Saturday night the best fighter in the world will be looking to win his 47th straight bout and his second in a row against Marcos Rene Maidana (35-4; 31.) There was some controversy over the scoring in their first fight, but in my opinion Mayweather won the fight seven rounds to five. After multiple viewings I just can’t give Maidana more than five rounds, but that’s a significant amount more than any fighter has taken from Floyd since Jose Luis Castillo. With the experience Maidana gained in their first matchup he just might be able to pull off the upset. In case you’re on the fence about shelling out your hard earned cash for the PPV, or you’re buying the fight and interested in what else you’ll get for your money here’s a preview of the four undercard bouts.
ALFREDO ANGULO (22-4; 18) vs. JAMES DE LA ROSA (22-2; 13) – 10 RD, 160 lbs. Angulo was once a big prospect. He started his career 20-1 with his only loss coming against Kermit “The Killer” Cintron. But three losses in his last five fights have stagnated his dreams of becoming a world champ. He desperately needs a win here or he can kiss those dreams goodbye. De La Rosa comes in having lost two of his last four, and never having faced world class competition. He’s a tomato can set up for Angulo to crush and get back on track.
LEO SANTA CRUZ (27-0-1; 15) vs. MANUEL ROMAN (17-2-3; 6) – 12 RD, 122 lbs., for Santa Cruz’s WBC super-bantamweight title.
Santa Cruz is one of the top young up-and-coming fighters in the world today. He’s legitimately undefeated as his draw came in his second career fight which was a four-rounder. If you’ve never seen him box this is fight to check out; he’s a possible future star. Roman comes in 3-2-2 in his last seven fights and should make for nothing more than a punching bag as Santa Cruz hopes for a unification bout with Guillermo Rigondeaux to decide the undisputed king at 122. MIGUEL
VAZQUEZ (34-3; 13) vs. MICKEY BEY (20-1-1; 10) – 12 RD, 135 lbs., for Vazquez’s IBF lightweight title.
Vazquez is as good a pick as any in the discussion for best lightweight. If he takes care of business here and Terrence Crawford beats Ray Beltran next month, Crawford and Vazquez would hopefully get together to decide the undisputed champ. Vazquez has never lost to a true lightweight, of his three losses two have come against Canelo Alvarez (now a super welterweight) and the other was against Timothy Bradley (now a welterweight.) Bey should provide better competition than De La Rosa or Roman, but this should still be a somewhat easy win for the champ.
HUMBERTO SOTO (64-8-2; 35) vs. JOHN MOLINA (27-4; 22) – 10 RD, 140 lbs. This should be the best fight of the night. Soto is a true Mexican warrior who has been in the ring with all the top competition over the years and has won 21 of his last 22 fights. The former champ is 34 and looking for one more shot at gold. Molina comes in having lost three of his last six but all to real good fighters. He’s a tough SOB and he’ll surely bring it. Since Soto is also tough as nails and always brings it, this could be a war. Not exactly a technical clinic, but a war nonetheless.
Article By: Anthony Schiano
