by David P. Greisman

There are three losses on Pablo Cesar Cano’s record — a stoppage loss to Erik Morales in 2011, a debatable split decision defeat to Paulie Malignaggi last year, and a decision loss to Shane Mosley this past May.

Ashley Theophane sees a trend in those losses, a trend he feels will continue when he faces Cano on Sept. 14 on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view.

“Every time he steps up is where he’s lost,” Theophane said on an Aug. 14 media conference call. “To me this is another step up, and he’s going to lose again.”

Theophane is 32 years old and will turn 33 a couple weeks before the fight. He’s not concerned about being nine years older than Cano, though.

“If you look at the guys who Pablo lost to, he lost to guys who were in their 30s [Note: Mosley was 41]. Youth is good, but experience at the same time, you can’t buy experience. I’m a smart fighter. I’m a strong fighter. I’ve been in with some good fighters. … I’ve been around the block. I’ve sparred with the very best.”

Theophane is 33-5-1 with 10 knockouts. His record includes a decision win over DeMarcus Corley in 2008, a split decision loss to Danny Garcia in 2010 and a majority decision win over Delvin Rodriguez in 2010. Cano is 26-3-1 with 20 knockouts.

“He may have 20 knockouts, but you have to look at who he is knocking out. He’s knocking nobody out,” Theophane said of Cano. “If you look at the guys who I beat and you look at the guys who he beat, there’s no comparison. But with every fight, you have to respect your opponent. And I respect him because in all of those fights that he stepped up, he gave them a very hard fight. So I expect a hard fight, but I expect to win as well.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com