Pearson vs. El Harrak: Preview, Prediction for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Undercard

This Saturday night in Las Vegas, undefeated junior middleweight prospect Chris Pearson will face Said El Harrak on the undercard for Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao.

I'm not sure many of the fans planning to shell out $100 for this broadcast were clamoring to get a look at Pearson, but he's managed by Al Haymon and one of the better up-and-coming fighters promoted by Mayweather.

It's hardly a surprise to see him getting this high-profile slot.  

Tale of the Tape

Per Boxrec	Chris Pearson	Said El Harrak
Record:	11-0, 9 KOs	12-2-2, 7 KOs
Height:	5'10"	5'11"
Reach:	72"	Unlisted
Weight:	154 lbs	154 lbs
Age:	24	27
Stance:	Southpaw	Orthodox
Hometown:	Dayton, Ohio	Henderson, Nevada
Rounds:	44	64

Pearson and El Harrak are relatively similar in height and weight, but Pearson has a slightly more compact and athletic build. Harrak has fought at welterweight before, and Pearson is a young fighter likely to move up to full middleweight. 

El Harrak lives in Nevada now but was born in London and is of Moroccan descent. Pearson is from Dayton but spends a lot of time in Vegas, training at the Mayweather Boxing Club. 

Main Storylines

Pearson began boxing at seven and compiled an outstanding amateur resume that culminated with a national title in 2011. After coming up short in the 2012 Olympic trials, he turned professional. 

Pearson now has an 11-0 record with nine knockouts. He's got to be viewed as one of the better prospects in Floyd Mayweather's promotional organization. I'm not sold on him as an elite talent, though. 

I was ringside when he edged Lanardo Tyner by split decision in February 2014. Pearson was knocked down in Round 6 of that fight and generally struggled. The fight was later ruled a no-contest when both men failed their post-fight drug test. 

Tyner is an experienced professional, but he's a midlevel journeyman at best. He's also fought most of his career at 140 and 147 pounds, so he was giving up substantial size to Pearson. 

El Harrak has some talent and a bit of experience. His most high-profile opponent was Jesus Soto Karass, who beat him by split decision in 2012. El Harrak's other loss came against Lanard Lane by TKO in Round 2.

Given that El Harrak lives in Las Vegas and is trained by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, I am inclined to think he and Pearson are already at least a little bit familiar with each other. 

Strengths

Pearson is a quick, combination puncher with a good sense of distance and range. He has spent over two-thirds of his young life in boxing gyms. Throwing punches and then moving out of range is instinctual for him at this point. 

Pearson has not faced high-level opposition, but he's shown good power against the fighters he has faced. 

El Harrak is a tough, gritty fighter who shows up to fight. Talent-wise, it's tough to see him as a true contender, but he has some craft. His power is at least enough to make opponents respect him. 

Weaknesses

Pearson seemed to experience a lot of frustration against Tyner when the rugged journeyman kept the pressure on and refused to be discouraged by Pearson's physical advantages. Boxing can be a brutal sport for talented front-runners who want to coast on their gifts. 

One of the main problems I saw for him in the Tyner fight is that he refused to stay busy with his jab and dictate the pace of the fight. 

El Harrak is a sloppy fighter. He has a tendency to paw with his jab and swat with his punches. He leaves a lot of room to be hit when he throws his own offense. 

El Harrak works at a predictable pace and moves in a predictable manner. That could create some real problems for him against a technically gifted fighter like Pearson. 

Chris Pearson Will Win If...

Pearson needs to establish a good, stiff jab while moving to his right so that his lead foot ends up positioned outside of El Harrak's lead left. A busy jab and movement will be the key for Pearson to control the tempo of this fight. 

Pearson has good counterpunching, but I don't think he should sit back and wait to score big with a counter. He needs to pop away with the jab while moving into position to deliver the straight left, with a right hook or uppercut behind it. 

If Pearson scores heavily in the early rounds of this fight and puts El Harrak in the hole, he can then settle back a bit and wait for El Harrak to sell out for a big punch that will leave the opening for the counter. 

But generally speaking, Pearson needs to take control of this fight and be the one who consistently gets off first. 

Said El Harrak Will Win If...

El Harrak needs to make this a rough fight for Chris Pearson. He's not going to box with Pearson, so he needs to make things ugly and grind it out. 

El Harrak needs to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for Pearson early in the fight and show that he considers this his fight to win. He needs to slip his lead left foot to the outside of southpaw Pearson's lead right and then jab with him. When Pearson's jab shoots back, El Harrak should follow it in while positioned too far outside for Pearson to reach him with the straight left. 

Inside, El Harrak should let the hands go and bang away at Pearson's torso and head. His model here needs to be Marcos Maidana vs. Floyd Mayweather, particularly in the first bout. 

Prediction

It will be a major setback if Pearson struggles against El Harrak in this fight. Pearson is a fighter who is viewed as a potential emerging star, and El Harrak has the look of a career journeyman. 

El Harrak is in the "opponent" role in this fight, and although he will certainly show up planning to win, I just don't see him having the technical skills and physical abilities to hold up against Pearson. 

Pearson should win this fight by middle-round stoppage. He's got decent power and is going to have too many opportunities to hit El Harrak. 

A win like this will not really demonstrate that Pearson is indeed a true future superstar. But it will keep his career moving forward, and the high-profile nature of the fight will get his name out.