By Dan Henderson: Since the fight was announced, I like many got excited by the prospect of what could potentially be a record breaking night for boxing. In a classic scenario we will see the the young pretender challenge the future hall of famer, it for me is an intriguing battle between a fighter with a love/hate relationship with the boxing world and a fighter carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation but who will come out on top? In this article I will try and break it down.
We will start with the challenger, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has on paper a very impressive record consisting of 42 wins 31 coming by way of stoppage 0 defeats and 1 draw but he has drawn a lot of criticism with regards to his opposition he has faced since becoming world champion. Mathew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez, Kermit Cintron, Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez to name them all but he stepped up when he defeated Austin Trout in a WBA/WBC unification fight and it appears that this propelled him to his shot against Mayweather, I use the word appear because it would seem that it was more to do with his popularity amongst the pro boxing nation of Mexico but we’ll leave that for others to ponder.
So what advantages does Canelo bring to the table? He has a size advantage, an age advantage and he is the harder puncher but in my opinion that’s about it, will it be enough on the night? It could well be. There is massive pressure on his young shoulders as he attempts to do what no one else has done in defeating Mayweather, many see Canelo as the only one who can beat Mayweather outside of Manny Pacquiao.
We turn our attention to the p4p no1 fighter in the world, Floyd ‘Money ’ Mayweather. We know what we’ll get with him and I fully expect him to use his superior hand speed, athleticism and defensive prowess to win over the distance. Many including myself thought Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero would give Floyd a stern test but it was anything but, Mayweather went on to win a lopsided points decision.
A lot has been said about his age but what many seem to forget is that he keeps himself in tremendous shape all year round and this statement is backed up by fighters who often train at the Mayweather Boxing Club who say he works hard every day and lets not forget another who keeps himself in great shape in Bernard Hopkins who has consistently defied the odds with his victories in recent years.
My conclusion is that Floyd will win via decision but it won’t be as easy as the Mayweather fans think and I fully expect Canelo to give him his hardest test yet. One positive for Canelo if he loses is that he is only 23 and will go on to be a PPV star and he will likely move up to 160lbs and challenge for titles.
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