Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez All Access Episode 2 recap

The most telling part of this episode came when a producer asked Floyd Mayweather if he heard that his upcoming opponent Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was sending sparring partners home because they couldn't take the punishment.

Mayweather cut her off, saying he doesn't care about what happens in Canelo's camp and that he is not a sparring partner. His message was delivered very clearly. Don't expect a sparring partner's mentality or skill when the bell rings on September 14.

Here's more from Showtime's All Access, episode 2:

Best Spoken Line, Floyd Mayweather: "In 1996, I received $25,000 for my first pro fight, my first four-round fight. I feel like in '96 I was crawling. Now I'm running."

Best Spoken Line, Canelo Alvarez: "We're going to be smart and fight intelligently. But you can't have a specific strategy until you go in and realize what's in front of you in the ring."

Best Spoken Line, Mayweather, Part 2: "We are fighting at 152 (pounds) but it's really not about the weight, it's about the skills. When it's all said and done, skills pay the bills."

The scenic view: Opening shots of Las Vegas.

Training Days: Great camera work on the Canelo training sequence in Big Bear.

Best written line: Amidst the blur of showmanship that accompanies any Mayweather fight, it's impossible to forget the unique physical challenge he poses in the ring.

Best supporting cast: Leonard Ellerbe. The typically low-key Ellerbe takes Team Canelo to task for agreeing to fight Mayweather at a catch weight of 152 pounds. He uses words like "inept" and "idiot."

Other items of note

* Don King at the Mayweather boxing gym. There has to be some kind of angle there.

* A lot of people are turned off when Mayweather flashes wads of cash on television. Much of the opening sequence was Floyd explaining why he gives his family members a lot of money. And really, isn't it what most people in his position would do? The only difference is, he does it in front of the cameras. "The American dream is to make a lot of money and take care of your loved ones," he said. "I always want my family to have the finer things in life...  I'm giving back to the people I am supposed to give back to. I worked hard, I earned it, so I am able to spend it like I want to spend it."

* Thought the good-luck owl was cool until they unveiled the Canelo shrine at training camp.

* Glad to see that Shane Mosley resisted the urge to spar with Alvarez. He doesn't need to be inside a ring any more.

* Episode 2 brought the return of the Mayweather situp. An incredible exercise.

* Oscar de la Hoya says, "When I fought Mayweather, I laid out the blueprint (on how to beat him), yes they gave him the decision, he beat me, but the blueprint is right there. I took it out of the vault and handed it over to Canelo." De la Hoya is right. He could have gotten the decision if he closed stronger. But it remains to be seen if Canelo is as good as Oscar. He may have the blueprint, but he has to execute it.

* A last thought on Ellerbe's tirade. It was a mixed message coming out of the Mayweather camp. In the same segment, Floyd said it was not about the weight, but the skill. Then Ellerbe slammed Canelo's camp for agreeing to fight at two pounds less than the super welterweight limit. Too much in this era is made of weight differential. Emile Griffith weighed 150 1/2 pounds when he beat Dick Tiger for the middleweight title in 1966. He gave away nine and a half pounds.

And perhaps the catch weight was a way for Golden Boy Promotions to get Mayweather to agree to the fight. In 1988, Sugar Ray Leonard agreed to fight Donny Lalonde for both the WBC super middleweight (168 pounds) and light heavyweight (175) titles. The catch was, that Lalonde, a natural light heavy, had to come in at the super middleweight limit. Dave Wolf, Lalonde's manager, made sure his fighter weighed 167 for his previous fight light heavyweight title defense. But when he got on the scale at the official weigh in, he had weights in his sweat pants and he officially weighed 175 pounds, thus leading the Leoanard camp to think they had a huge advantage in requiring Lalonde to lose weight and fight at 168.