Preview: Floyd Mayweather vs Saul Alvarez

SINGAPORE — At age 36, Mayweather is in the twilight of a long and glorious career. Chances are, the boxing world will have to say goodbye to this often underappreciated superstar in a few years, perhaps sooner.

In the 2^nd of a 6-fight contract with SHOWTIME Sports, “Money” Mayweather (44-0, 26 knockouts) will put his legacy on the line against the young and dangerous Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 knockouts). The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be for the WBA and WBC Jr. Middleweight titles.

Somebody’s ‘O’ has to go

Mayweather doesn’t fight as often as fans would have liked in previous years but when he does step inside the ring, he puts on a boxing clinic every time. The Grand Rapids native is the epitome of the old boxing adage of “hit without being hit.” He embodies the anti-hero persona with his out-of-ring antics and ruthless trash talk yet he could very well be the most skilled defensive fighter in the history of the sport.

His opponent, Alvarez, is essentially Oscar Dela Hoya’s prized protégé. The Latino with the cinnamon red hair first came to the public eye when billionaire Carlos Helu once offered Manny Pacquiao to fight Alvarez, then virtually unknown, for a guaranteed $60-M. That fight never came to fruition but Alvarez took his career into his own hands by putting on some sizzling shows.

It will be an interesting clash of styles between Mayweather, the defensive wizard versus the relentlessness of Alvarez.

Can Alvarez land cleanly and often enough on Mayweather to cause some serious trouble for his flashy and stylish American opponent? Or will Mayweather, at 36 years of age, put on once again another virtuoso performance to outsmart and outbox the much younger Alvarez, 13 years his junior? Either way, somebody’s ‘O’ has to go.

Mayweather stepped on the scales at 150.5 lbs. and Alvarez clocked in at the contractual catchweight limit of 152 lbs. earlier today at the official weigh-in. The two undefeated fighters are set to take the stage Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).

One of them will leave the ring with two title belts and the other with the first loss on his professional record.

Technical Introduction

Mayweather could be the most complete fighter in Boxing, equipped with all the tools necessary to perform at a level of the sport many fighters only dream of reaching in their careers.

Hard work and dedication, Mayweather preaches, is what got him to the upper echelon of prizefighting where he rakes in six figure paydays each outing. Ultimately, it is tireless hours in the gym perfecting his craft – an impenetrable defensive system – that allows him to stare danger in the face and not even so much as flinch.

Alvarez, the naturally larger man, will have to utilize his size advantage and walk through Mayweather’s underrated power, keep the pressure on throughout the rounds and do something not many of Mayweather’s previous opponents have been able to do which is land cleanly.

Mayweather will use his large left shoulder and amazing reflexes to show Canelo different looks on defense, and as always he’ll score the points with carefully placed potshots via his lightning quick release.

Alvarez has to find a way to feint Mayweather into committing mistakes, which is an extremely tough task in itself, and then have to capitalize on those mistakes and turn them into offensive highlights. He’ll have to find a way to get Mayweather on the ropes, by cutting off the ring perhaps with a double or triple jab, and then go to the body in the early rounds to take some steam off his opponent.

A consistent body attack has always been the secret to beating Mayweather, but too many of Money’s opponents have succumbed mentally mid-fight and almost always deviate from what brings success against the sport’s premiere defensive technician.

Alvarez has never faced anyone even remotely on Mayweather’s level, and he could find himself perplexed at the challenging mental puzzle that is Mayweather’s vaunted defense which no one has been able to solve.

Mayweather has never fought anyone as young and as focused – and as gifted – as Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez punches with authority, has a mean body attack game, and has improved his speed over the years.

Prediction

Make no mistake about it, this will be Mayweather’s toughest test as a professional fighter.

I’m going out on a limb by saying Alvarez will be able to deal Mayweather the first knockdown of his career. Alvarez will be dangerous for the first half of the fight, and in a characteristic tendency, start to slow down in the second half. Alvarez has had stamina issues in the past, and all the missed punches due to Mayweather’s defense where he hits nothing but air will make Canelo’s arms and legs feel ten pounds heavier.

Mayweather will weather the early storm, adjust like always and find a way to win – the great ones always do.

Once in deep water, Mayweather will have increased his punch accuracy and Alvarez will have slowed down considerably to the point where it should be target practice for the man from Grand Rapids. The knockdown will keep the fight close on the cards, but Mayweather will win most of the rounds en-route to another points victory.

There will be exciting moments where Alvarez will have Mayweather in trouble, and it will be awesome to watch for however long it lasts, but Mayweather’s defense will carry him throughout the fight and bring him to the safety of the judge’s scorecards.

Unless of course Alvarez stops him – which isn’t totally out of the question.

Rappler Pick: Mayweather by 12-round Unanimous Decision.

On the chief undercard is a highly anticipated matchup between the quickness of Danny “Swift” Garcia and the brute force of “The Machine” Lucas Matthysse. Garcia, a rising star in his own right will have to find a way to deal with the concussive power of Matthysse who owns the best knockout percentage amongst active fighters.

Although Garcia has the all-around better boxing skills, Matthysse has one thing he doesn’t – dramatic power. It will be blunt force trauma to the head that stops Garcia in 7 rounds.

Enjoy the fights. – Rappler.com