Canelo Alvarez standing firm: I'll fight on May 2 and September 12

There are two bankable big Saturdays per year in the U.S. and Mexican boxing market: the first Saturday in May, and the Saturday before Mexican Independence Day in September. Those dates have belonged to Floyd Mayweather for the last two years. Canelo Alvarez is determined to change that.

"As I've said and I'll say it again. I am going to fight on May 2 and I'm not going to move from the date. Everything being maneuvered is to fight on May 2 and September 12, and I'm not going to back away from those dates for nothing."

Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KO) wants to "take back" what he feels are Mexican boxing dates, a move that, as we've discussed before, is easier said than done. If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight on May 2, it's really hard to push him off of that date. The only option might be Alvarez fighting in Mexico, and off pay-per-view in the United States. As popular as Canelo is, he is still not on Floyd's level in terms of money in the States.

An aggressive move from HBO, however, could be to use Alvarez on May 2 to counter a Mayweather pay-per-view, with Canelo fighting on regular HBO. That would mean that Miguel Cotto would not be Canelo's opponent on that date -- unless an insane amount of money were thrown at a non-PPV fight, the likes of which we haven't seen in years. It would have to be someone lesser, perhaps that Joshua Clottey that was originally scheduled for December 6.

As it stands right now, Alvarez is the next big money star in boxing. But is he ready to push Mayweather off of the coveted dates that Floyd prefers?