"I'm sure, you know, Floyd is going to evaluate what the various options are on the table and, you know, if you're on top of the hill, and Floyd Mayweather is, there's no ifs and no buts and all these people are haters who doubt it, the fact is he has demonstrated that he is the number one pay-per-view attraction here in the United States. When you are the number one pay-per-view attraction, that means people are buying your fights and when people buy your fights, it means that you are popular and when you are popular, that means, just like Oscar was, that you are going to be picking who you're going to fight and Floyd Mayweather has many different options," stated Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer as he shared his thoughts on the future plans of Floyd Mayweather Jr. According to Schaefer, Mayweather, like De La Hoya before him, has reached a point in his career where any fight, no matter the opponent, is going to be a mega-event. In fact, Schaefer believes that Mayweather could possbily forego a clash with other elite fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley or Miguel Cotto in favor of going on a world tour.
"We'll see in the end which one it's going to be. You know, a Floyd Mayweather could make a huge...I mean, he has such a global star, has such a truly global reach. I was with him in England. The guy could do a world tour. The guy could do a world tour, do two, three, four fights overseas like Ali used to do. Nobody has done that," Schaefer continued as he spoke with Bill Emes of BoxingScene.com. "This is the kind of level Floyd Mayweather is at. He can pick and choose. People have to stop thinking like, 'What is Floyd Mayweather going to do if he doesn't have this or he doesn't have that.' Floyd Mayweather has many different options and he can obviously create events and that's what this is about."
While the idea of a world tour is interesting, it's not exactly the type of challenge that fans would expect from the undefeated multi-division world champion who insists that he's the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet. Mayweather himself has already ruled out Shane Mosley as his next opponent and recently stated that he doesn't plan on waiting around for the winner of the upcoming November 14th clash between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. Having eliminated three of the tops names in and around his division, one would assume that Mayweather's next opponent would be another top name worthy of standing in the opposite corner in a pay-per-view event. Enter undefeated 19-year-old Saul Alvarez.
"Well, there's a young fighter, 19 years old. All of Mexico is talking about him. All of Mexico is talking about him. He's filling out 10,000 people in venues in Mexico and he's fighting at 147. He's undefeated. He's a redhead. A redhead Mexican. They call him 'Canelo'. Cinnamon Head. 'Canelo' Alvarez. Saul 'Canelo' Avlarez. He would love nothing better than to fight Floyd Mayweather...I tell you right now, you put Saul Alvarez in with Floyd Mayweather and you put it in Aztec Stadium, you sell 100,000 tickets. The guy sells on his own 15-20,000 tickets in Guadalajara so, you know, we have to think," Schaefer added, "Floyd Mayweather is a big event athlete and there are many, many big events you can create with a Floyd Mayweather. So, you know, it is going to be what it is going to be. When Floyd is going to be ready, he's going to announce who he wants to fight and when he's going to fight. One thing, I don't know who he's going to fight, I don't know when he's going to fight, but one thing I do know, and people doubted me when I said it the last time, when Floyd Mayweather is going to fight again, it's going to be another mega-event."
SAY WHAT? What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis? Saul Alvarez (29-0-1, 22 KOs)? You've got to be kidding me. I don't care if they fight in Aztec Stadium with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on the undercard, there's no way whatsoever that Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul Alvarez is a mega-event! It might sell out Aztec Stadium, but I find it hard to believe that fans would actually tune in to a pay-per-view event to watch Floyd fight a guy that most have never even seen or heard of before. I'm going to assume Richard Schaefer was just trying to promote the young prospect by mentioning his name in the same sentence as Mayweather because there's no way Floyd would stoop so low as to fight a guy that he himself has never heard of. That being said, the idea of Mayweather going on some type of world tour to face lesser opposition is alarming, considering that he recently stated, "It's not about the money. It's for the love of the sport." After all, when Mayweather first announced his return, he and his team made it clear that they were back to fight the best. "We have a hit list," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. "We know who the best fighters in the world are and we are going to knock them off, one by one." Well, let me be the first to remind them that Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are some of the best fighters in the world. Fighting anyone other than the best fighters in the world is unacceptable and a direct contradiction to what Team Mayweather has been telling fans.
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