Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez: Canelo Would Be Dismantled by Money

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez beat up an old Shane Mosley Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but he is not ready to challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr. There is nothing like an over-the-hill foe to make a boxer look better than he really is.

Talk of a possible unification bout between Mayweather and Alvarez was discussed prior to Saturday night's terrific card in Vegas. If both fighters won, they could potentially meet for supremacy at 154 pounds.

Both Alvarez and Mayweather were victorious, but the caliber of competition was clearly not equal. Miguel Cotto was a quality and game opponent for Mayweathe; he pushed Money in a way he hasn't been pushed for some time—if ever.

Alvarez essentially beat up a man old enough to be his father—literally. Alvarez is 21 years old, Mosley is 40, and his son is the same age as Canelo.

Don't get me wrong, Canelo is one of the best young fighters in the sport, and his future is as bright as any fighter under the age of 25. But he showed two deficiencies Saturday night that would be exposed by Mayweather.

Let's examine them.

Inactivity

Alvarez simply is not busy enough. I have seen him fight six times, and though he has been busier in previous fights than he was against Mosley, he isn't active enough to give Floyd problems.

He would need to attack Floyd with jabs and put pressure on him. He seems content to sit back and and attempt to counter too often.

What will he do when a skilled fighter doesn't come directly at him?

He won't have any luck fighting Floyd that way. It's possible he could employ a different game plan if the two were to meet, but from what I've seen, that natural tendency places him at a disadvantage.

Defense

It could have been Alvarez throwing caution to the wind against the ancient Mosley, but he took a few hard shots from Shane. None of them hurt him, as Mosley's punches have about as much steam as a broken iron, but they landed and they scored.

Imagine those punches coming from Mayweather with zip and landing with even more regularity.

That's not a good look for Alvarez.

Alvarez can punch, he has solid accuracy and fundamentals, but I don't think he has all the pieces in place to challenge Mayweather.

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