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?The One? By Gary Todd PhilBoxing.com Sat, 03 Aug 2013  Floyd Mayweather v Saul Alvarez. MGM Grand Arena. Las Vegas. 14th September, 2013. ?The One? It?s been billed as ?The One?, and hyped as being the biggest, richest fight ever, and with the tickets being sold out in minutes and ringside seats now selling at a hefty $35,000 each, this event looks like being just that. That being said, I just can?t believe the hype for this fight. I have been following the sport of boxing for 30 years, and through those years, I have been to the super fights, the undisputed, unification fights, and I have been lucky enough to witness many brutal wars, and being there when everyone in the crowd were on their feet the whole fight, and then refusing to leave the arena at the end. In saying that, I do believe this will be a spectacular night for boxing fans, and a real showcase for the sport of boxing, around the world. For me, this fight is all about Floyd Mayweather?s legacy and another step closer to greatness. From his days as a young boy in the amateurs, [90 fights] to turning pro in 1996, to winning his first world title in 1998, to then moving up through the feather weights, to the welterweights, to the light middles, boxing, and out classing a who?s who of some 20 world champions, along the way. Always controversial, and brash, with trash talking cockiness, and never short of the spoken word, you can say or think what you like about him, but he is the best fighter, with no question, or doubt, in the world, and has been for many years. When all the talk of him fighting Pacquaio, and how the Filipino dynamo would knock Mayweather out, I couldn?t understand their reasoning behind this. It would have been a great spectacle, and a good fight, but not a great fight, but for me there would have been only one winner. Mayweather would have done what he has always done, and found a way to win. It?s no secret, I am a big Mayweather fan, I love the sport of boxing, and if you love the sport for its fundamentals, the training, the dedication, the commitment, and skills of being a boxer, then maybe this fight?s billing of ?The One? isn?t too far off. It has to be said though, if there was one time, and one fighter that I really thought had a big chance to beat Mayweather, it was in December, 2007, when he fought Ricky Hatton. I knew Hatton, I had trained with him in his gym, and I was there when he took the great junior welterweight, Kostya Tszyu?s best, in Manchester, and I really thought he had a real chance to beat him. I still believe that the referee that night, didn?t allow Hatton to fight, to rough Mayweather up, to unsettle him, and to put maximum pressure on him. That is the only way to beat him. That night, Hatton was in the best shape of his life, both mentally and physically, and he just couldn?t do it. Mayweather weathered the storm, and knocked Hatton spark out in the 10th round. Mayweather has had a couple of close fights, which could have gone the other way, notably Jose Luis Castillo, and Oscar De La Hoya, but he found a way to get the win. So let?s get to this fight. Saul Alvarez is obviously a Mexican superstar, and rightly so. He is young, with a great persona, and his people love him. He is a hungry, undefeated world champion, and has beaten world champions, and good fighters, in Carlos Baldomir, Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez, Kermit Cintron, Shane Mosley, and most recently, Austin Trout. With only 20 amateur fights, he turned pro in October, 2005, and he pummelled his way through fighting in the beer and blood stained, fighting halls of Mexico, steadily making a name for himself as he progressed. I remember the first time I saw him fight. I watched him on the t.v, and at first glance, I thought to myself, who is this Irishman? He was fighting the Puerto Rican, Jose Miguel Cotto and he was just too strong for Cotto, stopping him in the 9th round. I thought then, that this guy was one to watch. From there, he has improved greatly with every fight, and has embraced and settled into what he has become. I still struggle to call him a boxing superstar, just yet, so for now I?ll call him a Mexican boxing superstar. To win this fight, Alvarez must fight his fight, not Mayweather?s, and to do that he has to throw the straight hard jab and follow up with right hands all night, every minute of every round. He has to cut the distance from him to Mayweather and push him back to the ropes. Mayweather, for some reason finds himself on the corner ropes, which is always a mistake, but with Alvarez, I feel it would be boxing suicide. If the Mexican can get him bopping and weaving on the ropes, he should target the body of Mayweather, not the head. I believe he can hurt Floyd to the body. I feel Alvarez can shake things up by targeting the body, followed by the right uppercut. If he can , I believe he can win by knocking Mayweather out. Easier said than done, but at 36, who knows what will happen if he gets tagged , and hurt, even getting a bad cut, can change a boxers mind set, especially if he isn?t accustomed to being bruised, let alone blood pouring into his eye. Who ever knows when your legs are going to betray you. Its always the legs that go first in a fighter. Floyd will go into this fight thinking that it will be Alvarez making the adjustments , not him. He will use the ring, stick out the jab, fight in bunches , double up on the jab and hammer home as many eye catching punches as possible. I don?t think he will stick around the ropes with this guy. He is a veteran, and is too smart for that. Alvarez will come out fired up, and if he is allowed to rough Mayweather up, then he has a real chance to shock the boxing world. A chance to become ?The One? and become a boxing superstar. My prediction is Mayweather on points. Gary Todd is the international best selling author of his books, ?workouts from boxings greatest champs? vol. 1 and 2, and he has been involved in all aspects of the sport of boxing for over 25 years. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Gary Todd.  |
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