When the media circus that will inevitably surround the superfight between Floyd "Money" Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) engulfs the sports world, it is imperative that Mayweather plays up his role as the villain.
Money has never had an issue with portraying the bad guy in a matchup, and just as the boxing world rallied around Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, fans will look to Alvarez to become the star who finally dethrones the undefeated Mayweather.
This fight is already gaining serious hype after the extensive media tour, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, but to really sell the casual boxing fans on purchasing the expensive pay-per-view ($64.95-$74.95 per Iole), the build to the event has to be over the top.
Mayweather has to turn himself into the ultimate villain and turn Canelo into a bigger star than he already is. Alvarez is being portrayed as a hero by many fans already, but Money running the challenger down in public would give casual fans the underdog they want to see steal the victory.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told Michael Rosenthal of RingTV about the overwhelming support Canelo has received all along the way:
I knew Canelo was big after we sold almost 40,000 seats at the Alamodome (for his fight against Austin Trout). I still have to admit I was a bit surprised by how big Canelomania (was) every place we went to. It was absolutely amazing. And it’s not just Mexicans. I think all Latinos and Hispanics are putting all their hope in Canelo being the one who can defeat Floyd Mayweather…I think Mexico has been waiting for its next great star. When Canelo beat Trout, it took Canelo to a totally different level. People couldn’t say any more that he was a paper champion. He’s a real champion.
As seen by the numbers that turned out for the media tour (more than 100,000 total fans attended the face-to-face press conferences) and its stop in Mexico City (30,000 fans), via Rosenthal, this is turning into one of the biggest fights of the last five years.
While the impressive numbers are a great start, the key to making this one of the richest drawing fights in the sport’s history is Mayweather verbally attacking Canelo and making it clear that most boxing fans should be supporting his challenger.
Alvarez is a clean-cut guy who works hard and is looking for his break in the business. With Mayweather boasting big spending and living a life of luxury, it should be easy for Mayweather and his public relations team to portray Canelo as the prototypical everyman.
If the casual fans can relate to Alvarez while feeling alienated by Money, there is no doubt that this bout will end up being one of the highest-grossing PPV fights in history.
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