Saturday, March 8 2014 Live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Pay Per View Canelo Alvarez (42-1-1) vs. Alfredo Angulo (22-3) – The thing that scares me about this fight is that Angulo will be the hardest puncher that Canelo has faced thus far. I remember shaking Angulo?s hand and instantly noticing how heavy his hand felt. Canelo?s own power cannot be ignored, but he is more of a combination puncher opposed to a home run slugger. If I am Angulo, I would straight up dog Angulo out, I would be sure to be up close to prevent Canelo from being able to re-set. While he is aiming and trying to set up to fire out his arsenal, I would already be at his front door blazing away. Canelo must use his jab to create the space needed to run his shots off comfortably and effectively. I hope Canelo is putting in extra miles during his road work, because if Angulo is relentless with it, Canelo may find himself searching for his second wind sooner than he usually does. In saying all that, I feel that Angulo lost something in his showdown against James Kirkland a couple years back. And that is why I am taking Canelo to beat Angulo by split decision. Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1) vs. Cristian Mijares (49-7-2) (WBC super bantamweight) ? Mijares is a veteran who still has just enough left in his tank to keep Santa Cruz honest. But I am expecting to see an animal in Santa Cruz, and he will look to be troubled by Mijares early, but will turn it up and end up stopping his foe by the 9th round. One needs a lot of movement to beat the hounding Leo, and Mijares is simply not that type of fighter. Omar Figueroa (22-0-1) vs. Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3) (WBC lightweight) – I am taking Figueroa to beat Ricardo on pure output. I just do not feel Alvarez has enough firepower to keep Figueroa off of him. This fight will have some good exchanges, but Figueroa will land the more damaging blows. Figueroa by unanimous decision. Carlos Molina (22-5-2) vs. Jermall Charlo (17-0) (IBF super welterweight) ? Charlo will land the cleaner more judge friendly punches and will jab Molina?s dome off. But the thing with Molina is that he is one of the very best at mastering the art of stealing rounds. He will cuff you and out fight you in spots that forces the judges to take notice. Much like Miguel Angel Vasquez, Molina brings the type of awkwardness that is a complete headache to deal with. Charlo should employ the same strategy that his twin used to beat Rosado, jab and double jab, turn out of corners, and stay moving. Because if you allow Molina the opportunity to close in, then you are going to be in a grueling dog fight from start to finish. This is a tough one to call, but I think I will take Charlo to win a close controversial decision.
