SULAIMAN BELIEVES ALVAREZ IS MAKING A BIG MISTAKE FIGHTING MAYWEATHER
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 31 May 2013
World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman in his opinion believes Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is "making a big mistake" in fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather and Alvarez both confirmed the fight would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 14.
Mayweather in a tweet said "I chose my opponent for September 14th and it's Canelo Alvarez. I'm giving the fans what they want. It will be at the MGM Grand."
For his part the 22 year old Alvarez who, like Mayweather is undefeated said ?It's been talked about for a while now, and now that it's signed, sealed and delivered, I am very happy. I will be the first to beat Floyd."
Sulaiman told the Manila Standard the WBC hasn't been advised about the fight but told us "It would be foolish for Alvarez to fight Mayweather because it's too soon for him."
Mayweather holds both the world welterweight and junior middleweight titles although the fight will take place at a catchweight of 152 pounds with the pound-for-pound king moving up from 147 pounds which was the weight at which he scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero last May 4 also at the MGM Grand in a fight where Guerrero hadn't a ghost of a chance.
Sulaiman feels the same about Alvarez. He said Alvarez "can take the punches of Mayweather but I don't think he can match the boxing excellence of Floyd who is a superior boxer."
Despite his personal views the WBC president admitted that the fight would draw "tremendous interest in Mexico and the United States."
At the same time Sulaiman said that eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao who returns to the ring at the plush Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Macau on November 24 against Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios "should fight Mayweather in the first quarter of 2014."
The WBC president insisted a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight "is what everybody wants to see" although Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN's Dan Rafael "This is the big one, the only one. It's the one everyone wants to see."
Because of the Mayweather-Alvarez title fight, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who had scheduled the Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez WBO welterweight title fight on the same day at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas told us he has moved the showdown to October 12.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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