Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero
For sometime now Cinco De Mayo weekend has been known as Cinco De Mayweather, and he has been fighting so well on that weekend that they may need to permanently change the name. This PPV fight is being billed as May Day, which just goes to show how little known Robert Guerrero is to casual boxing fans. For most casual fans May 4th will be Mayweather fighting "some guy we never heard of until he got arrested for having a gun at the airport." But big time boxing fans know Guerrero is a very dangerous opponent for Mayweather.
In his last fight Mayweather fought Miguel Cotto and put on his most exciting bout since a split decision win against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. Although Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision he was repeatedly touched up by Cotto and left the ring bloodied. That fight has caused some to ask if Mayweather has lost a step and if age has finally started to catch up with him. But with jail looming after the fight it may have been that Mayweather just wasn't focused enough for the tough Cotto. Now with no distractions in his life and his father Floyd Sr. back in his corner along with his uncle Roger, Mayweather should be as sharp as ever. His record is a perfect 43-0 with 26 knockouts, and as Mayweather is fond of saying "43 have tried and 43 have failed." At this point in his career fans, and his opponents, know exactly what Mayweather will bring to the ring. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive fighters of all-time, is a very good counter puncher, and his in the ring adjustments and dissection of his opponent is unreal. And even though Mayweather is now 36 years old, his hand speed is still well above average. If Guerrero has a chance of winning he may need to look back at that Cotto fight for inspiration.
It was only two years ago that Guerrero was fighting in the lightweight division, and although he was very talented, he was also widely unknown to the general public. Then in 2012 Guerrero moved up to welterweight to fight Selcuk Aydin and won a good tough fight that opened some peoples eyes. Then came his now famous fight in 2012 against Andre Berto which was the runner-up for 2012 fight of the year. That fight had knockdowns, and a ton of blood, and saw Guerrero emerge not only the winner, but a legit top contender at welterweight. Before that Berto fight Guerrero was an unkown commodity in the welterweight division, he was thought of as a highly skilled boxer, not a hard punching slugger. But call it Guerrero 2.0 because now it seems not only does Guerrero have elite boxing skills, but he can also slug. His record is 31-1-1 with 18 knockouts and his last three fights have been the most impressive of his career. If he can take a cue from Cotto and turn this into a phone booth fight he has a chance to score the upset. Guerrero will need to be ultra aggressive and take chances to beat the best boxer in the world.
Most people who buy this PPV won't tune in to watch a great fight, they will tune in to see if Mayweather finally losses his unblemished record. However for Mayweather to loose Guerrero will need to fight perfect and powerful. Guerrero will need to take chances to hurt Mayweather but also make sure his defense stays tight, or Mayweather the historic counter puncher will punish him all night. If Guerrero makes this a dog fight and touches up Mayweather like Cotto did, he has a chance to make it a very entertaining fight and possibly win. But if Mayweather does what he does, perfect defense and counter punching, he could make it a very frustrating night for Guerrero. This fight has a chance to be very exciting, if Mayweather vs. Cotto was good, this should be even better.
PREDICTION: Floyd Mayweather wins a unanimous decision in a very good fight, one of the toughest of his career.
Abner Mares vs. Daniel Ponce De Leon
The appetizer to Mayweather vs. Guerrero could end up stealing the show and being the most exciting fight of the night. That fight features Abner Mares against Daniel Ponce De Leon in a featherweight title fight. Both men can easily be categorized as Mexican warriors, so the blood should be flowing. Maybe the names aren't big time but the action will be.
Abner Mares isn't very well known, which is surprised considering he is the #10 ranked p4p fighter in the world. After a big stage like a Mayweather PPV, every boxing fan will know the name Abner Mares. Especially since he has such a crowd pleasing style of fighting. Mares always comes forward and throws heavy and often. What also makes him very exciting is that his defense isn't amazing so he takes some big punches, but shows a great chin. Although Mares is only 27 years old he has fought some of the best in the world including Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko twice, Eric Morel, and Anselmo Moreno, a win that catapulted him into the P4P rankings. Mares has an unbeaten record of 25-0-1 with 13 knockouts. He is highly talented and with a win on Saturday night can finally make himself known worldwide. But beating Ponce De Leon is no easy task.
