Canelo Alvarez looking to take back 'Mexican dates' from Floyd Mayweather

Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya have a mission: take back the Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence weekend dates, which are currently owned, as it were, by Floyd Mayweather. The pair discussed their intentions at yesterday's presser to announce Alvarez's new long-term deal at HBO.

Oscar De La Hoya: "Canelo Alvarez gave me my marching orders, and that is fighting in May of next year and in September of next year. So, as his promoter, I have to do whatever I can to make that happen for him."

Canelo Alvarez: "Obviously, those two dates are very important. They're Mexican dates. I want to recoup that. I want to recuperate those dates and take them back to the Mexican people. There should always be a Mexican fighting on those dates...I've always wanted to fight on Cinco De Mayo and on Sept. 16.

"With me being a Mexican National, those are the dates that I've always celebrated and the dates that my countrymen have celebrated. So I'm excited that I can now finally fulfill my dreams of continuing that tradition that many great fighters laid out. That plan and that tradition is to fight on May 5 and in September. So I'm excited to give the fans what they want to see."

Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KO) has plenty of stroke and a lot of influence, as does De La Hoya, as does HBO, but honestly, wresting the May and September dates from Floyd Mayweather is going to be a task that requires a lot more than simply being from Mexico. Mayweather is still worth a lot more money than Alvarez, and if he wants those dates, he's going to keep those dates.

Unless Alvarez wants to fight off pay-per-view against a Floyd pay-per-view, it's hard to imagine PPV distributors siding with Alvarez, who won't bring in Floyd-level money. And there will never be head-to-head pay-per-views. Please don't start that again. Distributors are not going to run two boxing pay-per-views at the same time. There's no reason that would happen.

Anyway, this makes for good headlines, but that's about it. Unless Floyd Mayweather decides to not fight on May 2 and September 12 (or 19) next year, there's not much anyone can do to take those dates.