Thoughts on Mayweather struggling with southpaws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evm562QLq2M#t=4m41s

why don't you tell us more about Corley's brilliant jab? It was the reason Floyd landed a left hook that was the beginning of the combo which would hurt Corley and send him reeling to the ropes, concretely sealing the round for Floyd.

They barely jabbed in round 4 being that it was nearly an all out brawl. Corley threw a jab early on and gets it countered by a hook. Corley with his back near the ropes later randomly puts out jabs towards Floyd, takes a damaging counter right, and then goes onto his knee.

I've been generous enough to let you pick and choose other rounds to try demonstrating your point. All I see is a man who can barely stand with his one rotting leg, desperately clinging onto his whack brand of sarcasm hoping no one realizes he's lost for words.

 

:deal

 

:huh

 

I don't think he'll have really big problems because he is so experienced and a consummate professional but he definitely isn't as good with them as the orthodox guys imo. I have tried that stance in sparring and it isn't as effective against south paws lead hooks and straight lefts. I also think he struggles with pressure a bit as well because he needs time to set after being attacked so he can defend again.

Thing is though he is just so fit and so good that he can weather most attacks and discourage most opponents from pressuring him because they are scarred of being countered clean. Pacquiauo a few years ago would have been a different story imo even now he'd cause him a lot of trouble, I think Guerrero will too but that's just my opinion.

 

He's figured them out, look at his last 2 bouts against south paws(mitchell and Ortiz), especially the Ortiz fight, he looked very BHOP-esqe(the south paw killer) in that match

 

ODH and Cotto are actually left handed. Cotto trouble him by switching south paw while muscling him into the ropes, leaving FMJ open to the straight lefts, until Floyd adjusted

 

He gets hit more against southpaws but he's more aggressive.

 

when someone mentions southpaw I tend to think of the stance before I do the handedness

 

Interesting analysis on the Ortiz fight.

My own thoughts is that, since Floyd always finds a way to win and starts dominating the rounds around the 4th or 5th, he finds it too difficult or inconvenient to keep timing shots over the top. The southpaw jab is a ***** to try and parry while you're also trying to parry the left. Floyd likes to get most his counters off right in front of his opponent, so he just left hooks over it and starts to walk fighters down. Lots of fighters don't throw a lead left when you're constantly timing their lead hand so you limit their options. Mid-range combinations to the head and body are his modus operandi for southpaws.

I remember Roger repeatedly asking him to "go the other way" but Floyd just doesn't really circle leftward. He'd rather parry and **** up a southpaw at mid-range. It does make things interesting when he's forced to lead because if you make him reach, Floyd leans on his front foot and he can walk onto right hooks and left hands. Or when he leans back without side-stepping.

Against Ortiz he had the luxury of stepping rightward since Ortiz was a right-handed. He stepped outside of Ortiz's left hand. Ortiz also has a horrible habit of aiming at the shoulder (intentionally, according to 24/7 for whatever reason) and positioning his lead foot so that it's not at all pointing at the opponent. You can target a southpaw by countering outside of their left side, all the way to that side. Floyd circling the perimeter and Ortiz following him allowed the philly shell to have more success than it usually does.

The one time I do see Floyd getting lead foot positioning is when he steps in to fire the right hand and widens his stance when he does so. That's not a consistent move though. Guerrero will have to mix up his punches as best he can between leads, feints with the jab, changing the range and direction as often and quick as possible, etc. if he wants to avoid an offensive Floyd.

 

I don't get why Ortiz was jumping in on Floyd's shoulder. They explicitly said they were going to aim for it on 24/7 and I'm like why are you purposefully aiming for the false target? It's one thing for him to slip and fool you, it's another when you do him the favor and set yourself up for the trap for him.

I think part of the reason he mainly circles right is because of his stance. His weight is more or less evenly distributed, but in his natural philly shell, if you had to pick a leg he favors, it's the right leg; he uses it to anchor himself while rolling, and sits down on it to come back with his best punch, the lead right hand. So stepping right allows him to keep the weight on the back foot and get outside the left straight and right hook, but might also walk him into a left straight depending on how aligned his opponent is.

You're right in that he wants to be inside, and he's fine once he's there, but getting there is the risk. He ****ed Mitchell up pretty good, but in round 3 or 4, walked into a big right hook-left hand combo that leaves you scratching your head as to why he follows his opponent around the ring on the front foot like that.

I'm interested to see how prepared to circle and back up Guerrero is. The more options he has the better.

 

Floyd's biggest problem with floyd against south paws is that he fights them the same way everytime. In that sense he's much more limited then when he fights an orthodoxed opponent. Also you are correct his grasp of the punch angles is not as good against southpaws then conventional fighters. So he uses the two guard more. I had thought his slightly more advanced style against Ortiz was because of advancements in his ability to fight southpaws. I could be wrong though cause I haven't studied it too close. Floyd had Kasim Uma in his like two or three of his camps and has fought more south paws of late, so I just figured that was his progression as a fighter and not some glaring deficit of Ortiz's style. But again I could be wrong. As for punch selection I wouldn't go so far as to say he fights unorthodoxed against southpaws. He fights unorthodoxed, yes. But he does against every fighter, southpaw or not. The punches he looks for are the ones you're supposed to throw. The right hand and left hook. He basically works them until he can throw a straight right-left hook combo. Once he gets that going his opponent's pretty much ****ed.

 

Angelo Dundee used to always say, you always have to back a southpaw up. Also a bunch of the old timers also say once you get in close on a southpaw he stops being a southpaw. This is probably the mentality/rational for how floyd chooses to fight southpaws. That weight on the right foot idea makes sense too. Keeps him ready to throw the right. Timing is his biggest weapon so I can see how having that always available is important to him.