Mayweather's in the Know....

I was sitting in my bed watching an episode of The Wire on my laptop when a good friend of mine texted me the following:


"Who's this Canelo Alvarez cat? He have any chance against Mayweather?"


I had no idea the fight between Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez had even been made yet.  My initial response was:


"Probably the only fighter in boxing who can beat him.."


On paper, he may be the toughest opponent Floyd "Money" Mayweather has ever faced!  Canelo is a young and hungry champion with absolutely no fear of his opponents.  His left hook to the body can be devastating.  He has power with both hands.  He's bigger than Floyd.  He's never tasted the canvas and most importantly, he's never faced defeat.  Canelo comes into the ring with an imposing record of 42-0-1 with 30 of his opponents falling victim to knockout.  Anyone who's seen Saul "Canelo" Alvarez fight will tell you that when he hits a fighter.. the room shakes.

Now it'd be easy to jump on Canelo's bandwagon and forecast Floyd's first defeat on September 14th, but anyone who's followed Floyd Mayweather's career knows that one of the main components to his undefeated record in the ring... is his ability to manipulate outside the ring.

Floyd is not a crowd-pleasing fighter.  He doesn't woo boxing fans with tantalizing power or YouTube worthy knockouts.  People don't pay money to see him fight because of his athleticism or his great defensive skills.  Most fight fans couldn't even tell you his signature punch (lead right hand).  The reason Floyd "Money" Mayweather is the undisputed king of boxing is simple; he's undefeated.  If and when Floyd faces defeat, that mystique will be gone. That is why Floyd took this fight.  He know's something. On paper it doesn't make sense.  Canelo's a lion! A beast in the squared circle!  Floyd doesn't fight these type of fighters.  He's been ducking Pacquiao for these same reasons... because Pac-Man's a threat to his legacy .


So why would Floyd choose Canelo?


He's in the know.  Floyd sees something we don't see.  Something that will make this fight much easier than it would appear to be.  He's said it himself, boxing is "Chess.. not checkers" and Floyd "Money" Mayweather is five steps ahead of us all.

Fight Analysis:

I see the fight  starting with massive tension.  Both fighters will respect each other in the first couple rounds with Canelo making it a point to impose his size on the smaller Mayweather.  By the 3rd round, Canelo will land and land hard! He will gain Mayweather's respect and that's where the adjustments will be made.  I fully expect Mayweather to be a pure boxer in this fight.. Once we reach the mid-point of the bout, you will see Mayweather racking up the rounds and frustrating his opponent.  Canelo will not yield to Mayweather and I see him being aggressive throughout the fight, only to be out-boxed and out-witted by the master of strategy.  Mayweather will use his aggression against him and counter him with straight right hands all night.

Canelo's only chance is to knock Mayweather out within the first 5-6 rounds and I just don't see that happening.  Floyd knows this.  Floyd watched the Austin Trout and Shane Mosely fight.  He knows Canelo fights in spurts and has a tendency to tire in the later rounds.

My official prediction:
Mayweather wins by Unanimous Decision.