Australia’s top boxers are predicting a good fight and a Floyd Mayweather Jr victory this weekend. Mayweather takes on Miguel Cotto on Sunday in Las Vegas for the WBA Super World middleweight title.
As I wrote earlier this week, all signs point to this being one hell of a clash.
Australia’s IBF featherweight world-champion Billy Dib believes it will be a competitive fight.
“You can’t pick against Mayweather but I predict a fan friendly fight,” Dib said.
“Look for Cotto to make good adjustments during the fight. He has a good trainer, a smart trainer, but he has a hard task.”
Former world champion Danny Green is also predicting a Mayweather win.
“Mayweather is too good,” Green says.
“Cotto is a weapon too, but Floyd [is] too slick, quick and accurate. It will be a good fight but Floyd takes the points.”
Green’s fierce rival and current-interim WBA light-middleweight world-champion Anthony Mundine says the Mayweather versus Cotto bout is a “mismatch”.
Mundine believes the man they call ‘Money’ will win easily.
Mayweather is clearly the favourite, both with the bookmakers and the boxing world, but Cotto is not to be underestimated.
He has hunger and drive, which was evident in the fantastic 24/7 TV series.
Showing on Fox Sports at the moment, I urge any sports fan to take a look as it provides a fascinating insight into the world of both fighters – the brash Mayweather and the humble, driven Cotto.
Great fights bring increased media coverage and often great journalism, something boxing has enjoyed over the decades. This fight is not any different.
Tim Keown’s profile piece from ESPN gives an inside and intimate view on the trash-talking Mayweather.
Using the tale of a lost betting slip worth $80,000, it delves deeply into the background and upbringing of ‘Pretty Boy’, what drives him in the sweet science and how he has built his unique brand in the sea of boxing sharks.
Another recent ESPN articleshowcases a scientific approach to boxing that is rarely considered.
It uses statistics to reveal how Mayweather ranks among the sport’s all-time greats.
Stats are used and are a prized asset in most professional sports, from cricket to NRL, baseball to basketball, so why not boxing?
And so the fight nears. All will be ultimately revealed in Vegas on Sunday.
My prediction?
Mayweather by points, but who knows? Cotto has a puncher’s chance and could pull off an upset.
It would be a huge upset but as the 24/7 show displayed, via the apt words of Cotto’s trainer Pedro Diaz, “invincible men only exist in the movies”.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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