Floyd Mayweather Won't Face Miguel Cotto vs Canelo Alvarez Fight Winner
Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains firm that his bout against former champion Andre Berto on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas is his farewell battle. Not even the winner of the Miguel Cotto vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in November will change his mind.
"49 is my last fight," Mayweather announced via Boxing Scene.
When asked if he would be interested to go against the victor of the World Boxing Council middleweight title fight between Cotto and the young Mexican challenger "Canelo," the reigning pound-for-pound king replied with an almost definite "no."
"Are you just getting into the Floyd Mayweather business? You should know that I beat Canelo, Pacquiao and Cotto. Ain't none of them my 49th fight, and not interested in them or a 50th fight," the 38-year-old unbeaten boxer said.
Cotto and Alvarez want a rematch with Mayweather
Canelo (45-1-1, 32 KOs), who only tasted defeat through Mayweather when they met in 2013, per BoxRec, would like to avenge himself.
"I would love it [a rematch with Mayweather]. It would interest me, I've learned more things, there's more experience," the former middleweight champion said, Boxing News 24 reported.
The 25-year-old fighter, who came out from a third-round KO victory against James Kirkland in May, per The Guardian, had improved from his performance against "The Money" two years ago. This was vouched by former champion and returning boxer Antonio Margarito, according to a separate Boxing Scene report.
"Unlike many other people, I think Canelo has indeed improved. We've seen him get better and I think this [Cotto-Canelo] fight comes at a time that suits him. He is young, strong, fast," Margarito observed.
On the other hand, Cotto, who lost to Mayweather in 2012, expressed his willingness to fight him again, if there would be a chance, New York Daily News noted.
"We don't know exactly what Mayweather- he said before that he's going to retire after this fight (with Berto)... But if he's going to stay after his fight, I think and I know that's a fight (between he and I) that people can watch," said "Junito."
It would be interesting to see how Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), per BoxRec, would fare against Mayweather after he trained under Freddie Roach. Back in 2014, Cotto informed Bleacher Report that Roach was the key to his consecutive wins.
Yet, although Mayweather seemed to be decided on not fighting two of the most exciting fighters today, only time would tell if he would commit to his goal, especially if he would personally witness how these fighters would shine in their next fight.
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