By Jordan V Marry: Undefeated Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30KO’s) has made it abundantly clear that Floyd “Money” Mayweather (43-0, KO’s) is his #1 choice for his next bout, scheduled May 5, 2013. The majority of boxing fans as well as writers consider this to be a tall order for the talented 22 year old and an overly optimistic expectation considering the fact that he has not done nearly enough to earn a shot at the pound for pound king based on his recent competition.
Alvarez gave 40 year old Shane Mosley the most brutal beating of his career and looked unstoppable during his 5 round destruction of light welterweight Josesito Lopez, but these fighters couldn’t show him anything close to what he would experience against the supremely skilled Mayweather. And this is precisely why Money May needs to cash in on this PPV super fight now, before the bigger, younger, and much more powerful, Canelo becomes way too much for the aging Mayweather to handle.
If Mayweather fights Canelo in 2013 I would expect it to look very similar to the recent Middleweight Championship fight between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., with Mayweather nailing his less experienced opponent at will with lightning fast power-punches from start to finish. The larger Canelo may be able to handle Money’s best shots for 12 rounds, but every time he misses, Mayweather will make him pay, step to the side, and do it over again. But unlike Chavez Jr., Canelo has not yet come close to reaching his prime.
Despite being known as an all offense power puncher, Canelo actually takes a very pugilistic approach to the game. His defense and head movement has improved dramatically in his last few fights, and against Mosley he showed the ability to throw sharp counter punches, which is why he was able to land a staggering 57% of his power punches. Against Lopez, Canelo put his brilliant variety of combinations on display. Rather than just relying on his devastating power, Alvarez focuses on placing his shots in such way that one punch sets up the next, constantly switching between the head and body.
Another reason why Canelo will present a threat to Mayweather is his tremendous size advantage. I don’t think most casual fans realize how much smaller Floyd is than most of his opponents. Honestly I would consider him to be more of a natural 140lb fighter who has been fighting at 147 and 154 because that’s where the big money fights are. This sentiment was echoed by his father, and former trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. in an interview with Percy Crawford of fighthype.com. Floyd Sr. stated that his son “took a chance twice” by fighting at 154 and he “wouldn’t want to see him do that again.” It is likely that Canelo would out-weight Mayweather by close to 20lbs on fight night, which would an immensely difficult obstacle for Floyd to overcome, especially when you consider the fact that he has become increasingly less mobile in that latter stages of his career.
“Money” Mayweather is not only smart inside the ring but also as a businessman. His goal is to select the fights that will earn himself the maximum reward with the least amount of risk to his health and his perfect record. Aside from Manny Pacquiao, Alvarez is probably the biggest PPV fight out there for Floyd. If he accepts the challenge on May 5th of next year it should be easy money for him. By 2014 Canelo may appear a bit more threatening but still beatable. But if Floyd waits till the end of 2015 when he is 38, and the Mexican star is just coming into his physical prime at 25, he is not going to want to be anywhere near a boxing ring with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Comments are closed.