Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez are facing different opponents in May, but the two boxing superstars might eventually cross paths again later this year in a rematch.
Mayweather, who will be facing nemesis Manny Pacquiao in their long-awaited super fight on May 2, scored a majority decision win against Alvarez in their welterweight title showdown in September 2013.
After losing to Mayweather in their first fight that generated 2.2 million pay-per-view buys, Alvarez racked up victories against Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo last year. He is set to face James Kirkland in a non-title fight on May 9 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
The Mexican boxing superstar, who holds an impressive 44-1-1 record with 31 knockouts, is hoping that a win against Kirkland will eventually lead to a rematch with Mayweather in the event the reigning pound-for-pound king also wins against Pacquiao in their Cinco de Mayo weekend showdown.
However, Alvarez pointed out that he will only agree to face Mayweather at 154 pounds and not at 152 pounds, which was the required catchweight during their record-setting showdown in September 2013. He insisted his effort to trim down to 152 pounds affected him on fight night.
"Hopefully we can get the Mayweather rematch down the line," Alvarez told ESPN Deportes via Tha Boxing Voice. "The weight affected me the first time. I did learn a lot in that fight. We got experience from that fight. I always try to look at the positives in things. But I know I'm not going to fight in a weight class that's not mine anymore.
Earlier this month, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya also said that they are eyeing a rematch between Mayweather and Alvarez. However, De La Hoya will not make a rushed decision, saying that Alvarez should face a veteran fighter like Miguel Cotto first before considering facing Mayweather again.
"After Kirkland, then Cotto then he will probably gain a lot more experience for a rematch with Mayweather, and would be more interesting. Canelo is here for the long haul," De La Hoya said via BoxingNews24.
Alvarez was linked to a showdown against Cotto earlier this year, but talks for the World Boxing Council middleweight title fight went down after the Puerto Rican declined to decide before the deadline set by De La Hoya and Canelo.
While they failed to finalize the fight in January, De La Hoya insisted that they are very interested in re-opening talks about the Cotto vs Alvarez showdown because boxing fans have been calling for it.
