Floyd Mayweather collides with Logan Paul in an epic exhibition bout as the five-weight world champion shares the ring with the YouTube superstar in Miami on Sunday June 6, live on Sky Sports Box Office
Thursday 3 June 2021 17:47, UK
Floyd Mayweather is the only man to conquer Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, but how did he produce a masterful win? Our Panel of experts reveal the secret to his success...
The five-weight world champion enhanced his status as one of the world's finest fighters with a majority decision victory over Canelo in 2013, which is the sole defeat on the Mexican star's 59-fight record.
But what was Mayweather's winning formula against Canelo? The Panel of experts deliver their verdict...
Sky customers: Buy Mayweather vs Logan Paul
Non-Sky customers: Buy Mayweather vs Logan Paul
Speed and his defence. Against Canelo, Mayweather's defence was good, but so was his speed and timing. He was able to land his shots, counter punch with that hook and that right hand.
Mayweather makes you fight his fight. You cannot do that, unless you've got the speed and the ability that he has. He took Canelo out of his rhythm.
You neutralise someone's power by keeping them moving. If you can't set your feet, then you can't land your big shots.
Belief and experience. Canelo was unbeaten at the time and he was on that direction to stardom, but that was a big gamble by Canelo's people.
Mayweather knows everything in the book about boxing and Canelo just didn't have that experience to be able to deal with that. The only thing you cannot buy, borrow, or pretend to have is experience.
Mayweather just controlled Canelo. What Mayweather does, and he did it against Canelo, he neutralises the threat of his opponent. He reads them, he nullifies them. He stops them doing what they do, then when he's got them under control, they are dancing to his beat.
Every time you throw a punch, you miss but get hit back. Eventually you stop throwing punches.
Mayweather breaks their rhythm. He slows them down and he does that by being so hard to hit and his masterful counter punching. Every time you throw a punch, you miss but get hit back. Eventually you stop throwing punches.
If you're somebody that likes putting combinations together, and you're boxing at a certain rhythm and you stop doing that, then you have become neutralised. He just picks you apart then.
Mayweather cancelled out anything that Canelo brought to him. He used that famous shoulder roll, quick counters, and beat him to the shot.
But you must remember that Canelo was very young. There will always be an argument about whether Mayweather could have done that to the Canelo of today, if I'm totally honest.
Floyd makes you fight his fight. Someone like Canelo, who likes to systematically break an opponent down, they get a little hesitant, because Mayweather is almost three moves ahead. He's always got the answer. Mayweather then raises the pace when he wants to. All great fighters, that's what they do.
He just knew too much for him. It was maybe a bit too soon for Canelo, but at the same time, that's easy to say when you get beaten. Mayweather was too cute all round, which is pretty much what he's done against everybody really.
He manages to have the kind of fight that he wants to have and not you. That's what it's all about. People talk about styles make fights and all of that, but boxing is all about distance really isn't it. If you manage to control that, then you control the fight and the pace of it. Mayweather does that all the time.
Watch Mayweather v Logan Paul on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from midnight. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Non-Sky TV subscribers can book and watch it here.
