Baldomir-Mayweather Fight Predictions

Live Saturday night from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada (HBO PPV), “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather challenges Carlos “Tata” Baldomir for the welterweight belt he won from Zab Judah in New York. The undefeated Mayweather is the consensus pound-for-pound king whose speed and accuracy are a handful for any fighter. But Baldomir’s not just any fighter. He’s been labeled, pace former heavyweight champ Jim Braddock, the Cinderella Man for his rags to riches tale, but it may be back to rags if the bigger, stronger Baldomir doesn’t impose his will on PBF. Will Mayweather dazzle his way to yet another stupendous victory? Or can Baldomir keep his win streak alive and continue to give underdogs the world over hope? This is how The Sweet Science writers see Baldomir vs. Mayweather.

The oddsmakers keep underestimating Carlos Baldomir, but Floyd Mayweather won’t make that mistake. Floyd will come to the ring in proper physical and mental form, and will utilize his natural speed and solid defense to fight the Argentinean at a distance. Baldomir, a tough, gritty, no-nonsense warrior, will work to close that distance with relentless pressure. He’ll make it close and he’ll make it hard for boxing’s pound-for-pound best, but at the end of twelve tough rounds, Floyd’s hand will be raised as the new and true welterweight champion.
David Berlin

Too fast, too ring smart, too much fighter. Mayweather, who will be comfortable fighting at welterweight, wins by easy decision despite a game and battered Baldomir.
Rick Folstad

Mayweather will win by decision although not as easily as he's used to. Baldomir is a true welterweight with PBF making his way up through the weight classes. With all the hardware on the line (WBC, IBO, IBA) I expect a battle and hope Mayweather emerges 37-0 at the end.
Amy Green

Baldomir caught Zab Judah looking past him, but he won’t have the element of surprise going for him this time. Arturo Gatti? Look what Mayweather did to him. The Argentinean is a tough customer and will probably be around when the final bell rings, but it should be a fairly easy win for Pretty Boy.
George Kimball

Baldomir isn't the best defensively, doesn't move his head much, and is a bit of a plodder with average movement. What he does though is get in your grill and outwork you –against Zab that worked well, and simply being bigger and stronger than Gatti was all it took in that fight. Against Mayweather, though, I feel Baldomir will have too much trouble catching Floyd clean while being countered and slapped around in return fire. Baldomir was never a big hitter but will likely have the edge in pop here as Mayweather has not carried his power up from 135 and 140. Still, it is tough to hit what you can't catch and although I expect Baldomir to have his moments and give Mayweather a test, a wide decision victory for Floyd is in the cards.
Joey Knish

Mayweather has “it.” Baldomir doesn't. It would be a huge upset if Baldy could defeat Mayweather and although Baldomir is a helluva fighter, Mayweather is simply too talented. Look for Mayweather to take his time and slowly wear down Baldomir with his speed and combination punching. By round nine Baldomir's face will wear the look of a beaten fighter and while he'll gain even more respect for his courage under fire, Pretty Boy will not be denied. Mayweather via TKO9.
Scott Mallon

On paper Mayweather should destroy Baldomir, but that won't happen. The naturally bigger and stronger Baldomir will be in the fight every step of the way. It won't be pretty, but he should last the distance. Mayweather W 12.
Robert Mladinich

It’s easy to outthink yourself with this matchup and give Baldomir more credit than he has earned. No doubt he is strong and is going to come into this fight better conditioned than he ever has before. We also know history often repeats itself (more than the Rocky series of movies) and there is a reason history repeats itself… because man doesn’t learn from another’s mistake. Take no one for granted. Could there be an upset here? There’s a fleeting chance… Generally the only way an upset happens is when the favored doesn’t do the things he would normally do in training to maintain his advantage over his less talented opposition come fight time. (You could have the advantage of speed but if you get tired by the 4th round, guess what? Your speed becomes negligible.) We know two things for sure… Mayweather is more talented and Baldomir has lost nine times. Heed that warning and the rest will play itself out come Saturday night.
Michael Olajide

The Baldomir story is an incredible journey from rags to riches that nobody wants to see end. Nobody gave him a chance against Judah and there were still doubts about his ability when he fought Gatti (I picked Gatti). Now, you'd be crazy to pick against him considering his eight years without a loss. He's the real deal, the best welterweight in the world, but all great stories reach a pinnacle. I hate to breakup the Cinderella story but Mayweather is just too good right now for anyone. Baldomir handled Judah's speed, but this is no Judah. Mayweather has it all and his speed and accuracy will prove too tall an order. Baldomir will keep coming because he's as tough as they come so the fight should go the distance but look for a one-sided beating with Floyd proving that he's unbeatable, at least right now.
Benn Schulberg

This is the kind of test Mayweather needs, and I think he has the speed of hand and foot to pass it. I do not think he will miss Uncle Roger, but at least we know that should be no fight after the fight.
Ed Schuyler

There will come a time when I will predict Floyd Mayweather to be the loser of an upcoming bout. However, it will not be anytime soon. Mayweather by unanimous decision.
Aaron Tallent

If Baldomir wins he's hands down Fighter of the Year, but unfortunately for Carlos this seems to be the boxing equivalent of if my aunt had juevos she'd be my uncle. Baldomir has plenty of stones himself, but the one casting all the hard rocks is going to be Mayweather, who, if he comes out firing on all cylinders, will put a harsh, ugly stop to Baldomir's underdog dream season.
Phil Woolever