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At his official Hayemaker blog, David Haye broke down tonight's Alvarez vs Rhodes fight on HBO, and thinks his countryman can win this fight:
In terms of style, this is also a great match-up for Ryan, as he won't have to go looking for Alvarez and he won't have to force anything. Alvarez will be right in Ryan's face at all times, and that will present some lovely opportunities for those sharp southpaw counter-punches he likes to throw.
Of course, Alvarez wouldn't have got to where he is today if he couldn't fight a bit, and I'm sure there is a very good reason why he is favourite in this fight. Alvarez is being tipped by a lot of people to be the future of Mexican boxing, and that brings both confidence and expectancy.
If Alvarez can handle the expectancy then he will only grow in confidence from that kind of talk. If he can add the name of Ryan Rhodes to his list of beaten victims, it will go some way to confirming what many people are saying about this young Mexican.
I'm willing to be proved wrong, but I think Rhodes gives Alvarez plenty of problems this weekend and may even pull off the upset. Ryan is very similar to me in terms of attitude and mindset, and he will undoubtedly relish fighting in Alvarez' hometown and silencing the cheers of the Mexican fans.
This is about the same take most have, I think -- Rhodes has a good shot, but is the underdog for various reasons (Alvarez's youth and hometown advantage being high on the list).