By Rick Reeno

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has confirmed to BoxingScene.com that Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26KOs) will return to the ring in 2013....not once, but twice. Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions have reserved the dates of May 4th and September 14th for Mayweather's 2013 double. Both fights will take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand.

"It's great news for fight fans because 2013 will be the biggest [events] yet. Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions are holding the records for the biggest pay-per-views, but I think this year in 2013 - we are going to create new records because Floyd Mayweather has indicated to us that he wants to fight twice next year," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

"It's obviously terrific news. It's obviously very fitting that the sport's biggest star has two dates that are traditionally the two biggest pay-per-view dates - Cinco De Mayo and September 15th....this year it's May 4th and September 14th to be exact. Mayweather informed us. We have worked with Mayweather Promotions to inform the industry, the satellite and cable operators - to reserve those dates. Those dates are reserved."

There are several potential options for Mayweather's next fight. The two obvious frontrunners are both promoted by Golden Boy - WBC 154-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (41-0-1, 30KOs) and WBC interim-welterweight champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (31-1-1, 18KOs). Mayweather holds the WBA's super title at 154 and the WBC's full welterweight title.

Canelo has already held meetings with Golden Boy and made it clear that he wants to fight on May 4th and September 14th, and prefers Mayweather for May. The biggest scenario would be a Mayweather-Canelo showdown. But there is also another scenario, which insiders believe is more likely, where Mayweather and Canelo potentially appear on the same event, in separate fights, and then meet each other on Mexican Independence Day weekend, which aligns with the September 14th date.

"As it relates to the opponent, I'm not going o let the cat out of the bag. I have a pretty good idea on what's going to happen and we are working diligently towards that. It would be premature to talk about it or speculate on it. Like I said, I have a pretty good idea on what's going to happen because this is obviously a process which didn't start yesterday. We pretty far ahead, but as it relates to the opponent - we want to make sure that when we announce it we have everything worked out properly and the same is with the networks. There is tremendous interest from HBO and there is tremendous interest from Showtime. We'll see where the fight is going to end up at," Schaefer said.

Every significant fight in Mayweather's career has been showcased by HBO. But the possibility does exist, if the numbers make sense, for Mayweather's next fight to land on Showtime. In 2013, Golden Boy started working very closely with Showtime. The network has been working very hard to secure the biggest names, and the biggest fights, which in turn produced record television ratings in 2012.

"Well you know his nickname is "Money," so I think at this point fighters are looking carefully at what's going on and they are deciding to fight where they feel they are going to end up with the most amount of money," Schaefer said.

Schaefer expects a record year, not only for Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions, but also for the sport of boxing - because he firmly believes the return of Mayweather in 2013, twice, to create a major buzz for the industry.

"I'm, excited and thrilled to be working with Floyd. Floyd is my friend. We have made history together and we are going to continue to make history together with his team, the Money Team. It's going to be a fantastic 2013 and really it's sort of like an early Christmas gift for fights fans and sport fans to know that Floyd Mayweather is not only going to return to the ring, but to do so twice next year," Schaefer said.