Based on their last fights, who do you now lean towards to win the fight?

I'm 50-50. Pac still showed a great ability to neutralize his opponent's offensive angle and set up his own straight left, and I think he'll be even better at doing it against a taller fighter. Superior lateral movement will be the key. Where was Bradley's overhand right and straight right to the body? He was kept out of position to do so in-range despite constantly trying to pivot out.

An example of how the footwork will determine the victor in my eyes:

JMM getting outside lead foot positioning against Pac, then uses a left hook lead to open the right hook counter and land the right hand):

This content is protected

Pac getting outside lead foot positioning against Tim, using a mirrored version of the same set up to duck under the check/counter hook and land the straight down the pipe:

This content is protected

Right now they seem to be slowing down at a similar rate, though Pac's loss of agility could hurt him more in the long run. Wouldn't be surprised at all if Floyd played it safe and countered a constantly lunging Pac and won a decision, but with the right game-plan, I can see Pac maximizing his stylistic abilities to steal rounds and even hurt Floyd. Mayweather has not shown near the level of lateral movement Tim showed that night in many years.

 

I agree

 

I still have Mayweather winning, but with him looking human against Cotto and Pacquiao looking better against Bradley, I'm a little more confident now in Pacquiao's chances of making it a competitive fight.

 

It has always been Mayweather, I never believe the pacquiao hype so they can sell t-shirt and coffee mugs.
Mayweather 11 round KO

 

Stil doesn't change the fact that his legs have really slowed down and this would be a toe to toe fight for many stretches as both fighters continue to slow down further. Despite his foot injuries, Tim was not a stationary target for most of the fight and showed good movement to not give Pac an easy target.

 

emmanuel gets jabbed to death

It's like a rap song about who got more guns.

emmanuel can be limited to nothing but the left and the occasional counter right hook.

Cotto(e) managed to neutralize Floyd's str8 right? Floyd answered quickly by throwing the right with an arc. Now the scary part is emmanuel is no good at limiting the effectiveness of an elite right. He managed to do it on Timmeh, but Timmeh is sloppy with it. Floyd has the greatest right in the industry.

emmanuel showed in the Timmeh fight that he can even be opened up for punches he isn't particularly vulnerable for. Timmeh got him quite a few times with the left hook upstairs. Then the jab to the body which shouldn't really even be working on southpaws was consistently used. Timmeh would square roid up with a jab upstairs then follow it with the shank down low.

Timmeh made the jab effective. Floyd has one of the best jabs in the sport and knows how to vary it.

Juan showed us how useful the left uppercut is against roid. What did Floyd do in his most recent fight? Combine the left uppercut and right making it the most effective combo to use on Cotto(e).

In summary, Floyd knows how to use all the punches that trouble emmanuel: right hand, jab, and uppercuts. emmanuel can be limited to nothing but the left, which he is sloppy with when it gets neutralized, and the occasional counter right hook.

 

Floyd has become too easy to hit, no power.
Manny defense still improving.
#s dont lie vs common opp Pac lands more gets hit less

 

if war weary cotto could hit him at this stage of his career, pac will hit him all nite long. fight aint never happening and not any time soon.

 

No, emmanuel similar to Floyd likes it best in the center of the ring. In this territory, Floyd can use his vastly superior jab to maintain distance, break up emmanuel's rhythm not allowing him to mount an offense, and keep things as a boxing match.

Cotto(e) managed to win the 6th round where they mostly worked in the center of the ring because he too has one of the best jabs in the sport. emmanuel on the other hand was outjabbed by Timmeh, who is shorter in height and arm length to him.

Their legs have slowed down. Timmeh showed us that it's very doable to put emmanuel in a clinch. emmanuel would often do nothing in these clinches but try to get it broken up. Floyd is one of the best at initiating clinches. I'm not going to get started on the inside fighting.

If it happens to go onto the ropes, Floyd is better at fighting off of them than emmanuel is at fighting people on them.

 

you got it

 

The main reason why Cotto was able to be competitive for quite a few rounds was because Floyd's legs aren't what they used to be. He can no longer bounce in and out like a cat nor does he have the reflexes he used to have just a few years ago. His legs were a huge asset for him. That's why you didn't see one single leaping left hook against Cotto. That, along with his straight right, was his bread and butter. That shot takes a ton of reflexes and explosive foot speed. Nor did we see all but a few pull back counters.

The guy is slowing down, he's much more stationary and in a toe to toe battle, i like Pac's chances to land something big. I'm not saying Pac wins. I just think many are selling Pac way too short. He did beat Tim, who is a prime fighter and pretty damm good himself.

 

The Pacquiao that had stacked wraps and steroids in his system against Margarito would give Floyd trouble.
Take away the illegal wraps the illegal substances and Floyd spanks Pacquiaos ass so bad that they ban boxing in the Philippines

 

this...^

 

fair enough. When someone mentions toe to toe I just happen to think of brawling. It seems you meant standing your ground.

Floyd doesn't pullcounter so much if they step in with their jab. Same dynamic in the Oscar fight.

 

Mayweather prompts Freddie Roach or Steve Smoger to intervene after stunning Pacquiao with a counter right hand and then unloading with crisp combinations.