Canelo Alvarez – Floyd Mayweather JR BOXING OFFICIAL BREAKDOWN – Saturday Night Showtime Pay Per View – Boxing News

By Geno McGahee

The talk is nearly over and the fight is almost upon us. In six days, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, will feature the best match-up boxing has seen in years. The undefeated and recognized pound for pound best in the game, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR., 44-0, 26 KO’s, will collide with the biggest challenge in his entire career, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 42-0-1, 30 KO’s, with the WBA and WBC light middleweight titles hanging in the balance.

Mayweather, JR., made his first big impression in the sport in 1998 when he dominated and beat the respected WBC super featherweight champion, Genaro Hernandez, into submission to capture the title. He followed it up with a demolition of Angel Manfredy who was coming off of a big victory over Arturo Gatti at the time. He was making his way as a pound for pound prospect and gaining major respect in the sport.

In 2001, Mayweather faced another undefeated fighter with a fierce reputation and even fiercer punch. Diego Corrales was a towering terror in the ring, seemingly too tall for the super featherweight division and would often leave his opponents in a mangled heap. The media and fans were split on who they thought would win, but when the opening bell rang, there was only one direction the fight was going. Floyd dominated the bout from the opening bell, dropping Corrales five times, en route to a tenth round stoppage.

The career of Mayweather would take a couple of blows in back to back bouts with the Mexican warrior, Jose Luis Castillo. He escaped with a controversial decision in the first fight and repeated the feat, taking another victory that has been disputed to this day. It was the only two fights in the history of the career of Mayweather that has left any doubts in the minds of boxing fans.

The victories would continue to roll in, but Floyd wasn’t really catching on. Despite his incredible in-ring skill, he wasn’t becoming the pay per view attraction that he felt he should have been. Pernell Whitaker, an equally good or better defensive master and boxing genius had a hard time making it beyond the main events of HBO, only becoming a PPV attraction when he found the right opponent, as he did with Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya. Mayweather was facing the same fate, but he decided to employ a new approach, and in 2005, Money Mayweather was born.

Arturo “Thunder” Gatti was known for his explosive punch and enormous heart. He made people feel good about boxing and rejoice in his victories. He was a hero in the ring and was the perfect fighter for Floyd to target. In order to become a boxing heel, he needed to find the good guy and trash him publicly. Floyd took every opportunity to question the heart and skill of Gatti and used him to earn his way onto pay per view. It was a huge mismatch, but the Gatti supporters pointed to the famous “puncher’s chance,” but after six rounds of punishment, the fight was over. Money Mayweather became a hated man in boxing and that fueled his pay per view run.

Another very strategic move by Floyd was to face Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. De La Hoya was far past his prime, but he had built a legacy and was a pay per view smash. His likable personality and powerful punches made him an easy sell and many were convinced that his boxing IQ would help him find a way to overcome the younger Mayweather. It didn’t happen. Floyd would get the split decision win, but, in reality, he won convincingly.

Floyd’s career continued in a strategic manner. He fought the right guys at the right time, beating up an overmatched Ricky Hatton, much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez, beyond their primes Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, and two overmatched youngsters in Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero. Mayweather’s record is amazing, but the defining fight in his career has been Corrales. It was the only time where the media was split and he faced another guy that was undefeated and thought he was going to win. Hatton was unbeaten going in, but few thought that he could do anything to overcome Floyd. Canelo Alvarez has a huge following and has convinced many boxing experts that the reign of Mayweather JR will come to an end.

Alvarez began his career in 2005, fighting in Mexico when he was 15-years-old. The 23-year-old wrecking machine reminds many boxing fans of Julio Cesar Chavez, as he pounds the body of his opponents and beats them into submission. He wasn’t considered a challenger for Floyd because of the Manny Pacquiao tease, but after the “PacMan” lost back to back fights, it opened up the opportunity.

The last five fights on the record of Alvarez have prepared him for this fight. He dominated and battered Alfonso Gomez for five rounds, easily knocked out former champion Kermit Cintron in five, gave Shane Mosley the beating of his career and beat one of the better young fighters in the game, Austin Trout. He is mentally ready for the fight and has gained the proper experience but he has to solve the Floyd puzzle on Saturday night.

Floyd’s ability to adjust as the fight goes on is what Canelo must deal with. There may be things that he does early that works that Mayweather will shut down. How he adjusts to the adjustment will make or break the fight for him. The straight right, both in lead and in the 1-2 form, is something that Canelo has to avoid. Despite the rumors, Floyd packs a pretty good punch and can hurt Alvarez, especially if he’s charging in. The danger is not one-sided. The check-hook that worked with Hatton, will work with Alvarez. If there is a point in this fight where Canelo is confused, expect Floyd to exploit it and possibly end it.

Alvarez points to the Miguel Cotto fight as a partial blueprint to win. Cotto used his strength and jab to hurt Floyd and gain points. The stamina issues that plagued the career of Cotto cost him that fight in the end. If Canelo can use his jab with regularity, it will get Floyd out of his rhythm and then some very good things can happen for him, including a knockout victory. If he should hurt Floyd, expect Canelo to unleash the punches in bunches, including a vicious body attack. Even if Floyd should cruise to a victory, which seems to be the consensus among boxing experts, there will be some bumps along the way. It’s how Canelo capitalizes on those bumps which will make the difference in the fight.

I’ve only picked against Floyd twice in his career. I picked Zab Judah and Diego Corrales to bring it home, and now I am picking Canelo Alvarez, the younger and physically stronger fighter to find the mark and employ the right strategy to stop Money Mayweather in the later rounds. This is one of those pick’em fights and best fight boxing has seen in years. You do not want to miss it.

To sweeten the pot, we have a light welterweight collision that may be the second best match to be made in boxing. The undefeated WBC and WBA light welterweight champion, Danny Garcia, 26-0, 16 KO’s, will try to fend off the destructive force, Lucas Martin Matthysse, 34-2, 32 KO’s. It is fair to say that we have two undefeated fighters in this match as well. Matthysse’s two defeats were very questionable split decision losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander. It taught him a valuable lesson: don’t allow his opponent to make it to the final bell.

Since his defeat to Alexander, Matthysse has gone 6-0, 6 KO’s, stopping Lamont Peterson and Humberto Soto in the process. He may be, pound for pound, the biggest puncher in boxing, but he will be facing a guy that is used to beating the odds. Danny Garcia wasn’t supposed to be in this spot, but his heart and his father’s big mouth have made him an attraction.

In July of 2012, Garcia would level Amir Khan in four rounds and then proceed to demolish the ancient Erik Morales (KO-4) and outpoint the over the hill Zab Judah (UD-12). What we can take away from this is that Garcia has not been in the ring with anyone like Matthysse and this will be a do or die situation. What is hurting the chances of Garcia is his lack of defense. He is going to be right in front of Matthysse and there will be an early blitz. If Garcia can weather the storm, he could pull another surprise victory here. The two questions going in are: 1. What happens when Matthysse lands, and 2. What happens if Garcia lands and lands with regularity. Garcia is the sort of guy that will go down swinging and he is fully aware of what lies ahead in this fight. This is the biggest challenge for Garcia, but it is also the biggest challenge for Matthysse.

In the end, the power of Matthysse may prove to be too much for the defensively challenged Garcia. It will be fun while it lasts, but it may not last too long. Look for violent exchanges with Matthysse scoring and stopping Garcia in five rounds or less.

This is one of those rare occasions where the boxing fan will get their money’s worth. Saturday night will be a historic night for the game with two big fights capping off a great night of boxing.