Mayweather vs Cotto: Canelo Alvarez Not Wrong About Money's Choice of Cotto

We can all be honest about who we wanted Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to fight next. Every last one of us wanted to see him fight Manny Pacquiao.

Sadly, that's not the fight we're going to get. Not this year, anyway. Maybe ever.

Instead, Money struck a deal to fight Miguel Cotto on May 5th, the same date on which he was trying to get Pac-Man to agree to. Since that fight couldn't be made, Mayweather chose the next best opponent.

Or did he?

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is not so sure. Canelo thinks Mayweather picked Cotto because Cotto is not going to put up as much of a fight as he would have.

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"Mayweather has the power to decide [his opponents] and he can do it one day because right now he's sitting on the throne. He chose to fight with Cotto, because he believes that he has less speed, moves a lot less and perhaps because he hasn't been the same [fighter as he was in the past]," Canelo said, according to BoxingScene.com.

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Before we go any further, let's acknowledge that there are a couple of things Canelo is ignoring here.

First, Canelo is ignoring the fact that Mayweather vs. Cotto is a bout that is going to make a lot of money for a lot of people. Mayweather's fights always draw a crowd, and Cotto is by no means an unknown. He's one of the most recognizable and most decorated boxers in the world, and he's been around for a long time.

Make no mistake, this fight is going to do quite well from a business standpoint.

Second, Canelo should show Cotto a little respect. It remains to be seen how he's going to hold up against Mayweather, but Cotto is not some random noob. He's a damn good fighter, and he will take a good whack at putting a blemish on Mayweather's currently unblemished record.

All of this being said, Canelo is not wrong about Cotto. He is not as young as he once was, nor is he as fast or explosive as he once was. He's not over the hill yet, but he's trending in that direction.

Mayweather is too, for that matter. He's still a great boxer, but he's getting up there in years.

Canelo would have posed a completely different challenge for Mayweather. There aren't many fighters out there who are young, experienced and good, but Canelo is one of them. His record stands at 39-0-1 and he's still just 21 years old.

We can take it for granted that Cotto is going to put up a good fight against Mayweather, but Money is going to have the technical and tactical advantage. It's a fight he should win.

Were Mayweather to fight Canelo instead, a Mayweather victory would not be a lock. Canelo has the tools required to beat Mayweather.

We may very well see a Mayweather vs. Canelo fight. BoxingScene.com reported on Tuesday that Canelo has been promised the winner of the Mayweather vs. Cotto bout. If Mayweather wins, Canelo will fight him sometime after Money's pending prison sentence.

But first, Canelo has to beat Shane Mosley. The two are going to fight on the undercard of Mayweather vs. Cotto.

If Canelo doesn't beat Mosley, he'll have no right whatsoever to talk smack.