Floyd Mayweather candidly opened up about a huge struggle he had prior to his showdown with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
On September 14, 2013, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, ‘Money’ went head-to-head with the Mexican legend, in a battle of pound-for-pound superstars.
But while some thought that the American might finally face defeat, the reality was anything but. Mayweather, who’d later brand Manny Pacquiao an ‘easy’ fight, dismantled his up-and-coming opponent.
Utilizing his defensive prowess, Mayweather bamboozled his rival, with Canelo swinging and missing for twelve one-sided rounds. But while the American’s performance was excellent, making it to the ring was anything but easy.
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Floyd Mayweather struggled to maintain the weight to fight Canelo Alvarez
In his prime, Floyd Mayweather was so gifted, he could float through the weight-classes, and still beat the best in the business.
At light middleweight, the boxer was undeniably undersized, which is why his fight with Canelo Alvarez, was made two pounds below the traditional 154-pound limit.
Even still, Mayweather only weighed in at 150.5 pounds, but by the time he made it to the ring, he was even less.
In an interview with Fight Hype, he explained: “Yesterday, before I went to bed, I ate a good meal—steak, mashed potato with gravy, broccoli, and then I had my chef come cook pasta with mushrooms and more broccoli.”
This prompted the interviewer to ask whether that was to keep his weight up; the icon replied: “Yes, I drank a lot of water. I woke up, and I weighed 146 pounds. I guess my body operates in a crazy way. I called my chef over again to cook me pasta, and then I had him pick me up a steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli again. Just trying to keep the weight on.
“When I went to the arena, I weighed 149 pounds. So, I went in the fight tonight at 149 pounds, and he weighed 165 pounds.”
Mayweather was then questioned about whether he felt the size of Canelo, to which he replied: “I think it’s really about the skills. I don’t really think it’s about the weight.”
Oscar De La Hoya makes shocking claim about the financial split for his fight with Floyd Mayweather
By the time Mayweather fought Canelo, he was undoubtedly the biggest earner in boxing.
However, when he went toe-to-toe with Oscar De La Hoya back in 2007, that certainly wasn’t the case.
At the time, ‘The Golden Boy’ was the star of the show, with the combination puncher taking home the bigger cheque.
Now, De La Hoya has opened up about how much Mayweather and he got paid.