By John-Paul Wolfe
Come Saturday night the fight the world has been waiting for finally arrives. The main event fighters bring to the ring a combined record of 86 wins against 0 losses. The American, Floyd Mayweather has the advantage in experience over his 23 year old Mexican challenger Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. However, the difference maker in this fight will be Mayweather’s defense. The pound for pound king is arguably the greatest defensive fighter in the history of boxing.
Although Canelo has a slight size advantage, it will not have much effect, if any on the fight. Mayweather’s superior skill will negate his opponent’s size and punching power, attributes attributed to Canelo in the press that have been over played and exaggerated in reasoning as to why Alvarez may have a better chance than previous pugilist’s who have unanimously come up short against Mayweather.
Look for Mayweather to start quicker than usual as he does not want to allow Canelo to settle into an offensive rhythm. Also do not be surprised to see Mayweather use the check left hook that finished Hatton if Canelo presses forward aggressively. As the fight goes into the latter rounds expect a classic Mayweather performance featuring a healthy does of right hand leads in route to a 12 round decision victory for Floyd.
As if Mayweather-Canelo was not enough, this card also features a 140lb matchup between two of the most devastating punchers in the sport today. Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia (26-0) is matched up against Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse (34-2). Expect a knockout before round 7 as these two fighters both seem to possess dynamite in their gloves. Although Garcia has the slightly more impressive record, including brutal knockouts against Amir Khan and Erik Morales, this is a fight that will be determined by styles. Garcia’s style is that of a puncher relying heavily on his left hook. The problem for him is that he throws wide punches, which plays right into Matthysse’s strength. Matthysse does not have great speed or athleticism but he more than makes up for it with expert timing and very rarely seen punching power that does not seem to discriminate between either of his hands. Look for Matthysse to catch Garcia with straight punches and finish the fight.
