded as the best fighter in the world, added another notch to his perfect record by winning a majority decision against Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In the days that have passed since the fight the boxing public has turned back to a question frequently asked after Mayweather fights “now what?” Floyd Mayweather just faced a fighter thought of as the toughest test available for him and is now staring into a group devoid of truly elite names but filled with many good ones that will not however capture the attention of the general public.

SHOWTIME Sports To Premiere Mayweather vs. Canelo, Garcia vs. Matthysse Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/PT

09/17/2013 Showtime Boxing

NEW YORK (Sept. 17, 2013) – SHOWTIME Sports will air Floyd Mayweather’s “masterful” (Associated Press) performance against Canelo Alvarez and Danny Garcia’s “scintillating” (Wall Street Journal) victory over Lucas Matthysse this Saturday on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) as a replay of the blockbuster Sept. 14 PPV event titled “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo.”