As September 14th draws near, predictions and comments are pouring in prior to Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez stepping into the ring in Las Vegas for the biggest fight of the year.
Alvarez is one of boxing's rising stars, an idol in boxing-mad Mexico and a high-wattage personality in America these days as well. Despite his youth advantage (13 years) and superior power, however, most of the predictions have Mayweather outclassing the young stud.
Alvarez's Mexican brethren, Juan Manuel Marquez, is agreeing with the masses. "Defensively speaking [Mayweather] is the best," Marquez said. "He makes it very difficult to land your punches, he is very elusive. You start to get desperate and he leverages this desperation to connect [his counters]. Canelo is not going to be any exception."
That may be disheartening to the legions of Mexican fans hoping Canelo will be crowned "The One," and some are speculating Marquez's words are borne of jealousy that Alvarez has become Mexico's favorite son. Marquez knows Floyd's capabilities better than most, however, as he was dominated by "Money" in 2009.
He also said he wouldn't write Alvarez off, because boxing is an unpredictable sport. "Anything can happen above the ring. We already saw this with Jhonny [Gonzalez] vs Abner Mares, where nobody expected Jhonny to win. We hope the Mexican [fighter] can win. He needs a little bit more of experience. He has the opportunity to show that he is a great boxer. I can tell you that upsets are sparse and based on that I don't think Canelo can get [the upset]."
Marquez may get an opportunity to face the winner of Mayweather vs. Canelo if he can knock off undefeated Tim Bradley in October. Marquez, long known as one of the game's top counterpunchers may reinvent himself as a power puncher after flooring Manny Pacquiao last year. A knockout victory vs. Bradley would raise his profile even higher, and a bout with Alvarez could shatter records and generate unprecedented buzz among Mexican fans.
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