Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs. Saúl Álvarez review

Although this fight was a few weeks back, I’ve been meaning to write about it for a while, I just hadn’t found the perfect chance to sit down and do so. If you’ve ever read this blog, you know I’m not a fan of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. except to express contempt. For years, I’ve believed and had good sound opinions on how he was basically given the pound for pound title on a silver platter. From sucker punch knockouts, to facing opposition that wasn’t up to his size, I’ve had an issue with Mayweather’s choice of opposition and claims to fame for close to a decade way back to his times as a Lightweight. Hell, even then I an issue with his first win over José Luis Castillo. But this post is not about the past, it’s about the present and the prospect for the future.

Two weeks ago: Floyd Mayweather Jr. left no doubt at all who is the #1 pound for pound boxer in the world.

Common knowledge states that betting against Floyd is monetary suicide. Never has that adage been more prevalent than right now. In his fight against  Saúl Canelo Álvarez, Floyd made Canelo look like a chump and showed just what it means to be dominant. Footwork, handspeed, ring generalship, balance, power, precision and sweet defense went all in favor of Floyd, even if there was a judge who should be banned from boxing after her score of 114-114… that would mean it was a competitive fight, it wasn’t. Make no mistake, Canelo tried his ass off to connect against Floyd, it’s just that he’s not in the same league and as a fan of boxing I saw in Floyd’s performance what I’ve been begging for years, for him to show his skills… and that he did.

Jabs, hooks, straight rights and even the occasional uppercut, it was a treat as a boxing fan to see Floyd engage and show that he can put his words into action and walk the walk.

Truth be told, I don’t see anyone threatening Floyd’s perfect record and I just wish he would have taken more fights like this the last couple of years. His first serious contender in a long time was against Victor Ortiz, but a sucker punch finish tarnished what could have been a masterful outing. The same in his fight against Gatti where he sucker punched the late great and got a knockdown… Against Canelo, no fouls were thrown, and Floyd after the fight showed the decorum he is quite capable of… the one that is appropriate for a pound for pound champion.

For Canelo, the next step is to reestablish that getting schooled by a great boxer doesn’t mean you aren’t a champion, feed him Cotto, and let him face Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland and if health permits it, Sergio Martínez… all good fights ready to be made.

For Floyd… the question is much more difficult. The only guys who could give him a run for his money are Sergio Martínez if his body wasn’t quitting on him, Gennady Golovkin if he could make a catch weight or the ever more doubtful Pacquiao. Sergio Martínez honestly isn’t going to happen because he can’t make a 151 lb catchweight and even if he could, injured shoulders and injured knees mean he’s at a disadvantage. Golovkin is nowhere near the money name Floyd requires and since he’s campaigning at 160, probably won’t happen either, in addition to being some psycho cyborg killer boxer most people don’t want to face. And then there’s Pacquiao… First off Manny needs to destroy Brandon Ríos in his next fight. Not beat, not outpoint but destroy. He has to put the pacifist to rest for one night and just knock Brandon the F out. Then we can talk about a matchup against Bradley, whom I hope gets KO’d by Marquez, and wouldn’t mind also getting KO’d by Manny. THEN we can talk about a fight with Floyd… and the fact remains, Floyd would KO him within 8 rounds, even if he’s a lefty, which Floyd HATES. Simply put, Floyd is bigger and he knows how to use his body better than most anyone. Simply look at him in the Alvarez fight, even outweighed by 15 pounds, it never looked as if he was outgunned… and that’s because he wasn’t. He was always in control and the only weapons Manny have for him in that fight would be a counter right hook which can be countered with a straight right and a straight left, which needs to get its pop back to factor into the equation.

So there you have it folks, Hell hath frozen over and I admit it:

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the #1 pound for pound boxer in the world…. Now please, someone correct me by knocking him out. :)