(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Tom Drury September 14/2013, This is a date that will be forever remembered in boxing’s great history. Floyd Mayweather Jr will face the young undefeated Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Firstly to the fans that constantly criticize Mayweather for his lack of competitive fights. This fight now makes your comments irrelevant, (that does not mean I agree with the criticism) as a hardcore boxing fan and follower of the great Mayweather Jr., I know he has fought the best and beat the best, his resume shows proof of this, made up of wins over undefeated, (1) ranked fighters, mandatory challengers and multiple world champions.
Love him or hate him Floyd Mayweather Jr is doing for boxing what the great Muhammad Ali did years before but on a whole different level. Mayweather is solely putting boxing on the global sporting map, his contribution to this sport is nothing short of amazing, not to mention becoming the worlds highest paid athlete in a sport many thought could not be possible. I am not taking anything away from other fighters in this sport as there are many good/great fighters that all do there bit for the sport and I have great admiration for the men that lace up the gloves and put on shows and performances that showcase heart, dedication and skills in the way of controlled violence and entertainment to secure there lives financially while putting there health at severe risk (there is no doubt in my mind boxing is the hardest sport in the world).
To the fight, I always knew Mayweather would take this fight but did not believe he would take it so early in his record breaking six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS so credit to Mayweather for that. Saul Alvarez is no doubt going to be the toughest fight of Mayweather’s career but Mayweather will be victorious; there is no question about that. Before you, the fans start thinking I am discrediting Alvarez; I am not. Floyd Mayweather’s skills will never be matched. In my opinion they weren’t matched by the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson and they are not matched by anyone in the present crop of fighters including Alvarez and the hotly tipped Floyd Mayweather successor Adrien Broner.
Don’t get me wrong I am so excited about this fight I am counting down the days, there are two reasons for that, the first being it will make for a great fight/event and the second being for my own satisfaction in being proved right that Floyd Mayweather Jr stands alone in boxing.
In the short time since this fight was announced I have followed closely the pressers and the interviews of experts, fighters and trainers and there thoughts on the fight. The thoughts are repetitive of what was said about Mayweathers past opposition including Hatton, Cotto, Ortiz and Guerrero “Alvarez needs to pressure Mayweather”. Alvarez is better and more skilled than the fighters mentioned above that is for certain.He has good head movement, he can counter and he throws great combinations with deadly accuracy. He also showed a new found maturity in his last fight with Austin Trout, a fight I believed he would lose.
This fight is being made at a 152lb catch-weight and so it should, even with the catch-weight Mayweather will be at a disadvantage come fight night. Alvarez rehydrates so much its impossible to put a poundage on it. Without doubt he might enter the ring as a genuine middleweight, this is not an excuse, because I believe in the famous Mayweather team quote “skills pay the bills” and in my opinion those skills will prevail on the night but this is the reason why I believe this will be Mayweather’s biggest test, Alvarez’s weight advantage, combination attacks and obvious hunger he has to become boxings megastar will mean Mayweather will have to be in the best physical and mental shape of his life and put on a vintage show of movement, range finding, distance control, defence and accurate counter punching we all know him so well for.
For sure Mayweather will not take Alvarez lightly; that is for certain and I believe this fight will bring out the best performance in Mayweather’s illustrious career. I also believe it will bring out the best in Alvarez if he can keep his composure in the midst of being involved in a such a spectacular event and biggest night of his young career, many fighters who come up against Mayweather talk the talk leading up to the fight but it seems there mentality does not stand up when faced with the reality of competing with a genuine superstar backed up by pure/god given boxing talent, hopefully Alvarez will be mentally prepared for this fight and the hype and most likely record breaking fight will live up to all expectations.
On every level this is one of the most exciting fights in boxing history, from the records it is set to break, the purses both fighters will receive (and deserve for taking this fight), the exposure for our sport and the place in history they will occupy. A Mayweather win will lead to him being cemented as the greatest of all time, an Alvarez win will propel him to the (1) megastar in boxing and end 17 years of total domination.
As a Mayweather fan I do not believe Alvarez has the skills to be victorious, I do believe he has the hunger and enough talent to cause problems for Mayweather if he approaches the fight with the right mentality and game plan.
This is my opinion on the key points to this fight.
(Mayweather)
Mayweather will have to roll back the years and be in vintage form. For me Mayweather will have to control the tempo of the fight, distance control is key (as we know Mayweather is a master of this). Mayweather needs to keep the center of the ring make Alvarez miss and punish him with those pot-shot counters, utilize his jab and lead right hands which will keep Alvarez off balance. After watching “Canelo’s” fights it is clear he is a sucker for uppercuts and right hooks but i’m sure Floyd Sr knows this, Mayweather just needs to showcase that pure boxing talent 45-0 awaits.
(Alvarez)
There is only one way (on paper) Alvarez can cause an upset in this fight “pressure.” As I mentioned before this was said about previous Mayweather opponents; they just weren’t mentally prepared or skilled enough to pull it off.
Alvarez needs to work on his physical condition and fitness. As we know he has a tendency to fade late on in fights. Mayweather will take him apart in the later rounds if he fades. Alvarez needs to smother, bully and bombard Mayweather with fast, power-punching combinations from the first bell to the last if he wants any chance of being victorious. Alvarez should be training for 20 rounds in camp, physicality, endurance and accurate combination punching is key. If Alvarez goes in there trying to box Mayweather on the outside it will be over before it has started and will no doubt turn out to be a disappointing contest. I don’t personally know if it can be done but for me making Mayweather uncomfortable in his home (the ring) is the only way.
September 14/2013 awaits. Who will be the ONE?
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