Alvarez stays patient, focuses on Mosley

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden. But they couldn't agree on the money, and Alvarez, the WBC junior middleweight champion, will instead fight another veteran -- Shane Mosley -- that night.

But that doesn't mean Alvarez has given up hope of facing Mayweather.

"My goal is to fight the best fighter in the world," Alvarez said through an interpreter on a conference call last week. "But right now, my focus is on Shane Mosley. Nothing is going to break my concentration. One fight at a time."

The 21-year-old Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 knockouts) can wait for Mayweather, who will face WBA junior middleweight champ Miguel Cotto in the main event on the Golden Boy Promotions card. But he sees the fight against Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) as a test of all his boxing skills, his ability to adapt during the fight as well as his courage.

"I have to use everything I have because this is a very dangerous fight," Alvarez said. "He's a very experienced fighter, and we're preparing for that. In this fight, I have to take speed, intelligence and power."

Alvarez will be making his fourth title defense since winning the belt March 5, 2011. His most recent win came Nov. 26, when he stopped Kermit Cintron in the fifth round in Mexico City.

But unlike Alvarez's other opponents, Mosley, 40, never has been knocked out.

"I have to believe he is going to come in at his best," Alvarez said of Mosley, who is winless in his past three bouts. "We're putting together our game plan, but things can change after the first round and the game plan goes out the window. So I have to be ready for anything."

■ FLOYD, COTTO PASS -- Mayweather and Cotto were randomly drug tested by the Nevada Athletic Commission on March 27 as part of its out-of-competition program. Both fighters' tests were negative.

■ MGM UNDERCARD -- Undefeated Las Vegas junior welterweight Jessie Vargas and super welterweight Deandre Latimore headline the May 5 undercard. Vargas (18-0, nine KOs) will face Alfonso Gomez (23-5-2, 12 KOs) in a 10-round bout, and Latimore (23-3, 17 KOs) will meet former world champion Carlos Quintana (28-3, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder.

■ MAYWEATHER SPEAKS -- Along with the "24/7" show to hype the Mayweather-Cotto fight, HBO is giving Mayweather an additional platform to promote with "Floyd Mayweather: Speaking Out."

The 30-minute show, which debuts at 10:30 p.m. Saturday after episode two of "24/7," will be hosted by Michael Eric Dyson and is a one-on-one interview with Mayweather.

■ JESSE ON THE ROAD -- Las Vegas super bantamweight Jesse Magdaleno (8-0, five KOs) returns to the ring April 28 in Pomona, Calif., in a six-round bout against Nick Fast (7-1-1, six KOs) of Kansas City, Mo.

Also on the card will be Las Vegas welterweight Anthony Lenk (13-1, seven KOs), who will meet Alberto Herrera (8-5-1, five KOs) in an eight-round bout. The 12-round main event has Roman Gonzalez (31-0, 26 KOs) defending his WBA light flyweight title against Ramon Garcia (16-3-1, nine KOs).

■ SCHAEFER STAYS -- Richard Schaefer has agreed to a contract extension to remain chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions.

Schaefer, who has been with Oscar De La Hoya's company since 2000, will continue to oversee Golden Boy's boxing division and its other business entities.

■ BACK AT TEXAS -- Boxing returns to Texas Station on May 11 with 2004 Olympic silver medalist Yudel Jhonson (12-0, eight KOs) meeting Freddy Hernandez (30-2, 20 KOs) in the 10-round junior middleweight main event.

The Showtime-televised card also will feature Cuban super featherweight Rances Barthelemy (15-0, 11 KOs) against Aalan Martinez (12-1-1, eight KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Tickets are on sale at Texas Station. First bell will be at 7 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.