Some may say that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez must pace himself against Floyd Mayweather Jr., due to questions about his conditioning.
But pacing himself gives him no chance against the undefeated great.
Alvarez's biggest (and only) advantage over Mayweather on Saturday night in Las Vegas is his combination of size and power. Mayweather, a natural welterweight (147 pounds), agreed to fight at a catchweight of 152 pounds. He's fought at 154 pounds before, but Alvarez has been known to balloon to around 170 pounds after the official weigh-in.
Of Alvarez's 42 career wins, 30 of them have come via knockout. The 23-year-old has the power to end fights quickly. His last opponent, Austin Trout, wasn't knocked out, but Alvarez landed some truly vicious blows that would have sent plenty of fighters to sleep.
The concerns about Alvarez's conditioning are real. He slowed down the stretch against Trout, settling for an unanimous decision instead of a knockout.
But the only way Alvarez is going to win this fight is if he connects early against Mayweather before the seasoned veteran can figure him out. There is no sense in Alvarez conserving his energy for the later rounds when the later rounds considerably favor Mayweather, anyway.
If the young challenger is going to get through Mayweather's defense on Saturday night, it's going to be in the early rounds. Mayweather has eventually figured out every one of his opponents during the course of a bout—what makes anyone think Alvarez will be any different?
The reality is, conditioning won't be a factor for Alvarez if Saturday's clash goes into the later rounds. The fight will be over if the fight goes into the later rounds, anyway.
The electric red-haired Mexican must take the fight to Mayweather early. That is the only way he can upset the boxing legend.
Canelo must recognize his strengths and forget about his weaknesses.
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