By Rick Reeno

According to Stephen Espinoza, the General Manager for Showtime Sports, WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26KOs) is indeed gearing up for a planned return on September 14th at the MGM Grand.

Earlier this year, Mayweather signed an exclusive six-fight agreement with Showtime. Last Saturday night at the MGM, Mayweather entered the ring for the first fight of that deal and won a twelve round unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero.

There are circulating rumors in the industry that Mayweather is likely not going to fight in September, which is mostly based on the boxer’s history of fighting once a year since 2009. The last time Mayweather fought twice within a single year was in 2007.

Espinoza revealed that Mayweather was recently in New York and met with Showtime on Wednesday. During that meeting, Mayweather once again voiced his intention of fighting in September.

"I think it's very, very likely [that Floyd will fight in September]. Floyd has been saying it for months. He was in New York earlier this week and stopped by the Showtime offices on Wednesday, and said it yet again. Floyd intends to be very active, which includes going right back into the ring on September 14th,” Espinoza told BoxingScene.com.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer recently advised BoxingScene.com that he already began discussions to make a mega-fight between Mayweather and WBC/WBA 154-pound champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30KOs). Nearly every insider views Mayweather-Canelo as one of the most lucrative, if not the most lucrative, fight in boxing at the moment.

“I know Schaefer is hard at work already, trying to hammer out a deal for Mayweather and Canelo. There is a lot of negotiating that needs to be done, but I believe both fighters want that fight, as their next fight, and I am very optimistic that [fight] will happen,” Espinoza said.

If Mayweather proceeds on September 14, his move would force the rescheduling of a planned welterweight fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley, taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas and carried by HBO Pay-Per-View. Top Rank, the promoter of the planned card, already has an alternative date set aside in October – in the event Mayweather plans to fight in September.