At 45-0, Floyd "Money" Mayweather has seen and done it all in the ring. Using that experience to his advantage, he dominated Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in the late rounds on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas to keep his undefeated record intact.
It was obvious who was more prepared for the fight from the get-go.
Canelo entered this title bout with a record of 42-0-1 with 30 knockouts, so it's not like he was a raw fighter coming into the bout. In fact, his power made him a dangerous threat to Money. Unfortunately, he hadn't been tested enough prior to this point to truly stick with one of the all-time greats.
The 23-year-old made his debut in 2005 and has fought in his fair share of tough bouts. Sure, he has defeated Shane Mosley and Austin Trout, but neither of them compare to Mayweather.
Entering this fight, Alvarez had fought on the big stage in Las Vegas only twice. He was 2-0 in those fights, with one ending in a knockout.
In the other corner, Mayweather's resume speaks for itself. The 36-year-old debuted back in 1996, and he has been taking down quality opponents ever since. His most recent victories have come against the likes of Robert Guerrero, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya, yet some of his other notable wins have come against names such as Genaro Hernandez (1998), Diego Corrales (2001), Ricky Hatton (2007) and Juan Manuel Marquez (2009).
This latest title bout against Canelo happened to be his eighth consecutive fight in Las Vegas. Those previous matches can't be overlooked as he knew what to expect coming into the weekend under the bright lights of the MGM Grand and the millions of viewers worldwide.
Certainly, the pressure of this monumental fight wasn't going to get to the champion. He had gone up against tough competitors in the past, so nerves weren't going to affect him.
Money isn't a power fighter like Alvarez. Only two of his fights at the MGM Grand had ended via the knockout, and only one of those came in the first nine rounds.
Being the legendary defensive fighter that he is allowed Mayweather to stick to his game plan. He came out aggressive to set the tone against a power fighter, which helped him gain an early lead. Then, his ability to outlast opponents came into play in the later rounds.
Alvarez failed to land more than 22 percent of his punches in any round from the sixth round on. He came into the match having landed 42 percent of his punches in his previous seven fights, but Mayweather's quickness held him to only 22 percent for the match. Thus, his trademark power was negated by Money's sheer defensive dominance.
Money is famous for his surgeon-like precision and in-ring intelligence. In that way, he knows how to wear down his opponents and beat up on them late. Against Canelo, he landed over 50 percent of his power punches from the fifth round through the 11th.
It was a relatively close fight early on, but Canelo stood no chance once he was unable to land many powerful punches early on. His best chance at victory was to land high-impact shots early on, and because he lacked the stamina to do much late in the fight, Mayweather took advantage and dominated the scorecard.
The best pound-for-pound fighter in the world once again executed a strategic game plan to control the bout. By improving his record to a pristine 45-0, he continues to show that he is the greatest fighter of his generation.
*All information is courtesy of CompuBoxOnline.com
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