by David P. Greisman
Canelo Alvarez would be willing to have a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a fight with Manny Pacquiao, though not at a catch-weight.
Mayweather topped Alvarez by majority decision in 2013 in a bout held at a catch-weight of 152 pounds. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao largely compete at welterweight. Alvarez is a junior middleweight whose past three fights have been held slightly above the 154-pound limit, at a contractual limit of 155 pounds.
“I’m willing to fight anybody. He’s [Pacquiao] not ready to move up to my weight class, and I respect that. He shouldn’t be given any advantages,” Alvarez said after his third-round knockout of James Kirkland this past Saturday in Houston, speaking through translator Eric Gomez, vice president of Golden Boy Promotions.
Alvarez wouldn’t agree to a second bout with Mayweather under the terms that brought about their first fight.
“Never again,” Alvarez was quoted as saying. “That was a hard lesson I had to learn.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
