Mayweather vs Canelo: Boxing preview, live updates, blog

One of the biggest fights of the decade sees Floyd Mayweather and Saul Alvarez meet at the MGM Grand. Join us for live updates from 11.00am AEST.

Billed as ‘The One’, the card’s main event will feature unbeaten pound-for-pound king Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr versus undefeated 23-year old Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

The bout will be for the WBC and WBA super welterweight belts. The card is expected to shatter pay-per-view records.

So whose record will remain unblemished?

Mayweather’s keys to victory
Mayweather has presented the boxing world with a puzzle that no fighter has managed to solve in 17 years and 44 professional fights.

Fighting behind a low left hand and a high left shoulder, Mayweather deftly ducks and dodges punches while returning ample fire.

As the speed of his youth has slowly diminished, Mayweather now relies on his boxing acumen to win.

He has proven frustratingly difficult to hit and it’s often when opponents get overly aggressive that Mayweather does his best work.

Mayweather’s reflexes and experience are his best assets in this fight. He should look to frustrate Canelo early, disrupt his rhythm and lure him into swinging wildly.

Canelo has only reached the 12th round five times in his career, so Mayweather should look to make it a battle of patience and attrition en route to a comfortable decision.

In short, Mayweather has to fight like Mayweather.

Alvarez’s keys to victory
According to Shane Mosley, the only common opponent between Mayweather and Canelo, the young Mexican’s best bet is to put constant pressure on Mayweather to disrupt his rhythm.

With 30 knockouts to his name, Canelo is a hard puncher that likes to throw unpredictable combinations and employs a strong body attack.

These tactics should work well against Mayweather.

Mayweather is a slow starter, usually using the first two rounds to read an opponent’s rhythm and find ways to counter.

Canelo would be well-served to attack his body early and consistently to slow Mayweather down, do some damage and prevent him from dictating the fight’s pace.

While Mayweather’s head is almost impossible to hit, his body is a slightly easier target.

Mayweather is a master of reading body movements and punches, hence his ability to predict which punch an opponent will throw next.

Canelo should use his unpredictable combinations – doubling or even tripling up on punches with the same hand – to prevent Mayweather from establishing a defensive rhythm.

Mayweather showed in the Cotto fight that he can be susceptible to a solid jab, so Canelo should look to employ that same tool. Perhaps Canelo’s biggest challenge is to remain patient.

All too many of Mayweather’s opponents have been lulled into swinging wildly against the ropes and making careless mistakes.

Canelo should attack hard early and consistently but should resist the urge to hunt for a highlight-reel KO. It’s a long night ahead!