When Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez meet on Saturday night on Showtime pay-per-view it will be for the WBC light middleweight and WBA Super World light middleweight titles currently held by Alvarez. Floyd is coming back up to the division after winning the WBC welterweight title against Robert Garcia in May.
Mayweather vs Canelo: Alvarez says catchweight was forced by Floyd’s camp
Canelo Alvarez says that he was forced into a catchweight for the Floyd Mayweather fight and then told not to talk about it.
Mike Stobe
But the bout won’t be contested at the normal 154 pound light middleweight limit, instead it’s at a 152 pound catchweight.
On Tuesday Alvarez made it clear that the catchweight was all Mayweather’s idea.
”when the (fight) negotiations started, they wanted me to go to 147. I said that’s physically impossible. I couldn’t do it. Then they inched up to 150. I said I can’t do it, that’s impossible. Those days are over. I can’t make that weight anymore, I’ve grown.
”Then they went up to 151. And then finally, so we could make the fight, I said, ‘If anything, I’ll give up two pounds. I’ll go up to 152. I agreed to that. Then they tried to force me to be quiet and not to mention anything that they came up with the weight of 152. And that’s why ... I haven’t said anything until now.
“They said we were idiots, we were stupid, that we were the ones that wanted the catchweight.”
Mayweather’s camp responded by saying the “took advantage of a situation” and that Mayweather’s role in increasing the value of the fight, and thus the amount of money Canelo will make, gives him “the right” to utilize his leverage.
Alvarez has not weighed 152 or under since coming in at 151.5 against Matthew Hatton in 2011.
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