Mayweather vs Canelo Explained: What Most People Get Wrong

September 14, 2013, wasn't just another Saturday night in Las Vegas. It was a collision of eras. You had Floyd "Money" Mayweather, the 36-year-old defensive wizard who seemingly couldn't be touched, and Saúl "Canelo" Alvarez, the 23-year-old Mexican phenom with red hair and dynamite in his fists. People called it "The One." Honestly, the hype was so thick you could practically feel it vibrating off the MGM Grand walls.

But then the bell rang.

What followed wasn't the competitive "passing of the torch" many fans hoped for. It was a masterclass. Mayweather basically took a young, hungry lion and led him around the ring on a leash for twelve rounds. If you look at the raw numbers, Floyd landed 232 punches to Canelo's 117. He was landing at a 46% clip while Canelo was hitting air 78% of the time. It was clinical. It was, in many ways, the peak of the "Pretty Boy" turned "Money" Mayweather evolution.

The Catchweight Drama Nobody Mentions

Everyone remembers the fight, but people forget the weirdness behind the scenes regarding the scales. The fight was for the light middleweight titles, which usually means a 154-pound limit. But the camp for the Mayweather vs Canelo fight insisted on a catchweight of 152 pounds.

Now, two pounds doesn't sound like much to a normal person. To a professional fighter who is already cutting down from a "walking around" weight of 170-plus, those two pounds are everything. Canelo looked drained at the weigh-in. He hit the 152 mark, sure, but he looked like a ghost of himself. Mayweather, being the smaller man naturally, strolled in at 150.5 pounds.

By the time they stepped into the ring the next night, Canelo had rehydrated to roughly 165 pounds. He was huge. He was significantly bigger than Floyd, who weighed in at exactly 150 on fight night. You'd think that 15-pound advantage would matter, right? It didn't. If anything, the extra weight made Canelo slow. He was chasing a shadow.

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That Infamous Scorecard (The CJ Ross Situation)

We have to talk about CJ Ross. It is arguably the most baffling moment in modern boxing history. After 12 rounds of Mayweather pot-shotting Canelo and making him miss wildly, the announcer read the scores. 117-111 for Mayweather. 116-112 for Mayweather. Standard stuff.

Then came the third card: 114-114.

The arena went quiet for a split second before the boos started. How on earth do you watch that fight and see a draw? Even Canelo, years later, hasn't really defended that scorecard. It was so bad that CJ Ross actually retired from judging shortly after. She’d already been under fire for the Pacquiao-Bradley decision, but this was the final straw. It almost robbed Mayweather of a unanimous decision in a fight where he barely broke a sweat.

Why Canelo Actually Lost (It Wasn't Just "Greenness")

The common narrative is that Canelo was "too green." People say he was just too young. While he was only 23, he already had 43 professional fights. That’s more than some Hall of Famers have in their entire careers.

The real issue was the style matchup. Canelo, at that stage, was a rhythm fighter. He liked to set his feet and trade. Floyd is a rhythm breaker. Every time Canelo thought he had a bead on Floyd, Mayweather would pop him with a lead right hand or a jab to the body and move.

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• Feints: Floyd used his eyes and shoulders to keep Canelo frozen.
• The Lead Right: This was the weapon of the night. Canelo had no answer for it.
• Ring Generalship: Floyd dictated exactly where the fight took place.

Canelo tried to use a high guard to walk Floyd down, but Mayweather just shifted angles and hit him around the guard. It was a high-speed game of chess where one player had twice as many pieces.

The Financial Juggernaut

Let’s talk money, because that’s what this fight was really about for the promoters. This bout shattered records. It generated $150 million in PPV revenue from 2.2 million buys. At the time, that was the highest-grossing fight ever.

Mayweather walked away with a guaranteed $41.5 million, which was unheard of back then. Canelo took home about $12 million. When you factor in the backend percentages, those numbers got even crazier. It proved that even if the fight itself wasn't a "War of the Worlds" type of brawl, the "event" of Mayweather was the biggest thing in sports.

How This Fight Created the Modern Canelo

If Canelo wins this fight in 2013, does he become the legend he is today? Maybe not.

Losing to Mayweather was the best thing that ever happened to Saúl Álvarez. He went back to the gym and basically rebuilt his defensive game from the ground up. If you watch Canelo now, you see shades of Floyd. The head movement, the shoulder rolls, the way he lets punches whistle past his ear—that all started after the Mayweather vs Canelo fight.

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He learned how to be a "thinking" fighter. Before Floyd, he was just a "strong" fighter. There's a massive difference. Experts like Teddy Atlas and Brian Bomac McIntyre have often pointed out that Canelo’s evolution post-2013 is one of the most impressive "refits" in boxing history. He didn't let the loss break him; he used it as a blueprint.

What Most People Get Wrong

The biggest misconception is that Floyd "ducked" Canelo until he was ready. In reality, Floyd took the fight when Canelo was an undefeated, unified champion coming off a huge win against Austin Trout. Canelo was the boogeyman of the division.

Another myth is that the catchweight "ruined" Canelo. While it certainly didn't help, Canelo's team (Golden Boy Promotions at the time) were the ones who suggested the 152-pound limit during negotiations to entice Floyd. They thought they could outplay the master at his own game. They were wrong.

Actionable Takeaways for Boxing Fans

If you’re looking back at this fight to understand the "sweet science," pay attention to these specific details:

• Watch Mayweather’s lead foot: Notice how he almost always keeps it outside of Canelo’s lead foot. This gives him the angle to land the right hand and escape to the side.
• Observe the "Jab to the Chest": Floyd used this constantly to disrupt Canelo’s breathing and stop his forward momentum without having to headhunt.
• Look at Canelo’s face in Round 7: You can see the exact moment he realizes he can’t win. His output drops, and he starts looking for one big shot that never comes.
• Study the shoulder roll: This fight is the ultimate textbook on how to use the "Philly Shell" against a power puncher.

The Mayweather vs Canelo fight remains a polarizing topic in bars and gyms across the world. Some see it as a "boring" clinic, while others see it as the most impressive display of defensive boxing ever caught on film. Regardless of where you stand, it was the night the king stayed the king, and a future legend learned what it actually took to reach the top.