On September 14, 2013, a 36-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. thoroughly dominated the 23-year-old rising star, WBC and The Ring super welterweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Mayweather improved to 45-0 while Canelo suffered his first defeat and fell to 42-1-1.It legitimately changed the trajectory of Canelo’s career and a one-sided defeat became the catalyst for the young Mexican fighter to become the sport’s biggest star and the face of boxing.It’s a position he still holds a decade later as he prepares to defend his undisputed super middleweight titles for his September 30 showdown with Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas.Heading into the fight, Mayweather was in the second of his unprecedented six-fight deal with Showtime where Mayweather would need to fight six times in 30 months to earn a minimum of $200 million.“Money” Mayweather had departed HBO for Showtime and, to that point, hadn’t fought more than once a year since 2007, when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Many were skeptical that a 36-year-old fighter would fight at that frequency and questioned the level of opposition he would face.After knocking off Robert Guerrero in May to what was reportedly a lukewarm PPV buy-rate for Mayweather standards, there was curiosity regarding who the undefeated fighter would choose for his next opponent.To the surprise of many, Mayweather opted to face a fighter who was 13 years his junior and perceived to be bigger and stronger than anyone he had faced in recent memory.
Perhaps motivated to prove that he was still the biggest star in the sport, he selected the man who many believed would be the next big thing in boxing. And, to his credit, he also proved that age was nothing but a number when it comes to Floyd Mayweather.For Canelo, he needed to accept the fight at a 152-pound catchweight — two pounds lighter than the 154-pound weight limit — in order for it to be made and that decision ended up being a lesson that he would carry in future fights.The young boxer had just turned in an exceptional performance against Austin Trout to unify the super welterweight titles and was two fights removed from dominating Shane Mosley, who memorably hurt Mayweather more than any other fighter had when they met in 2010.
Canelo’s arrow was pointing up while Mayweather was expected to be in decline.
That ideology couldn’t be further from the truth come fight night.
