Article I found about Mayweather vs. Baldomir

Pretty Boy vs. Cinderella Man: Who is the fairest one of them all?

by James Stevens
creativconcepts@gmail.com
(I removed his website because I didn't want to advertise his site. But I got his permission to post this.)

Carlos Baldomir:

I am very happy for Carlos Baldomir in the same way that I was happy for Oba Carr when he was given the opportunity to face Felix Trinidad. Its always good to see a fighter who rises from obscurity to net a huge payday, even when they have no chance of winning the fight. Now I know some people are saying that his wins against Judah and Gatti show that he has more than a fair chance tonight for his cinderella story to continue but I'm afraid Carlos Baldomir has finally reached his midnight.

Baldomir vs. Judah

Judah controlled the first 6 rounds of that fight with his speed, bewildering Baldomir for the first half of the fight. It wasn't until Judah was caught with a good punch late in the 7th round that the fight really turned in Baldomir's favor. And even when he had Judah one good punch away from taking a nap on the canvas he couldn't land it and was only able to pull out a razor thin decision. Throughout the bout Judah looked unfocused and unprepared, with his father admitting that he didn't expect Baldomir to get past the third round and it showed in their lack of a gameplan late in the fight.

Baldomir vs. Gatti

In his fight with Gatti it was nothing more than a brawl with the bigger man coming out on top. Gatti was able to land a plethora of punches but being a bigger man Baldomir was able to take them and deliver his own. And lets be honest Gatti is not known for his defense nor is he known for being a great welterweight as he was also dismantled by Oscar De La Hoya at this weight. Gatti big wins by way of his punching power come at jr. welterweight and below.

Keys To Victory:

To win tonight Carlos Baldomir will have to try to hit Floyd Mayweather with a big shot and hope his chin can't take the punch. Because of Mayweather's speed this will be incredibly hard to do so he has to either time a punch correctly or land a solid counter punch. After that he has to swarm Mayweather like a deranged fan and try to land as many punches as possible. To win this fight he needs to keep Mayweather confined to a corner and not allow him to use the ring to his advantage.

Floyd Mayweather:

I'm not a Mayweather convert, thinking that he is only second to God but I am also not a Mayweather hater who try to use average untested fighters to discredit his abilities *ahem* Margarito. The truth is Mayweather is one of the best fighters in the world and anyone with a working set of eyes can see it, even if they do not want to admit it. This fight tonight will solidify Mayweather's standing at the top of the welterweight bracket, that the win against Judah, who remained champion because of boxing politics, could not.

Mayweather vs. Judah

The Judah that faced Mayweather was not the same unfocused Judah that showed up to face Baldomir. The Judah who showed up to face Mayweather would have been a challenge to any opponent, just ask Cory Spinks following their rematch. Judah got off to a good start but by the fifth round he was being throughly dominated and this would continue throughout the rest of the fight. Landing double and triple jabs to an opponent with Judah's slickness and speed isn't easy and Mayweather did it with ease.

Mayweather vs. Gatti

Mayweather fought Gatti at jr. welterweight and eviscerated him in 6 rounds. Gatti had absolutely no chance from the opponent bell and his confusion about how to fight Mayweather showed all over his face. Gatti not only lost this fight but he never got started it in, being little more than a punching bag for Mayweather.

Keys to Victory:

As long as Floyd keeps to his stick and move gameplan I don't see how he can lose. Landing punches should be easy for Mayweather but unlike Gatti he needs to remember to go to the body and not break his hands against the skull of Baldomir. This should be another night of easy work for Floyd as his speed should confound the flat footed Baldomir.

*Side Notes: As a rule of thumb I don't like to compare fights, because style makes fights. All the critically analyzed breakdowns and stats don't help you when you are standing toe to toe with your opponent in the ring. You can't tell your opponent, "Hey I should win this fight because my record is better than yours." But since my knowledge of Baldomir is severly limited it is the best way to compare the fighters.

One of the most underestimated parts about Floyd is his in-ring smarts. His boxing ability has allowed him to damage his opponent while taken minimal damage to his frame. If you hadn't just watched him fight you would of thought that he had just worked the heavy bag at the gym. He's lightning fast with good reflexes which spells doom for a flat footed wild throwing puncher like Baldomir. The quickest way to any given point is a straight line, a math lesson that will be in full effect tonight. Floyd is very accurate and patient, he won't jump all over an opponent just because he landed a good shot, he knows a wounded animal still has claws.

What do you think?