Mayweather vs. Canelo: Keys To Victory

03CaneloandMayweathernosetonoseIMG_3679 It has been over two months since Mayweather Vs Canelo was announced, and i have to admit it took awhile for the news to sink in, because of the magnitude of this kind of fight that we boxing fans rarely get. None the less, here are my keys to victory for this tremendous fight.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather

Why change you’re style when everything you have done in the past has worked? Though Mayweather has said in multiple occasions that he does not watch video of his opponents, you would have to think he has had to watch at least some footage of Canelo. Regardless of who watches video in the Mayweather camp i would tell Floyd to increase the usual pressure just by a little bit. So happens that Canelo’s closest fight was against his busiest opponent, Austin Trout. Trout was busy but was also missing by a lot, something Floyd doesn’t do. Floyd is about as accurate as fighters have gotten. So, if you do the simple Sweet Science math, the more Floyd throws, the more he will land, because he is that accurate.

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Saul “Canelo” Alvarez: “Simply Red”

canelo111 Most of us are learning to drive at fifteen years of age. We’re more concerned about our social lives, gals and guys and whose parents will be out of town next weekend so the killer party can go down. There’s only a handful of professions that would permit one still south of legal voting age to log hours upon hours of tedious work and still evade the scrutiny of the department of labor. Different countries have different rules. Such is the case in Mexico and the newly and truly confirmed prodigal son from Jalisco state, Santos Saul Alvarez Barragan.

We don’t often refer to him by this. Rather, we prefer his trade name, which is simply Canelo. Whether or not we may agree with his unanimous decision win over Austin “No Doubt” Trout this past weekend in San Antonio, Texas, there’s no denying that the kid has serious talent and more importantly in a global sense the potential for crossover appeal.

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Canelo-Trout Post-Fight Press Conference Interviews and Photos

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San Antonio, TX finished its eventful boxing week on 04/20/13 Saturday night in front of nearly 40,000 fans at the Alamodome. The televised bouts of the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast included two fights that showed the reason why the fans came out to pack the venue.

The co-main event included a 1st round domination by Omar “Panterita” Figueroa, Jr. over Puerto Rican Abner Cotto. The thrilling first round included a knockdown of Abner Cotto halfway through the round. That exciting moment led to a culmination of the fight with “Panterita’s” vicious left hand body shot that sent Cotto to the ground towards the end of the round. Cotto was unable to survive the body shot as the referee completed a full ten count. This was definitely Figueroa’s coming out party as one of the rising stars in the lighter weights.

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Canelo Alvarez – Austin Trout Recap

17The best way to score a boxing match would probably be to have each fighter begin the event by punching all three judges (jabs, uppercuts, straights, hooks, etc.) to aid the judges in answering the mythical question hanging over every fight of punch valuation—how many of fighter A’s jabs equal an uppercut of fighter B, etc.. Now, there are many practical concerns with enacting such a policy—for example, who will judge the fight should the judges get knocked out? So, absent that, the next most logical way seems to be to simply watch how each fighter responds to other’s punches—thereby sorting out not only when a punch is thrown, but whether it lands in a clean, effective manner. Fortunately, the human body reacts in predictable ways when struck with clean, effective punches—knees buckle, the head gets snapped back, the body is staggered, or in some cases knocked down.

The Canelo Alvarez—Austin Trout tilt from Saturday night bears, according to some, the “controversial” label, but it shouldn’t. Though Alvarez found his target less frequently than Trout (124 versus 154 in total punches landed), he clearly landed more of the clean, effective punches described in the above paragraph—and if you didn’t see that then you either didn’t watch the whole fight, are one of the two judges who somehow thought Chavez swung-and-missed his way to a draw with Whitaker a decade ago, or got distracted trying to figure out if Trout has a Mohawk or just a receding hairline that looks like a Mohawk—while Trout held a decisive edge in insignificant punches landed (the kind where the guy getting hit doesn’t react or seem to care).

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Alvarez Shows New Side in Win Over Trout

DSC_8257The slick boxing Trout did what he was supposed to do. In front of 40,000 plus fans at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, he controlled the distance and pace with his jab. He mixed it up, going often to the body. He threw more punches, displayed better combination punching, but he still lost the fight! How could that happen?

