Bob Sheridan: “Canelo’s the bigger guy and he will use that strength. If he catches Golovkin, Golovkin will go!”

Hall of Fame boxing commentator, ‘The Colonel’ Bob Sheridan is one of the most respected and most well-known voices in the sport of boxing. Having worked in the sport for over forty years, Sheridan has been ringside for some of the biggest events in the history of the sport. I recently had a chance to speak to Bob and discuss with him the recent Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor Bout. Sheridan gave his views on the event, the scoring, and both Mayweather & McGregor’s performances. Additionally, I discussed with Bob the Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin bout, breaking down the match up and getting his prediction. Here is what Bob Sheridan had to say.

Robert Brown: What were your thoughts on the Mayweather-McGregor fight?

Bob Sheridan: It was very competitive for the first five rounds. As far as scoring, I gave McGregor the first four rounds, I don’t know how two of the judges had two of the first three rounds scored the other way, but that’s academic now anyway. The fact of the matter is, McGregor came prepared and he did the best he could, given that this is an MMA athlete and tried to make a transition to boxing.

McGregor ran into a future Hall of Famer and a master boxer. Floyd just waited for this guy to more of less punch himself out. For the people who didn’t see the fight, we can tell you that McGregor’s arms started to look very heavy after the fifth round and he didn’t have the zip in his punches and Mayweather turned up the pace and did a great job in outboxing him.

There was no way going into the fight that McGregor could do anything but what he did, and that was to go after Mayweather but Mayweather being such a good defensive fighter, he couldn’t get to him. Mayweather’s strategy worked and he stopped him in the tenth.

Robert Brown: Does Mayweather lose any face or get demerit points for the fight being so competitive in the early rounds, or did he get what he wanted out of this fight?

Bob Sheridan: I think that Mayweather dictated exactly what he wanted to do in the fight. He more or less gave away the first three or maybe the first five rounds, but after that, McGregor’s arms just looked heavy and from that point on, Mayweather just totally controlled the fight and that was his fight plan. He said it before going into the fight and in the press conference after the fight, so he once again proved why he is one of the greatest fighters that ever lived.

Robert Brown: Where do you place him among the best fighters of all time?

Bob Sheridan: He’s up there certainly because we always knew that he’s one of the great defensive fighters. Look at the guys that he’s defeated in his career, he’s beat just about everybody and certainly he has had a career with 50-0 and no one else has ever been able to do that. He’s going to go into the boxing Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible and he’ll go down in history as one of the all time great fighters.

Robert Brown: What are your thoughts on the Canelo vs. Golovkin matchup?

Bob Sheridan: This is a tremendous match-up, this is a pure boxing event. This is a fight that doesn’t need any hype, you got Canelo Alvarez right in his peak, and Gennady Golovkin maybe at the tail end of his peak. I think Golovkin may be a better boxer and I give him a slight edge, but Canelo Alvarez certainly showed in fights where he’s been able to take out big punchers. This is a fight that has to take place and there’s reasons on both sides why either fighter could win this fight. When you have a situation like that involving two major personalities in boxing, it’s a tremendous fight and I look forward to seeing it.

Robert Brown: Can Canelo take anything out of the Danny Jacobs performance?

Bob Sheridan: I think he really can’t take anything out of it. I just think these fighters match up terrifically and it will be a seesaw battle throughout the course of the fight for as long as it goes. If it goes the distance, I think the world boxing fans are in for a real treat.

Robert Brown: Even though Canelo is going up in weight, some feel he is the bigger, stronger fighter. What do you think about that?

Bob Sheridan: Yeah he’s the bigger guy and he will use that strength. When he was going against Kirkland, he was able to gobble up Kirkland’s power in the early going and then he caught him with a shot. If he catches Golovkin, Golovkin will go as well.

Robert Brown: Who do you think will win?

Bob Sheridan: I don’t really know, I’m not a fortune teller. This is a 50-50 fight, but I would lean towards Golovkin just by a tick.