Ponce De Leon is a tough veteran who is 32 years old and has been fighting since 2001. If you saw this man in a dark alley you would run, he just looks like a tough badass fighter, and that is exactly who he is. Ponce De Leon loves a slugfest and posses exceptional power for such a low weight class. His record is 44-4 with an outstanding 35 knockouts. Even though he has 4 losses, 3 of those have come against some of the best in the world; Adrien Broner, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Juan Manuel Lopez. Against the quicker Mares, he should look for that one punch that can change a fight.
This fight should be all action from start to finish, however long it lasts. Both men love a good tough slugfest but Mares has the advantage as far as boxing skills go. If it is a slugfest Mares will throw a lot of quick combination, while Ponce De Leon will look to land haymakers. Excpect to see a ton of blood and even more heart on display. This fight could easily be the best fight of the night and on paper is a possible fight of the year candidate. The questionis whether Mares can finally gain some national attention, or if Ponce De Leon will prove to be too tough for the younger fighter to conquer.
PREDICTION: Abner Mares gets the biggest win of his career by a majority decision victoy.
Gabriel Rosado vs. J'Leon Love
Another solid fight on this absolutely stacked card is the tough Philadelphia based Gabriel Rosado taking on Mayweather promoted J'Leon Love. While Love is a great unknown, fans have seen Rosado a few times, most notably against Gennady Golovkin. While Love is probably only on this care because he is promoted by it's headliner, Rosado deserves his spot.
Rosado was last seen on HBO getting beat to hell by Golovkin. That fight only lasted 7 rounds until Rosado's corner threw in the towel, but Rosado proved a lot with that performance. He showed fans that he is a man with more heart then valentines day. Rosado refused to give an inch and never stopped throwing punches even though he was constantly being punished for his efforts. Rosado's record doesn't jump off the page, it is 21-6 with 13 knockouts. Most of his losses came early in his career though and coming out of Philadelphia that is bound to happen, it is a tough fight city that loves boxing. Rosado has powerful hands, is tough is a diner steak, and has a rock solid chin. Love will have his hands full Saturday night.
Love is a young talented fighter, but fans have yet to see just how much talent he has. That is due to the fact that Love hasn;t fought any name fighters and Rosado will be by far the biggest test of his career. Love has a perfect record of 15-0 with 8 knockouts, but once again, he was beating sub par fighters. This will also be only the third time Love has been in a 10 round fight so he doesn't have a ton of in ring experience. Love has also fought all over the U.S. in obscure boxing locations such as Mississippi, Georgia, and Iowa, which doesn't bode well for him. When you fight in places like that is usually comes against bums.
The reason Love is on this card is because of Mayweather, but if he were to beat the ultra tough Rosado it would say a lot about his future. That will not be easy to do though. Rosado is going to make this a slugfest and look to end Love's night early. If Love were to lose his career would not look very bright. If Rosado wins he could earn another big name fight and continue his rise.
PREDICTION: Gabriel Rosado wins this fight by knocking out Love in the 8th round.
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Alexander Munoz
When most fans hear bantamweight fight, they tune out. Well this is a bantamweight fight that should not be missed. This fight features two men who surely no casual fans have ever heard of. And while one of those names is okay to forget, the other must be remember, because he is on the verge of some big fights. That name to remember is Leo Santa Cruz, the name to forget will be Alexander Munoz.
Santa Cruz is one of the most fan friendly fighters in boxing, which is one of the reasons he got to fight on network television on CBS. He throws fast and hard and has excellent footwork. Santa Cruz has an unbeaten record of 23-0-1 with 13 knockouts. His only blemish is a draw that happened in his second career professional fight. The 24 year old Santa Cruz should be able to use superb skills to easily handle the veteran Munoz.
Munoz is 34 years old and is only 3-2 in this last 5 fights. This fight should be a showcase for Santa Cruz to gain more fan attention in the sport. Munoz will fight tough, but just may not have enough left in the tank. His record is 36-4 with a strong 28 knockouts. Getting knockout number 29 will probably be his only hope of winning.
While this fight is definitely a showcase for Santa Cruz, he needs to be careful with the punching power of Munoz. If Santa Cruz were to get knocked out it would not only be a huge upset but a major setback for his career. On the other hand if he continues to make exciting fights and look impressive, his career should be booming. The skill level and speed of Santa Cruz should be too much for Munoz to overcome.
PREDICTION: Leo Santa Cruz wins another exciting fight by dominating Munoz and getting a unanimous decision.
Mayweather KO'd in the 7th.
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