It happened because Saul “Canelo” Alvarez impressed a lot of people, including the judges, that he’s a pretty damn good defensive fighter as well as an aggressive one. Several times, Trout ripped off four and five punch combinations, and none landed. Then, just enough times, Canelo would land one of his sharper, more powerful shots. When his shots landed, they had an obvious effect on Trout, and would shake him from his shoe laces to the sweat on his brow. One particularly impressive shot occurred early into the seventh round. Trout carelessly threw out a rather soft jab from his southpaw stance, and Canelo followed it back with a sharp, straight right. Canelo’s punch landed right on the chin. It took Trout’s body a fraction of a second to react, but once it did, it resulted in an awkward little dance, which ended with “No Doubt” on the canvas.

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Alvarez and Cleverley ascend the ladder, the right way

10In an era of ever-increasing hype, where hollow records earn title shots and fans watch in exasperation as fighters spend much of their careers more intent on avoiding each other than testing themselves, two fighters last night demonstrated the right way to go about building a career.

In the very definition of a high risk, low reward fight, Canelo Alvarez pounded out a tough, close but clear points win over Austin Trout in a fight that should surely raise the reputation of both fighters. Alvarez’s rapid rise, at the age of just twenty-two, to dual world title holder has not been without its critics, with lacklustre performances against relatively limited opponents such as Alfonso Gomez and Matthew Hatton leading many to question his ability to adapt to opponents who do more than simply stand in front of him.

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Open Scoring Experiment: Did it Ruin the Alvarez-Trout Finish?

11The highly anticipated junior middleweight unification showdown between WBC champion Saul Alvarez and WBA titlist Austin ‘No Doubt’ Trout started on a dramatic note before the action even got underway. The atmosphere at the Alamodome was simply electrifying. The high energy and intensity that exuded during the build-up to the opening bell was so powerful that it could even be felt by the television viewing audience, and it was contagious. Although this was not a hugely publicized contest that created massive appeal among casual fans, the entire event still possessed a magical mainstream vibe that almost helped make it seem far larger in its actual scope. The stage seemed set for something special.

The fight itself was a pretty good one, too. It was a classic competitive clash of contrasting styles, making close rounds very difficult to score. Trout was looking to work behind an active jab and keep Canelo at the end of it to maintain optimal range. Alvarez sought to avoid incoming fire and quietly sneak his way in to a more favorable distance where his explosive punching power could be better utilized. Both boxers had success at various points, with the nature of their styles dictating that Trout would control the action for longer stretches, but Alvarez’s superior pop made his moments more memorable. It was a close fight that became a chess match of sorts, with tactical maneuvering, several momentum shifts, adjustments and counter adjustments, a knockdown (scored by Alvarez in the seventh), and a fine overall display of skills and natural talent.

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Canelo’s performance disappointing in “win” over Trout

08I must say I’m really disappointed in WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s performance tonight in his controversial 12 round unanimous decision over WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-1, 14 KO’s) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

I had expected a lot better from Canelo than what I saw tonight. His stamina was horrible, his defense good, but his work rate was very poor. Canelo fought in a very lazy manner with him reminding me a lot of former IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham the way that he failed to be busy and would get rounds given to him based on a tiny handful of landed power shots.

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Canelo Alvarez – Exclusive One-on-One Interview

IMG_4667After the final press conference concluded, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez took the time to partake in brief one-on-one interviews. I had the unique privilege to sit down with the Mexican superstar to get his perspective on the upcoming fight in San Antonio, TX.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and answers that were discussed with Saul Alvarez.

Steve Lopez: “Canelo, how are you feeling with just a few more days left for the fight?”

Saul Alvarez: “I’m ready, I’m ready. I prepared myself very well. Ready for anything. Obviously, we all come with the mentality of winning and that’s what I’m here for.

Steve Lopez: “How are you as far as weight? The weigh-in is tomorrow. How do you feel?”

Saul Alvarez: “Really well. The most I do is 20-30 minutes to lose whatever extra weight I gain from eating. I eat just enough to maintain the weight. Everything is great.”

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Day 2: Canelo-Trout Fight Week – Final Press Conference

IMG_4802The boxing buzz continued in San Antonio, TX with Day 2 of the Saul Alvarez VS. Austin Trout fight week. Day 2 consisted of the Final Press Conference to officially provide closing remarks from the fighters, trainers and promotion managers. Media members from all avenues ranging from television stations/networks, news columnists, internet media and local broadcasting gathered to provide exclusive coverage of the Super Middleweight unification showdown taking place in a few days at the Alamodome.

If media individuals were expecting scuffles and bittersweet trash talking from either camp, those individuals were surely disappointed. On the contrary, all of the fighters and camp members, along with promotional representatives, exerted the utmost professionalism towards their opponents and media members. With over 35,000 tickets already sold and countless viewers scheduled to tune in on the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast, this event requires no additional tactics to promote itself.

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