What will Roache's gameplan be for Pac to beat Floyd?

He's gotta get him in the ring first.

 

Hard to say...prepping for someone like Mayweather is ridiculously difficult. I suppose you have to start with very basic questions: What are Floyd's strengths?

(Very fast with both hands and feet, lovely straight-right and left-hook, great stamina, ability to adapt mid-fight, the best defence in the sport today, very accurate, excellent timing, counter specialist.)

Then you say: What are his weaknesses?

(Criminally underuses his jab, can lose rounds due to poor workrate, has a habit of dropping his guard and just ducking under shots, not as good on the front foot as he is on the back foot, has never been seriously hurt and floored and so doesn't have this experience to fall back on if it ever does occur, brittle hands, not particularly powerful, sometimes simply darts back in a straight line rather than sidestepping, has a habit of laying back on the ropes to counter, which could potentially backfire against a clever/quick guy.)

And then: How do we minimize his strengths and maximise his weaknesses?

Maybe:

- Make him fight coming forward (notice that when Judah was having his success, it was when Mayweather was coming forward with a high guard and getting countered). If you have to turn on the heat, make it intelligent pressure.

- Train to punch more than ever before, so you can win rounds on workrate if nothing else. Pac actually does this naturally, without needing to be taught.

- Take advantage of the times when he sits back on the ropes looking to counter. Don't play into his game -- don't use hooks, as he'll roll with them and fire back. Go for straight punches down the pipe, to body and head. Always be ready to slip his counters.

- Try and exploit his habit of dropping his guard and ducking under shots. Maybe throw a jab or fient, wait for him to duck low, and then fire the uppercut. Pac caught Cotto with a killer uppercut at one point, it would do nicely.

- Exploit his habit of darting back in a straight line by coming in with jabs, and then firing that long, powerful left-hand. Judah did this perfectly with a 1-1-1-2 combination, if I remember right, and it snapped Mayweather's head right back and put him into a shell. Probably Zab's biggest shot of the night.

I dunno though, maybe Pac DOES have to fight Mayweather in a pressure/swarming style, as is natural for him. Really hard to say, because I have no idea how well Mayweather can cope with it in this context -- normally he LOVES it, as with Hatton/Corrales, because he can just pick them off coming in like a sniper. With Pac, however, there's that speed and southpaw stance to deal with...not sure, very tricky to predict.

 

It's gonna be an awesome fight. Both guys have such unique styles that its going to make game planning that mush harder. They're each great at what they are known for but under rated at other aspects of the game. Roach and his crew are bound to figure a few things about Floyd, but Floyd is bound to figure a few things out as well. Don't let his talk fool you, the man is prepared.

 

At the post fight meeting he basically said pressure, fighting every minute of every round and that Floyd couldn't hurt Pac.

 

I want to see this fight, but I just sorta feel like i'm going to see Pac really straining to land on Floyd, and Floyd just bouncing around the ring and tagging him without getting into any dangerous exchanges. I want to see it, but it could be pretty frustrating to watch. Hell, I mean, Floyd didn't even have the killer instinct against JMM, and Pac is far more dangerous nowadays. I don't see a lot of action in this fight, despite what Manny will try to do. I kind of agree with the people who say Floyd would win in a very technical and boring way. And then he'd cry.

 

I remember Roach saying about the shoulder roll, if he can't hit the body or face, Roach said hit whatever u can hit, hit the shoulder also, any open possible target of Floyd's body

 

dont chase floyd.....let him make a move so he opens his defence and counter.

 

I can't take a whole lot from last nights fight into a preview of Pac-PBF. Last night, Pac got a little sloppy, late in the fight, but he seemed to have things in hand at that point. Roach has a **** load of respect for Floyd's skills, and he won't allow Manny to fight as open as he did tonight.

I think Pac has to be aggressive and act on his natural instincts to be truly effective. I have no clue what the game plan will be vs Floyd, but I'm sure Roach will figure something out. He knows his fighter well, and if nothing else Manny will be ready to go both mentally and physically.

Floyd will force Pac to lead, he will dictate the pace and the way the fight is fought. The fight will be in Vegas, in a 20x20 ring, which will give Floyd an advantage right off the bat. Manny will need a high output to beat Floyd, but that opens him up for counters. If he tries to be patient with Floyd, than Floyd can take his time, fire shots and slide out the side door.

I think PBF will frustrate the hell out of Pacquiao. Floyd just wants to win, he could care less about putting on a good fight, or pleasing the fans. I fear that in this huge fight, a huge crossover opportunity for the sport, there will be some boos.

The big question is, can Manny Pacquiao beat a guy that he will have to go find? DLH, Hatton, Cotto, Morales, all tried to take the fight to Pacquiao. Marquez countered, but he ended up warring with Manny, and that hurt him in the long run. There will be no warring when Pac steps through the ropes with Floyd.

Pressure has to be the gameplan. Angles, and combination punching. Take Floyd out of his comfort zone by switching things up. Pressure Floyd, than lay back, than maybe try to counter off the ropes. If he just pressures Floyd, Floyd will figure him out. Manny has to give PBF different looks, get Floyd thinking and not throwing punches. Lead left hands and get the hell out of there. If Pac stays in the pocket to long, Floyd will take advantage. Tough fight to try and guess what Pac and Roach will do. Mayweather seems to have a much more clean cut gameplan that revolves around superior defense, better footwork, and timely counters.

I think the fight will be signed, and be full on hype, but I worry if the fight will live up to the expectations.

 

Not sure how he gonna get through that defense though

 

to hit him multiple times at face and/or body until the fight is over

 

MW will bottle out of it, too much of a risk to his unbeaten tag. Pac can match his speed and punches harder I.M.O.

 

Couple of things to consider:

1. Since Floyd has not lost a fight, you have to looks at the rounds he lost and see what the opposing fighter did. Castillo, De La Hoya, even Hatton, when they were aggressive and relentless, won rounds from Floyd. Manny's favorite fighting style anyway. You CANNOT outbox Floyd. Mauling him is the way to go.

2. Mayweather's punching power (or lack thereof). Floyd has brittle hands. Marquez said he was faster than he thought, but was also weaker than he thought. Floyd couldn't KO a lightweight Marquez, even after landing 500+ shots? You be the judge.

3. Pac's chin. Proved it against Cotto, altough I already knew this. Mosley said Cotto hit harder than Margarito. Pac took Cotto's best shots and nothing! Pac can take all the risks in attacking Floyd, he'll take some popshots, but he'll give more in return. He won't get hurt by Floyd's pillow shots.

4. Footwork: even
Handspeed: even
Reach: Floyd (at 5'8", has the reach of a normal 6 foot man)

Manny fighting aggressively on the inside should negate Floyd's reach advantage. Manny CANNOT win from the outside. Would eat jabs all night long.