MONEY OR BOX
Mayweather in the pound seats
SAUL “Canelo” Alvarez prefers to do his talking in the ring against Floyd Mayweather jnr. Unlike Mayweather, Alvarez has kept the trash-talking to a minimum in the lead-up to their September 14 Las Vegas bout.
Already touted as the world’s highest-paid athlete, Floyd “Money” Mayweather is living up to his nickname by landing a world record $45-million payday for the WBA and WBC junior middleweight unification fight.
This pay packet shatters the previous record — $32-million — that he set for his May 2012 fight with Miguel Cotto and then tied for his fight this past May against Robert Guerrero.
It means Mayweather will earn $73.5-million in 2013 from boxing alone. It’s not known how much Alvarez will pocket, but it’s being reported that it’s in the range of $10-million.
But the question is, how can Canelo pull off an upset?
Mayweather is a scientific fighter, picking apart his foe at every turn and walking away with dominant victories.
Next Sunday morning ( SA time), however, Mayweather will be a 36-year-old fighter hoping to win a match against a 23year-old slugger with a record of 42-0-1. Mayweather has compiled a perfect record of 44-0-0, but that doesn’t make him untouchable.
No matter how many times he’s looked it.
If Alvarez is to do the unthinkable and defeat the unbeatable it will take one of the greatest performances in professional boxing history. For all that is said about him, no one has ever questioned Mayweather’s commitment to his craft and how prepared he is in the ring.
Fortunately, past fights have taught us what it takes to hang with Mayweather — it’s all about capitalising on scarce opportunities.
If Alvarez, or any fighter for that matter, believes that he can land a flurry of punches clean, he’s out of his mind. Not only is Mayweather too quick to be tagged a significant amount of times in one combination, but his defence ranks among the greatest of all time.
With that said, when it comes to attacking Mayweather aggression is the key.
Even if Alvarez only lands one shot he must not be afraid to unleash groups of punches at a time when he attacks. Simple jabs and snap crosses won’t catch Mayweather by surprise as his footwork and headprotection is simply too good.
Attacking Mayweather with multiple striking attempts, how- ever, will inevitably land one clean shot, and that’s all it takes for Alvarez.
Thirty of Alvarez’s 42 victories have come by knockout, including four of his past six. What’s concerning, however, is that as Alvarez’s calibre of opponent has increased the results have shifted, as he’s managed four knockouts and four decisions in his past eight fights.
A win is a win, but if this one goes the distance it goes without saying who will walk away victorious.
Admittedly, there is significant risk in this approach, as fighting aggressively will lead to an inevitable case of fatigue. Once a fighter’s arms and legs get heavy Mayweather strikes and there’s no looking back for his opponent.
Mayweather’s chin is strong but, as Miguel Cotto showed in May last year, it is possible to do some damage.
Once Mayweather seemingly intentionally takes a clean shot between the second and fourth round, however, it’s always been game over.
It’s on Canelo to put enough power behind that punch to offset Mayweather’s strategy, disabling him from learning of his opponent’s most powerful strike and truly rocking him with a knockout-calibre blow.
Even if Alvarez is able to rock Mayweather early and send a message that he needs to keep his distance, we know Money to be methodical in the ring. He’ll make midfight adjustments and still manage to outbox his opponent both in the ring and on the stats sheet.
That said, Canelo establish- ing the status as the aggressor will get the crowd behind him and, perhaps in turn, the judges.
If Alvarez is able to pull ahead, he could force Mayweather to leave his defensive stance and lead the active legend to open himself up to strikes. If that’s the case the world-class power that Alvarez possesses will be on display.
Unfortunately for Alvarez, there’s one slight problem — we’ve heard this all before and Mayweather is still undefeated. — bleacherreport.com