Mayweather vs Canelo: UK trainer Joe Gallagher sees similarities to Mayweather-Hatton fight

Just like in the United States, most boxing experts in the United Kingdom expect Floyd Mayweather to win big on Saturday night against Canelo Alvarez, with 21 of 25 polled picking Floyd in a recent feature from Boxing News.

Perhaps the most interesting and insightful pick comes from highly-respected trainer Joe Gallagher, who compares this fight to the Mayweather-Hatton bout from 2007:

"I'm with Mayweather, big time. Alvarez has too many holes defensively. The finishing position of his hands after he throws is poor and Mayweather will exploit that. Canelo's just a bigger version of Ricky Hatton and look what happened to him against Floyd.

"Despite his obvious size and strength, I don't believe Alvarez is that big a puncher. Look at the difficulty he had in stopping Matthew Hatton and Ryan Rhodes."

... "There's nothing to suggest Alvarez is ‘chinny' so I expect it to go the full distance. ‘Canelo' will land good shots but I expect Mayweather's straight punching to be decisive. Because of Golden Boy's influence on ‘Canelo' it might go to a split decision but Mayweather should prove himself the better fighter and get his hand raised."

Gallagher is arguably the best trainer in the UK and really one of the top trainers in boxing today, and his breakdown of some of Canelo's weaknesses is certainly interesting, and reveals more of what a boxing trainer sees than what the average fan or media member will instinctively pick up on.

Is Gallagher right with this comparison? Will Mayweather be able to handle Canelo as he did Hatton, even if Alvarez's size and strength takes him the distance?