Mayweather vs. Alvarez full card preview

By boxing1 - 09/10/2013 - Comments

floyd170By John Kelvin: This Saturday, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Floyd “Canelo” Alvarez clash in the biggest boxing event of the  year for the undisputed junior middleweight championship. The undercard also features Ishe Smith against top contender Carlos Molina and the highly anticipated match up between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse at junior welterweight. Former British champion Ashley Theophane faces former world title challenger Pablo Caesar Cano to complete the meaningful fights on the card.

Predictions

Ashley Theophane faces a tough task in Pablo Caesar Cano in his first fight under the Mayweather Promotions banner. Cano has challenged for two world championships and is coming off a competitive loss to Sugar Shane Mosley. Theophane on the other hand has never fought at world level. His last fight was a first round knockout of  Chaurembo Palasa, a fighter with a 20-17-2 record. I expect Cano’s greater championship experience and overall toughness to be too much for Theopane to handle and result in  a late round stoppage for the Mexican.

Ishe Smith, the first Las Vegas born fighter to win a world championship has a difficult first defense against the tough and improving Carlos Molina. Many people are picking Molina to defeat Smith but i feel that Smith maybe one of those boxers who improves hugely when they win a championship. Smith is on  a four fight winning streak and i expect him to make in five by unanimous decision on Saturday night.

The fight many fans are looking forward to even more so than the main event is the clash between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse to decide the undisputed champion at 140lbs. Both of these fighters have one punch knockout power and both have something to prove. Garcia wants the respect of the boxing world which he feels overlooks and ignores him. Matthysse wants to prove that he is not only the best in the division but that he belongs amongst the elite in the sport. Each one of these fighters has the ability to make it a short night for his opponent and this may well happen on Saturday night. However, I feel that Garcia although he hasn’t shown them often, has better boxing skills than Matthysse. These skills combined with his power will make it difficult for Matthysse to get into any sort of rhythm in the fight and i think that Garcia will win a close but deserved unanimous decision.

The main event features the pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather and arguably the most popular fighter on the planet Canelo Alvarez facing off for the undisputed junior middleweight championship. Many people who are choosing Canelo to win are pointing to his greater strength, youth and weight advantage to be to much for Mayweather to overcome, particularly at the age of 36. However, I feel that Canelo’s intelligence and boxing skills are being overlooked when they are as important or even more so than his physical advantages.

Mayweather’s last few opponent have lacked the intelligence which Canelo possesses and this could be the difference in the outcome of the fight. However it remains to be seen if Canelo has the calmness to use his intelligence and skills effectively against Mayweather on such a grand stage. Mayweather in short, is a master boxer. His skill level, defense and intelligence are unmatched in boxing. His dedication and discipline have allowed him to stay at the highest level and have helped to mask the areas of his game which have declined slightly due to age.

Although Canelo has power I think that it is unlikely that he will stop Floyd. Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes and Austin Trout all lasted the distance in their fights with Canelo and neither of them possess the skills of Floyd Mayweather. Many people including some boxing experts feel that Mayweather maybe too old to compete with someone like Canelo who is 23 years old and approaching his physical prime. However, Bernard Hopkins was 36 when he faced Tito Trinidad and 46 when he face Jean Pascal so age may not be as important a factor as some people think. I think that the fight will be competitive and not another Robert Guerrero whitewash. Canelo may start strong and land some solid punches  but i feel that Mayweather will overcome this and do what he always does which is find a way to win.



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