By Victor Candelario: Don’t me wrong me and boxing fans alike would love to see Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) take on the #1 pound for pound boxer in the sport Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr (47-0-0 26 KOs) and see if he can hand Floyd the first loss of his career but lets be realistic, the fight has lost a ton of its luster. Both fighters have showed in recent fights to be well past there primes, and if the fight were to occur I can see a ton of excuses as to why Floyd or Pacquiao were defeated coming from fans.
Just to name the two most common arguments that would be made, Floyd fans would say Floyd lost because he was past his prime , and Manny fans would say Manny was past his prime should he lose. So neither fighter at this point would get the same credit for defeating the other as they would have 7 years ago, when they were both at the top of the sport, at there best.
While I’d still love to see that fight(them being 37 years old or 30) I can name 5 fights off the top of my head that I feel would be amazing fights, should they of course, be made. (NOTE: That for the most part I will be using younger in there prime fighters for these match-ups, the oldest fighter I’ll probably use in here is Miguel Cotto, I will also give my predictions on who I think will win and in the comment box I would LOVE to hear everyone’s own predictions on who they think will win and why)
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez(41-1-1 31 KOs) VS Gennady “God of War” Golovkin (30-0-0, 27 KOs)
Let me be the first to say this would easily be the most important and dangerous fight of both Canelo, and Golovkins career. They are tailor made for one another and a meeting down the line seems inevitable. If Golovkin can string together a few more impressive knockouts, the PPV numbers would be insane and too difficult for any boxing fan to not pay for so not only is the match-up a great one, but there IS money to be made here for promoters and so on. The fight itself is a tough one, only because I have yet to see a fighter test either fighters chins, as neither fighter has been seriously hurt in there careers. But for those that say Golovkin gets ducked Canelo has recently stated he wouldn’t mind fighting Golovkin when the time comes.
Speed Advantage-Stalemate
Both Golovkin and Alvarez aren’t 2 of the fastest fighters to do it, but neither are slugs when punching. I think there speed is just about even and it will all come down to who can time the other better.
Power Advantage-Gennady Golovkin
I think this one is self explanatory in 30 fights Golovkin has knocked out 27 of everyone hes stepped in front of, if you don’t know he has one of the highest KO percentages in boxing and it seems like he can hurt just about anyone who steps in front of him, the question is can he hurt Canelo? NOTE: Canelo’s power is also up there with the best of them kn0cking out 31 of the 41 guys hes faced, the difference is Golovkin looks more dominant when he knocks guys out which gives him the advantage, another pending question, can he hurt Golovkin?
Stamina Advantage-Stalemate
Golovkin rarely sees the later rounds (usually ending the fights by KO early) and Canelo has been shown (in my opinion) to fade a bit in the later rounds seeing as we don’t know how GGG would hold up in the later rounds I left it a stalemate.
Chin Advantage-Stalemate
The main question going into this fight would be can Canelo take Golovkin’s punches and vice versa ? They both have power, they both have never been extremely hurt, in this fight that would change but for who ? Or will both taste the canvas? Its possible.
Winner- Gennady Golovkin TKO 10-11th Round
I think regardless of the outcome this fight would be amazing, I’m going to go with Gennady on this one, its a tough one, both these fighters love this type of in the pocket fight (Canelo has shown frustration against boxers Floyd, and Lara). I think they both hurt each other in this fight, I think they both score a knockdown at some point, but I think Canelo fades late and Golovkin puts him away. This fight is up in the air, we don’t know whose chin is gonna hold up better or how they’ll take each others power its simply a prediction, and I don’t think its a bad one. What do you guys think?
Keith “One Time” Thurman (23-0-1, 21 KOs) VS Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0-0, 17 KOs)
This fight most likely won’t happen, I don’t think Danny or anybody else in the welterweight division wants any part of Thurman, the dudes a beast. It also requires Garcia to move up from light welterweight to welterweight which I have no doubts he will do (there is nobody for him at light welterweight except Lamont Peterson, and Adrien Broner) . But the Thurman fight is high risk, low reward Garcia is not gonna be getting enough money to risk his zero fighting Thurman. These 2 are also tailor made for one another and should they keep winning this fight should be made somewhere down the line.
