Floyd Mayweather doesn't meet demands, he makes them. That is just part, and not a veiled one at that, of the package that is Money May.
Sometimes, this attitude can cost the undefeated champ boatloads of money. As this trait has undoubtedly played a hand in Money and Manny Pacquiao not coming to terms on a fight that would have certainly produced record paydays.
Then there are times where this attitude pushes Mayweather in the right direction. Like it has in his negotiations with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Alvarez, the popular 22-year-old WBC light middleweight champion, was about to fight as the main undercard bout to Money's welterweight title fight against Robert Guerrero on Showtime pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 4.
However, as Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reports, in exchange for appearing on the undercard, Alvarez wanted a written guarantee that if both fighters were to win, Canelo would get a Sept. 14 date with Mayweather.
Floyd wasn't about to commit to that. Iole passed along what Golden Boy (Canelo's promoters) CEO Richard Schaefer had to say about Money's response:
Floyd told us he didn't have a problem fighting Canelo, but he wasn't going to sign anything now. He said, 'All of my focus is on Guerrero,' and I'm not signing anything to fight anybody until after that fight is over.
Of course, there will be those that view this as Mayweather ducking the up and coming youngster. Like Tommy Allan of Boxingasylum.com:
These kind assertions are not new to Money. He's faced them for years while dealing with the never-materialized mega fight with Pacquiao.
However, what is far more at the root of this is Floyd stance that it is the other side that needs to make concessions.
And, in this instance, it is the right decision on many levels. Mayweather is 36 years old, and he, although he would never admit this, is slowing down. His battered face following the Miguel Cotto fight admitted this even though his words never would.
In other words, his window of pulling in record hauls for fights is closing.
He doesn't need to commit to his next fight when it may close off the possibility of a more lucrative one. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Mayweather and Pacquiao could actually get in the ring following Money's May 4 bout.
In the end, there just wasn't enough for Mayweather to gain by committing to the Canelo fight. Yes, Alvarez is popular, and he would have boosted the sales on Money's May 4 fight, and provided a nice name for a nice payday in the head-to-head bout.
However, that boost was not worth Money making any concessions in negotiating or ending all options for a fight after his upcoming one.
This wasn't a case of anyone ducking anyone. It was a business decision—mixed with a touch of ego—and it was a smart one.
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