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Ask the experts: Who is ‘The One,’ Mayweather or Alvarez?

Fighters Network
11
Sep

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John Scully, former trainer of RING and WBC lightheavyweight champion Chad Dawson

Floyd Mayweather Jr. W 12 Canel Alvarez: I’m definitely going with Floyd Mayweather here. I haven’t seen any reason to believe it wont be a clear win for him.



I think Floyd knows what he is up against and knows it is time to produce that little bit extra that he usually puts against this level of guy. I expect a very clear decision win for him over Canelo Alvarez.

Record: 12-4 [Mitchell W 12 Arreola]

Tim Smith, RingTV.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. UD 12 Canelo Alvarez: I’m picking Floyd Mayweather by decision. I just think that Floyd has more experience in big events, and I’m not sure that Canelo Alvarez has the experience to know how to attack Floyd and to take advantage of any perceived weaknesses that Floyd may have.

I think that Canelo is a very durable guy and that he’s got a very strong chin, and I don’t think that Floyd is going to be able to knock him out. I just think that Floyd is going to out-box him.

Record: 2-0 [Golovkin TKO 10 Macklin]

Ryan Songalia, RingTV.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. W 12 Canelo Alvarez: I like Floyd Mayweather in a competitive, but clear decision victory. Mayweather is Teddy Brenner in gloves, the best matchmaker in boxing history. Nobody scouts opponents like Floyd Mayweather Jr.

First, I’m concerned about the catchweight for Canelo Alvarez. Taking off extra weight may negate whatever strength advantage Alvarez has, and aside from age, that would be his only advantage. Alvarez’s style plays into Mayweather’s hands, I believe. When Miguel Cotto had success against Mayweather, he was throwing over 60 punches a round and pressuring behind a jab.

Canelo is more likely to throw between 30-40 punches, and the jab is more of a range finder than a weapon. You cannot allow Mayweather to dictate the pace and expect to win. Floyd Mayweather will show on Saturday night that the best boxing skill you can have is business sense.

Record: 7-3 [Arreola KO 3 Mitchell]

altRob Soucy, BoxingTalk.com

Canelo Alvarez KO 7 Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Alvarez will have to be able to move his feet to keep Floyd in punching range which will be extremely tough because his footwork is probably his biggest weakness. Mayweather proved against Guerrero that he is still capable of navigating the ring at will over 12 rounds and will be even more cautious against the stronger Alvarez.

The other glaring weakness that Canelo has shown is a lack of stamina. If he is unable to fight hard for a full three minutes of every round, he will not be able to force Floyd to fight at a young man’s pace. Floyd has been able to dictate pace in just about every one of his fights. Against Guerrero he only threw 476 punches over 12 rounds but landed a video game like 60 pecent of his power shots.

The downside to those numbers is that Floyd wasn’t able to hurt Guerrero because he very rarely sat down on his punches.On the flip side, Floyd will never have been hit by someone as big as Canelo who has a blend of size, speed, and power that is superior to any recent Mayweather opponent.

Alvarez will undoubtedly try to concentrate on Mayweather’s body early on but he has to be able to use his footwork to get in position to land those shots. One thing that Alvarez does extremely well is punch in combinations which will make Floyd have to defend against three or four punches at a time.

Everything about Floyd’s game is A-plus — except for his chin. I believe that Canelo’s size will be the biggest factor in determining the outcome of this bout. He has good hand speed and will throw combinations that will make it hard for Floyd to avoid getting hit clean at times. When Alvarez does land that big shot the prediction here is that Floyd won’t be able to take it in what will be a shocking ending.

Record: 6-1 [Arreola KO 5 Mitchell]

Steve Stubbs, guest, Germantown, Md.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. UD 12 Canelo Alvarez: I’m going to go with Floyd winning by a unanimous decision. Floyd is going to do what he does best, and that’s out-box his opponents.

Granted, Canelo Alvarez is young and has power, but he is at a serious disadvantage due to the level of competition he has faced, which is minimal at best.

Record: 0-0

Bob Velin, USA Today

Floyd Mayweather Jr. UD 12 Canelo Alvarez: Experience and defense will be the difference here. Floyd Mayweather is used to being on the world’s biggest stage; Canelo Alvarez is not.

And, of course, Mayweather is by far the superior boxer. And this will be a boxing match, not a slug-fest. Of course, if Canelo sneaks in one of his power punches, all bets are off.

Record: 9-5 [Arreola KO 5 Mitchell]

Anson Wainwright, RingTV.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. W 12 Saul Alvarez: Though Floyd Mayweather hasn’t in his two previous outings at junior middleweight looked as impressive as he does at welterweight, I could see the 152 limit making a little of a difference to Canelo Alvarez.

Floyd likes to take any and every advantage he can no matter how small, he plays the percentage game and they add up. I feel he’s a little to quick of hand a foot for Canelo who’ll learn from this experience and become a better fighter.

All told Mayweather to win a 9-3 or 8-4 kind of fight, easing away down the stretch though I expect Canelo to have his moments.

Record: 5-3 [Arreola KO 7 Mitchell]

Andre Ward, RING super middleweight champion

Floyd Mayweather Jr. W 12 Canelo Alvarez: I think that you’ve got to go with Floyd Mayweather. Even though Canelo has a lot of fights, he’s really got a lot of…really there’s just one guy that jumps out that is a top-level fighter, and that’s Austin Trout. Baldomir was older.

No disrespect to Shane Mosley, but Shane was a little older, even though Shane was still dangerous. You’ve got to give Canelo credit for doing what he did in the fight with Shane. I think that Canelo’s two best wins are over Shane and Trout, but, obviously, Floyd Mayweather’s record speaks for itself.

I just don’t see anything other than Canelo landing a lucky punch that gives him a shot to win. And even in landing a lucky punch, that doesn’t mean that Floyd Mayweather is just going to fold and crumble and be knocked out. Floyd has gotten hit in fights, and he’s taken those hits and he’s come back and he fights.

I just don’t see it. If I’m wrong, it won’t be the first time that I’m wrong, and it may not be the last. But I just don’t see it. I don’t see how Canelo can out-box Floyd Mayweather. I don’t see how Canelo can out-fight Floyd Mayweather.

And Canelo’s going to have some issues down the stretch. If he has trouble making weight, then that’s going to tell, and I just think that when Floyd sees that, Floyd’s going to slowly but surely step on the gas and, like I’ve been saying, I wouldn’t be surprised if Floyd stops Canelo.

Record: 0-0

By the one-sided margin of 37-4, the experts choose Floyd Mayweather Jr. to dethrone Canelo Alvarez as RING junior middleweight champion.

Photos by Ester Lin-Showtime (5); Naoki Fukuda (2); Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos (1); Gene Blevins-Hoganphotos/GBP (2)

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Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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