Garcia, Matthysse target Mayweather bout

Unbeaten American Danny Garcia and Argentina's Lucas Matthysse will fight September 14 for two world junior welterweight titles on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's bout against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer announced the Garcia-Matthysse showdown on Thursday with the winner of the bout likely on a collision course with welterweight Mayweather, who steps up to super welterweight to face Alvarez. Matthysse, 34-2 with 32 knockouts, will face Garcia, 26-0 with 16 knockouts, for the US fighter's World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association crowns. And with Matthysse having stopped International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson in the third round of a non-title fight two months ago, the Garcia-Matthysse winner will be regarded as the division's undisputed champion. "We did not have to add this fight. The tickets are already sold," said Schaefer. "This is the most expensive fight ever put second on a pay-per-view card. It took a lot of money to get it done. This is one of the most anticipated fights in the sport." Schaefer said the Mayweather-Alvarez sellout live gate of $19.5 million will break the record set by Mayweather's 2007 victory over Oscar de la Hoya and said seven sponsor deals and non-US telecast sales that are already 40 percent ahead of Mayweather-De la Hoya would help pay for the second major fight. Schaefer said the pay-per-view sales could rival the record of about 2.525 million home buys set by de la Hoya and Mayweather. "We have laid the foundation to have a serious shot at breaking that record as well," he said. "I like our chances." Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe would not say if the Matthysse-Garcia winner will be Mayweather's next opponent. "Everyone in the sport wants to fight Floyd around those weight classes," he said. Source: AFP