Speed Advantage- Stalemate
Again, Danny isn’t the fastest, neither is Thurman, they both have decent hand speed but neither is lightning fast (If you got a chance to see either fighter fight recently). Timing again will determine who lands first in this fight.
Power Advantage- Thurman
Another fighter with one of the highest KO percentages in boxing today, Keith Thurman, has knocked out 21 opponents out of the 23 fighters he has faced. I’m not knocking Danny Garcia’s heavy hands but Keith Thurmans hands seem heavier to me.
Stamina Advantage- Stalemate
Both hold up pretty well in the later rounds when they do get to the later rounds(A lot of both fighters fights end early). So really this is up in the air, will we see one fighter fade late ?
Chin Advantage-Thurman
I saw Danny Garcia get visibly stunned in the later rounds against Zab Judah by a straight that landed flush, though he recovered easily and was never in any real trouble, Thurman has way more power then Judah, if Thurman lands a straight flush in the same spot it would do far worse damage then Judah did.
Winner- Keith “One Time” Thurman TKO 8th Round or Unanimous Decision
Sooner if he can land something big early, Thurman’s resume is shallow because fighters duck him, Garcia’s resume is shallow because he ducks fighters. There are 7 fights off the top of my head (Including this one) that Garcia can make happen and instead he opts to fight an undersized outmatched Rod Salka (Not Impressed). I think Thurman blasts him out in the 8th round either by referee stoppage or Angel Garcia throws in the towel cause he can’t see his son taking a beating. If anything else Garcia stays away after tasting the canvas survives and Thurman wins a decision. What do you guys think?
Miguel Cotto (39-4-0, 32 KOs) VS Canelo Alvarez (41-1-1, 31 KOs)
This fight is the most probable fight I feel there is a 90% chance this fight is made. Miguel Cotto is my favorite boxer but I will not be biased in my prediction in fact I will be blatantly honest. This is the closest thing to a Mayweather/Pacquiao mega fight. Trust me it will break a lot of records, and whether Cotto wins or lose it will be a war , fight of the year contender, and closer then a lot of you think.
Power Advantage- Canelo Alvarez
In my opinion Cotto hasn’t carried the same power moving up in weight even despite his rout of Sergio Martinez. While Cotto of course still boasts heavy hands, I feel as though Canelo has more power and he is the obvious bigger, wider, stronger fighter.
Speed Advantage- Miguel Cotto
Miguel Cotto is a balance of Speed and Power Not only do I feel he is a tad bit faster then Canelo, but he also has better footwork, and can move around the ring better then Canelo (Watch the 2nd Margarito fight).
Stamina Advantage- Stalemate
I have seen with my own eyes both fade late in fights not to the extent of where they are shot but they just aren’t as quick or throwing with as much authority as early in the fight.
Chin Advantage- Canelo Alvarez
In the fights Canelo has been in (Even though he hasn’t yet fought alot of good fighters yet, hes young) I have yet to see him hurt by anyone. If he has been hurt fill me in in the comments section. Miguel Cotto has a really good chin but he has been hurt by Manny, and stunned by Floyd, (NOTE: I didn’t count the first Margarito fight as I firmly believe Margarito cheated and no one can tell me otherwise)
Winner- Canelo Alvarez TKO 10-11th round OR Miguel Cotto by Decision
If Cotto can stick to the outside similar to when he fought Antonio and utilize his footwork and boxing skill, he can sneak away with a decision (Canelo has been known to struggle against boxers who stick to the outside) but I still see this fight ending (sadly) with the referee stepping in and stopping this fight in the 10th or 11th round and Canelo winning by TKO. I firmly believe though that this fight will be A LOT closer then what people are expecting (which is Cotto’s destruction). In fact its possible Cotto will be winning on the cards when the fight is stopped. I still believe there is a bigger chance Canelo scores the knockout late then Cotto winning a decision. What do you guys think?
Final Notes
These are only 3 out of the million possible fights I have in my head. I would love for you guys to tell me your predictions as well as fights you would want to see in the comments section. I’d also like for you guys to predict the outcome of the fights I listed above, maybe you see it ending sooner, or you see it ending differently as a whole, its all a matter of opinion. I just wanna say that boxing is far from over there are a lot of fights to be made, Floyd and Manny isn’t the only fight out there. This is only part 1 of the series, if people are reading and commenting there will be a few more parts to this article thank you for reading.
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