NEW YORK ? Zab Judah doesn?t think Canelo Alvarez is capable of upsetting Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Judah and Mayweather are friends, but the former welterweight and junior welterweight champion also has first-hand knowledge of just how difficult it is to defeat Mayweather, who out-pointed Judah seven years ago in Las Vegas. And Judah just doesn?t think Alvarez has what it takes to become the first fighter to beat boxing?s pound-for-pound king, even though Alvarez is 13 years younger than Mayweather and will own a noteworthy weight advantage once the bell rings Sept. 14 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
?I don?t see a big chance for Canelo,? Judah said Thursday at Barclays Center, before a news conference for the Paulie Malignaggi-Adrien Broner welterweight title fight. ?Yeah, he?s a good fighter. He?s strong, he comes forward, he?s aggressive. But I think that kind of style is tailor-made for Floyd. He chops guys up like that. I think if that Canelo, right there, comes to the table, he?ll get chopped up.?
Las Vegas? Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) and Mexico?s Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) will begin an 11-city, nine-day tour to promote their pay-per-view fight Monday in Manhattan.
The first news conference on the tour will start at 3 p.m. ET in Times Square and is open to the public, free of charge. Fans are urged to arrive at the pedestrian walk on Broadway, between 46th Street and 47th Street, by 2 p.m.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
