Floyd Mayweather vs Saul “Canelo” Alvarez: Fight of the year live on SuperSport

It’s fight week and SuperSport will continue its big build-up all the way until the opening bell early on Sunday 15 September (SS6 and 6HD, from 2am WAT) when Floyd Mayweather takes on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

With the popular 24/7 All Access showing all week, the fourth and final episode will be shown on Saturday 15 September night (SS5 and 5HD, 9pm WAT), just hours before one of the biggest bouts in boxing history.

Floyd Mayweather Jnr, 36, is the greatest fighter of his generation, an unbeaten (44-0) phenomenon who has contested 21 world championship fights and won them all. In all, he has defeated 18 world champions who include Oscar De La Hoya, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Diego Corrales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Genaro Hernandez.

He’s also the richest fighter of all time, earning $41.5 million for this fight alone. Little wonder they call him “Money”.

The best pure boxer of his era, Mayweather brings a great skills set to the Las Vegas fight. His defence, counter-punching and fluid movement are excellent, and when these are combined with his fighting instinct and power, it makes him almost unbeatable.

For many, Canelo Alvarez, 23, presents Mayweather with his greatest test. The flame-haired Mexican is bigger and stronger than the American and also has power and speed in his arsenal.

Alvarez turned pro at 15 and despite his youth, he has already had 43 fights under his belt. He, too, is undefeated, although his calibre of opponent doesn’t come close to the quality of Mayweather’s.

“He’s not the future,” Mayweather says of Alvarez. “But he’s still going to be a star after he loses on Saturday. When I’m in a fight like this I’m not losing.

“He’s young and I’ve seen guys 30 and 0, a guy 26-0, but you’ve never seen a guy 44-0 versus a guy 42 and 0. Like I said before, in Mexico he’s a young rock star and everybody that they put in front of him he was able to go out there and do his job.

“He’s done it in a tremendous fashion. He’s a good, strong, solid boxer and I mean, it’s a very intriguing match-up. Me not even being a boxing fan, I would want to see two undefeated fighters at the top competition against one another.”

The live gate will produce almost $20 million, beating the previous record Mayweather established when he fought De La Hoya in 2007.

The tournament is stacked with big fights, not least the man undercard bout that pits unified undefeated junior-welterweight champion Danny Garcia against heavy-hitting Lucas Matthysse. It promises to be a thrilling contest that might even steal the thunder.