When Carlos Baldomir went into New York and gave Brooklynite Zab Judah a beating at Madison Square Garden, his win was widely regarded as a fluke. When he crusied into Atlantic City and stopped New Jersey's favourite son Arturo Gatti, people started calling Baldomir a homewrecker. This Saturday night, Baldomir will go for the three-peat when he takes on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his adopted home of Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Baldomir, 43-9-6 (13), was the guy known as "the guy with nine losses", if he was known at all. Rising out of obscurity to take Judah's Ring Magazine welterweight title in January, the hardscrabble Argentine fighter has now earned his respect, but immediate post-fight discussions centred on Judah's lack of concentration and his inabilty to stay focused, as opposed to Baldomir's work ethic and grinding style. Five months later, when Baldomir walked through Gatti's powershots wearing a demonic grin and hurting Gatti with his own punches, the defending champion began to look more like a serious threat. Floyd Mayweather may be the pound-for-pound champ, but can he defeat a very strong welterweight who walks around at 180 lbs? More to the point, is Mayweather a true welterweight?

Though Mayweather, 36-0-1 (24), defeated Judah in April, his true welterweight test will come versus the larger Baldomir. Mayweather-Baldomir is being compared to Mayweather's first fight with Jose Luis Castillo, in which "Pretty Boy" eked out a razor-thin decision in their lightweight title fight. The problem with this comparison is that Castillo was a big puncher at 135 who possessed good hand speed and boxing skills. Baldomir boils himself down to make 147 and retains most of his strength; his boxing skills are inferior to Castillo's and at 35 he is considerably older than Castillo was at the time he fought Mayweather. Castillo applied pressure to make life for Mayweather hell. He also landed a lot of punches. Baldomir will have to do the same, but will he land as much as Castillo? Will his punches have a bigger effect if they do land? These are the questions that will gauge Mayweather's success as a legitimate welterweight. Even if he wins, if he has to struggle to decision Baldomir, the dynamics for a possible Mayweather-De La Hoya superfight at 154 in May 2007 become more intriguing.

Floyd Mayweather is a seasoned veteran, as is Baldomir, but the odds fall heavily in "Pretty Boy's" favour, even if he doesn't have his uncle Roger in his corner. Mayweather, at 29, might not be the household name he should be by now, but there is no questioning his focus once he steps inside the ring. His personal problems, his relationship with his father, his jailed uncle, the psychological complexities of being the greatest fighter of his generation, all these will melt away like snow once the bell sounds for round one. And then Mayweather will go to work.

Baldomir will not have an answer for Mayweather. He was able to rough up Judah because Judah is emotionally unstable. Not so with Mayweather. Mayweather will toy with Baldomir, using angles to outslick him and a stinging jab to keep him at a distance. In the middle rounds, Baldomir will get inside, but only because Mayweather will allow it. Mayweather will use his shoulder roll to fend off right hands and counter with his own. Will he hurt Baldomir? No. Will it be an easy victory for "Pretty Boy"? No. But what it will be is an entertaining, convincing victory for the greatest fighter of his generation. Carlos Baldomir's feelgood story of the year ends here.

Prediction: Mayweather by unanimous decision