Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Undercard: Matchups, Preview and Predictions
While the lion's share of media attention has rightfully gone to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in the buildup to their in-ring meeting on May 2, boxing fans accustomed to squeezing as much pugilistic value from pay-per-views will be glad to know that the overlooked undercard is finally set in stone.
A total of six fights make up the complete undercard for Mayweather-Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A mere two bouts will join the megafight on pay-per-view, however, one of which wasn't finalized until quite late in the buildup to Saturday.
According to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jose Cayetano will take on Leo Santa Cruz in a 10-round bout on the televised undercard.
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| super middlewight | Brad Solomon (24-0, 9 KOs) vs. Adrian Rene Granados (13-3, 9 KOs) | 10 | Solomon via UD |
| cruiserweight | Andrew Tabiti (9-0, 9 KOs) vs. Anthony Caputo Smith (15-4, 10 KOs) | 8 | Tabiti via KO |
| super middleweight | Jesse Hart (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mike Jimenez (17-0, 11 KOs) | 10 | Hart via KO |
| middleweight | Chris Pearson (11-0, 9 KOs) vs. Said El Harrak (12-2, 7 KOs) | 10 | El Harrak via UD |
| super bantamweight | Leo Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs) vs. Jose Cayetano (17-3, 8 KOs) | 10 | Santa Cruz via TKO |
| featherweight | Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1 KO) vs. Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KOs) | 12 | Lomachenko via UD |
Santa Cruz has long been confirmed to take to the squared circle Saturday, but at least two potential opponents for the WBC super bantamweight champion were rejected by the Nevada Boxing Commission before approving Cayetano, per Carp.
The other televised undercard bout will have WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko defend his title against Gamalier Rodriguez.
The rest of the fights will be for in-arena fans only, a shame in some regards considering a few potential gems dot the card. Here's a look at the complete undercard along with predictions and a preview of the pay-per-view bouts.
Let's get this out of the way early: Santa Cruz should have no problem brushing off the unheralded Cayetano. A knockout is definitely in play here, even though Santa Cruz doesn't pack exceptional power.
UCNLive.com's Steve Kim was unimpressed when Cayetano's name came up as a potential opponent:
Cayetano has lost two of his last four fights and has yet to fight anyone of note in his career. Santa Cruz's road to the Mayweather-Pacquiao undercard hasn't exactly been fraught with peril, but he is unquestionably a talented prizefighter. The 26-year-old is coming off TKO victories over Jesus Ruiz and Manuel Roman and has made four successful defenses of his WBC super bantamweight title. (The belt will not be on the line against Cayetano.)
What Cayetano has the potential to do on May 2 is give the fans an action-packed, fast-paced bout that primes them for the megafight. Cayetano's been knocked down just once in his career, hitting the canvas in the fifth round in a loss to Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. in August 2013.
He did manage to survive all 10 rounds and at least see a decision in that contest. Fans can only hope he shows the same resolve and carries on in his free-swinging ways against Santa Cruz.
Lomachenko will have his WBO world featherweight belt on the line Saturday against Rodriguez. While the Ukranian's professional ledger is short, one cannot discount his decorated amateur and Olympic career. He's a rising star in the world of boxing and should be able to come away with an easy victory Saturday.
The 27-year-old was last seen pummeling Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo on the Pacquiao-Chris Algieri undercard in November 2014. Lomachenko dominated his strong-chinned opponent despite severely hurting his left hand midway through the fight.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was happy to give Lomachenko a grand stage upon which to exhibit his many talents, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:
"I'm his biggest fan and I was from the beginning. I thought this guy was amazing and it's an honor to promote him. I want the fans on May 2 to see a typical Lomachenko display of all of his talents, his smarts, his body punching. He's an extraordinary talent and this is a good platform to exhibit that talent before the biggest possible audience.
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His ability to fight through pain, make full use of the ring and devastating handspeed should prove tough for his challenger Saturday.
The 28-year-old Rodriguez hasn't lost since 2009 and has slowly but surely worked his way up the ranks in his division. He's forced stoppages in five of his last seven bouts, which includes winning the WBO NABO featherweight title in May 2013 and making three successful defenses of that belt.
Bleacher Report's Briggs Seekins detailed some of Rodriguez's strengths:
"Gamalier Rodriguez is a veteran fighter who has come up in the sport the hard way. He uses his jab well to set up his offense and varies his attack to the body and head. His lead hook to the body is very effective.
Rodriguez has solid punching power, with 17 of his 25 victories coming within the distance.
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While Rodriguez has a distinct reach advantage over Lomachenko (69" to Lomachenko's 65"), the latter's speed and guile should prove to be too much for the Puerto Rican challenger.
Santa Cruz and his camp are hardly doing themselves any favors with the underwhelming opponents of late, so look for Lomachenko to be the undercard fighter who climbs his way to a greater tier of stardom after May 2 (assuming he wins). It's quite possible that Lomachenko will never have more eyeballs on him for a bout than he will Saturday.
With a strong (but not too strong) opponent and a premier slot on the undercard of one of the most hotly anticipated bouts of all time, look for Lomachenko to come away with a convincing victory and plenty of new admirers.
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