Mayweather vs. Alvarez: Counter Punches Will Be Frequent in Saturday's Fight

[Bleacher Report]

http://ringnews24.com/images/pixel.gifBoth Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez have proven that they can land some big shots, and we will see plenty of those come from counter punches on Saturday night.

Both fighters have had a lot of success counter punching. In fact, neither would likely be in the position they're in right now if it wasn't for that staple of their repertoires. Mayweather might not be the top boxer in the world at 44-0, and Canelo may not have had the chance to take on Money or have a 42-0-1 record.

The counter punch has been what makes Mayweather such a deadly fighter throughout his career. His speed, defense and in-ring awareness makes him capable of throwing a deadly counter at any point in a fight.

http://ringnews24.com/images/pixel.gif

In fact, Mayweather firmly believes that he's the greatest counter puncher of all time. In an interview with Ben Thompson from FightHype.com back in 2011, Thompson asked Money what he thought about Manny Pacquiao struggling against Juan Manuel Marquez, he said:

I'm just saying that, you know, if he's having a problem with Marquez, I mean, Marquez is a good counterpuncher, but I'm the best to ever do it.

http://ringnews24.com/images/pixel.gif

That is the kind of confidence we expect from Mayweather, but he's also backed it up throughout his career. He showcased his ability to make his opponents miss and make them pay in his last fight against Robert Guerrero.

According to Compubox, Mayweather simply dominated Guerrero in regards to landing shots. Mayweather was hit by only 19 percent of Guerrero's shots, while he landed 41 percent of his own, along with 60 percent of his power punches.

Canelo is a strong counter puncher as well. He combines some nice accuracy with impressive power, and he has the ability to make opponents look silly with some vicious shots. He showed everyone that when he knocked down Austin Trout in the seventh round. It was the first time Trout had been knocked down in his career, and it was from an incredible counter.

http://ringnews24.com/images/pixel.gif

It appears that Alvarez also firmly believes that counter punching will be important in this fight. A report from FightHype.com reported that Canelo had this to say about countering:

My counter punching is going to help. It's going to be an important factor, but it's going to be an all-around thing, not just counter punching.

While Canelo is acknowledging the fact that he can't just rely on counters, he does admit that it will be important, especially against such a strong fighter in Mayweather.

Saturday will prove if Canelo is truly a rising superstar and if Mayweather is still the best fighter in the world. Both fighters will be looking for the counters, and there will likely be some big shots landed throughout the fight because of that.

Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com

 

 

More...