By Ryan Maquiñana
Floyd Mayweather believes that Saturday’s pay-per-view matchup between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo will end before the scheduled 12 rounds.
Speaking at a press conference announcing his own pay-per-view showdown with Marcos Maidana on May 3, Mayweather briefly touched on the bout between the Mexican stars.
“I would bet that it wouldn’t go (the distance),” Mayweather said. "It won’t go the distance. Nonstop action tonight.”
Though Alvarez comes in as a heavy favorite, questions have surfaced if the one-sided drubbing he received at Mayweather’s hands last September -- combined with Angulo’s relentless pressure and punching power -- will comprise the recipe for an upset.
Without naming his pick to win, Mayweather offered his endorsement for Alvarez’s mental toughness.
“Canelo’s a different breed,” Mayweather said. “I’m being honest. A lot of people think because of the way I made Canelo look, everybody think that they’re going to able to do the same thing, which is not true. Canelo’s a smart fighter. He’s strong, he can box and he can punch with any hand.”
Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) faces Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) in the main event at the Las Vegas MGM Grand.
Ryan Maquiñana was the boxing producer for NBCOlympics.com during London 2012 and writes a boxing column for CSNBayArea.com. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine's Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.com or follow him on Twitter@RMaq28
