Pac got hurt by Larios more than Marquez. It just proves that those you think are big punchers are not really big punchers. Take, for instance, when Morales and Barrera are at each other. Or when Barrera beat the hell out of Hamed. They looked invincible. Aren't they? Pac is not at the same level!
Indeed. I'll only differ slightly in saying Mayorga was absolutely hurt by those free shots, and choosing to allow Trinidad to hit him like that was a huge mistake. Mayorga wiggled his knees to cover the momentary loss of control over his legs, the way I remember it. The freebie right hand he took from Forrest, as I'm sure many recall, was a sizzler as well: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-BFScdlnvQ[/ame] I'll leave Nate Campbell out of this.
Yeah, he's fighting at his natural weight, i.e. he doesn't drain himself anymore and rehydrate after. He now has the luxury of eating what he wants without fear of exceeding the weight limit.
besides JMM being a very good boxer who stylistically has pac's number... pac was drained as well. It was highly documented in his native country were they have daily training updates. Pac was killing himself to make weight even against solis and barrera 2 fights before he fought JMM.
Don't know if this is exactly an adequate explanation, but I can offer at least a couple of factors that might help with why that particular punch effected him so much. 1. Pac had just been lunging in wildly just before that punched landed, then tried to hop back out of the way. When the Marquez hook caught him, Pac was still up in the air, so he couldn't do anything to either brace himself against it or roll with it to lessen the impact. He was caught dead, with no way to mitigate the force, and got caught straight on the chin too. Bad technique on his part there, I think Roach must have done some work to make Pacquiao less wild in how he works his defense. 2. In addition to above, the punch looped around from the side, so he didn't really see it coming very well. Again, that kills the ability to try to soften the blow, and as a couple of people mentioned, those shots tend to have the greatest effect. 3. Pacquiao had pretty much outgrown 130. Looking at his performances right before that, he looked average against Solis and was hurt at one point, he beat Barrera but not nearly as impressively as in their first meeting, (despite the fact that Barrera was much closer to his best form in their first bout) and against Marquez he had a super close fight where he was hurt and it looked like he running out of gas late. His next fight is at 135, and he does spectacularly, and goes on the tear he's been on ever since. (Although I'd have to disagree about Pacquiao being a natural welter, Jr. Welter would probably be his best division, I think).
Let's not forget the speed factor. Follow me- If your in the ring with probably one of the fastest, most dynamic fighters in the sport do you really think your going to land your hardest shots? Take it a step further- Are you really going to throw as many "haymakers" and power shots? Probably not. You are most likely going to miss pretty badly, and pay for it dearly. As for the punches that do land, most of 'em Pac sees, once again due to the speed factor. He's used to fighting little speedy guys. Pac has the best of both worlds: he's faster than virtually every welter he faces, and actually retained adequate power. I see Valero potentially able to accomplish a similar feat (matched with the right guys a la Pacquiao). It is the combination of speed, power, explosiveness, tenacity, and heart that comprise Pacquiao, not ****ing PED's.
I meant to add that I agree with you about him being severely hurt when he tastes true welter power. That is why Mayweather is actually a better fight for Pac, not Shane.