Mayweather vs Cotto: Canelo Alvarez Says No Firm Deal in Place to Face Winner

Despite an earlier statement that he had a deal to face the Mayweather vs Cotto winner (should he be successful against Shane Mosley), Chris Robinson of the Examiner reports that no such deal is in place, according to Alvarez:

"No, that’s not true," said Alvarez. "There’s nothing concrete. It’s a dream that I have. Obviously I want to dream and I want to dream big. Hopefully it can happen in the future, but no, it’s not true."

There's the off-chance (and it's an off-chance) that Canelo does have a deal, but just isn't saying so for whatever reason, but I don't think he needs anything in writing, anyway. The way he put it before, he wanted that condition in his contract to "accept" fighting Mosley on the undercard, as he feels he's a main event star (and he is), but it wasn't so much to guarantee the fight.

And that makes sense, because I don't believe Canelo really needs a guarantee. He's right there in line already.

Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KO) is a phenom in a marketing sense, and a promising young fighter in the ring. At 21 (he turns 22 in July), he's looking to take his biggest scalp, even though it's badly weathered, against Mosley, and if he wins as he's being lined up to do, the cold, hard reality is that Floyd Mayweather, favored to beat Cotto in their main event, doesn't have many viable options.

Let's be real here:

1. Mayweather only fights Golden Boy fighters. Period. Frame it however makes you feel best, but he only fights Golden Boy fighters since facing Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Ortiz -- all Golden Boy guys. Cotto, a promotional free agent, and Mayweather, technically one himself, are both fighting under the Golden Boy banner. (At least Miguel Cotto Promotions is real, it seems, unlike Mayweather Promotions, which is a logo on the poster.)
2. Golden Boy is quickly running out of guys for Floyd to face, just like Top Rank has pretty much tapped the keg on Manny Pacquiao's options. There's a reason Top Rank had to go out and pilfer Mosley and Marquez for Manny's last two fights, and a reason they're kind of rushing a Tim Bradley fight on June 9. They don't have anyone else left as a viable option. Golden Boy doesn't either, really.

That's where Alvarez steps in. Amir Khan is another guy who could be in the running, but Alvarez with a win over Mosley is a hotter name. Khan's stock took a huge hit with his loss to Lamont Peterson in December, and even if he claims their rematch, I don't think he's an easier sell than Alvarez would be. Alvarez is just a bigger star, a physically bigger man, and won't have the blemishes that Khan does have and can't erase. I guess Mayweather could rematch Victor Ortiz, should Ortiz beat Andre Berto again on June 23, but would he want to?

From what I can tell, all Canelo has to do is keep winning. If he does, his turn at-bat against Mayweather is coming soon enough, and a contractual guarantee won't be necessary.