Floyd Mayweather Must Avoid Slow Start Against Canelo Alvarez

If Floyd Mayweather wants to keep his unbeaten record against Canelo Alvarez, he needs to hit the ground running.

In his return to the ring against Robert Guerrero in May 2013, Money May looked a little rusty in the first couple of rounds. Two of the three judges scored the first round in favor of Guerrero, and another gave The Ghost the second round, per Sports Illustrated.

From there on out, it was all Mayweather. He lost the seventh and 12th rounds but otherwise controlled the fight. He was able to withstand that early threat and coast for the following 10 rounds.

You could see the gulf in class between Guerrero and Mayweather. Against an opponent like that, Money May could afford to start slowly and finish strong.

With an opponent like Alvarez, he may not have that luxury. If he comes out flat again, he's going to pay for it in a big way.

From the outset, Canelo is likely to come right at Mayweather with jabs, trying to string some combinations together. He's not going to aimlessly run at Money May, but he's not going to be afraid to take the fight right to him.

Unlike Guerrero, Canelo has the ability to end this fight with one punch. If he catches Mayweather in the early rounds, when Money is feeling the fight out, it's over.

Mayweather needs to avoid Alvarez's best punches while setting up his game plan for the later rounds. It's what he has done so well in his previous fights. Sometimes he has to take a couple of big punches, but once he sees his opponent's best stuff, he adjusts and learns the best way to defend them for the rest of the fight.

The concern is that Mayweather will take too many early blows by trying to feel out his opponent. If Canelo gets a little bit of an advantage, it's going to put Money May on the back foot. Alvarez will then get an advantage and continue working away at his opponent, impressing judges and winning rounds along the way.

By winning those early rounds, Mayweather will start piling pressure on Alvarez from the get-go. That will cause Canelo to get more and more desperate. His punches will get sloppier and sloppier—and easier to read and defend by Money.

Mayweather's best bet for winning this fight is taking it to a decision. His class and defensively ability will eventually win over the judges.