Floyd Mayweather didn't become "Money" by not being astute, and he has again put that attribute on full display by scheduling Saul "Canelo" Alvarez for his next fight.
The two undefeated boxers will butt heads on Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Money proudly announced the news:
After years of seemingly every boxing fan on the planet lusting after a fight—that has yet to happen—between Money and Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather can finally boast that he is giving the fans the fight they want to see.
While Pacquiao-Mayweather would still get fans buzzing, Pac-Man's consecutive defeats have taken some of the luster off that potential bout. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Alvarez has done nothing but elevate his star power.
Alvarez won a unanimous decision in April over the previously undefeated Austin Trout to improve to 42-0-1. That fight attracted 40,000 people to the Alamodome in San Antonio, and the powerful win only earned Canelo more supporters.
Canelo has been wildly popular in his native Mexico for some time, but now he is one of the hottest names in the worldwide boxing community. So, when Money says he is giving the fans what they want, he isn't lying.
In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info, this is the first unbeaten opponent that Mayweather has faced since 2007:
This is all highlighted by Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen speculating that this fight "has the potential to be the second biggest non-heavyweight fight ever on pay-per-view and the biggest score yet for Mayweather in a career of eight-figure paydays."
So, Mayweather is sitting on what could be the biggest payday of his career, and he gets to say he is giving the fans what they want, but these are not the biggest reasons why he was brilliant to schedule this fight now.
The biggest reason is because it is only going to get harder for the 36-year-old Mayweather to beat Canelo as the youngster gets more fights under his belt.
Canelo has always been a powerful fighter, but he's needed improvements in his defense. He's been making those strides, but he is not a complete product.
In his victory over Trout, Canelo connected on 124 punches to Trout's 154.
Trout has a quality jab, and Canelo was more impressive with power punches, but the fact remains that Canelo's defense is not where it needs to be to handle Money.
Mayweather's defense will frustrate Canelo, and as he tries harder and harder to inflict some damage on Money, he will be all the more vulnerable to counter punches. Money is a gifted and accurate counter puncher. He will be able to spot the holes in Canelo's defense and exploit them.
So, while this is the fight the public wants to see, it is also one that Money can feel confident about winning. That might not have been the case had Money waited until deeper into the six-fight deal he inked with Showtime this past February.
The decision to fight Canelo is another in a long line of shrewd business moves by Money.
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