Canelo Alvarez Accuses Floyd Mayweather Jr. of Fight Manipulation; Money Team Forces Catchweight

WBC Light Middleweight king Canelo Alvarez finally revealed the reasons behind the catchweight clause in his upcoming showdown with pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. during Wednesday's final pre-fight press conference at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 23-year-old Alvarez didn't mince words in saying that Mayweather and his team manipulated the terms of the fight by forcing him to agree on the 152-pound catchweight.

"I'll tell you the truth of what happened," Alvarez said in Spanish through translator Eric Gomez via USA Today. "Why would I give up the weight? I'm at 154. I'm the 154-pound champion.

"I wouldn't do that. But when the (fight) negotiations started, they wanted me to go to 147. I said that's physically impossible. I couldn't do it. Then they inched up to 150. I said I can't do it, that's impossible. Those days are over. I can't make that weight anymore, I've grown."

Alvarez also added that Mayweather's camp asked him not to disclose the negotiations publicly.

"Then they went up to 151. And then finally, so we could make the fight, I said, 'If anything, I'll give up two pounds. I'll go up to 152. I agreed to that. Then they tried to force me to be quiet and not to mention anything that they came up with the weight of 152. And that's why ... I haven't said anything until now.

"They said we were idiots, we were stupid, that we were the ones that wanted the catchweight," said Canelo, who will reportedly earn a guaranteed fight purse of $12 million.

Meanwhile, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe admitted the negotiations to force Canelo to drop from his natural weight did happen, but explained that they only used it to take advantage of the situation.

Mayweather usually fights at 147 pounds.

"We just took advantage of a situation. It's no different from basketball, football or baseball," he said. "You're always going to put your opposition at a disadvantage, if you can. You break 'em down and you go in for the kill." 

Alvarez and Mayweather are set to meet each other inside the ring as they figth for the WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Light Middleweight titles on September 14 at the MGM Grand Garden.