...is Manny still rather vulnerable for a good bit of outside boxing? In the last three rounds a weakening Cotto stuck him with the jab and put the turn on him, circling to his left and giving him the shoulder to great effect. At times Manny stood off in the centre of the ring in what appeared to be frustration after many missed shots. Last nights fight, although a fantastic win, has only solidified my belief that Mayweather's give-no-quarter, safety-first conduct will completely dumfound Pacquiao when they meet. There are two key points that spell doom and they are that 1) Mayweather does not lose his head and 2) Mayweather is far harder to hit clean.
I couldnt agree with you more. That was exactly what I was thinking when Cotto was circling outside (albeit running a bit too and not really wanting to engage) and was amazed how easily he was landing his jab at will. Mayweather will indeed stay on the outside, similar to how he fought Ricky Hatton, as opposed to walking him down the way he did Zab Judah. Mayweather also heavily relied on his jab against Marquez (which is one of his most underrated punches, he has a fantastic jab) which should be able to dumbfound Pac-man when and if they meet. Either way, I give Pac a LOT of credit for his win last night.
People forget that Mayweather really doesn't move that much. He controls the range very well, but most of his movement comes from his upper body. He doesn't do that much circling or give that much lateral movement any more. And when you rely on being able to slip everything and you allow someone with the speed of Pacquiao to get off on you, you're going to get hit. It's possible that Mayweather can replicate the kind of performance he put on e.g. against Corrales - beating Pacquiao to the punch from the outside and then tieing him up. But I think those days are gone.
Pacquiao is susceptable to right hands. He's destroyed his last four opponents. However, all 4 of those guys were left hand dominant fighters who didn't have much in the way of a right hand. None of them had much defense either. Floyd has an excellent defense and an excellent right hand. Roach is going to have to work hard on Pac's defense against right hands. If Pac can't stop Mayweather's right hand, it's going to be a painful night for him.
He's still flawed, but not nearly as much as he used to be. His offensive efficiency more than makes up for his flaws. I'm afraid against Mayweather that won't be the case, though.
You are certainly right....Mayweather in recent years hasn't 'moved' so much per se as he did against Corrales...but the type of moving he did against Hatton, for example, should be enough to frustrate Pac. And make no mistake, I can see Mayweather engaging at times standing in front of Pac man too...The way Pac lunges in with his punches off balance is a recipe for disaster against Floyd, he will catch him with something HUGE at some point. No, I dont predict a Mayweather knockout at all, but I see him landing big shots en route to a UD12.
Great win for Pacman, however I would have to agree with the thread starter. this is exactly the same thing that came accross my mind while watching. When Cotto moved Pac almost couldn't land plus he is wide open when he jumps in which makes him pretty hittable for a great counterpuncher. I'd like Manny to win against Floyd, but I don't see it happening.
Thats what I saw last night as well. Especially when Cotto started moving. I kept yelling at him to flick a jab and then drop a right hand. But at that point in the fight cotto didn't have enough speed or energy left to pull that off. And he only has a slightly about average right hand to begin with.
No, it is not only you.. Happy as I may that Pacquiao won, the way he performed tonight did not impress me at all. I am not too excited about his chances against PBF after watching the fight tonight.
The fact that YES...Manny is still vulnerable is what makes him so exciting. He could be like Floyd....box safety first...use his speed and reflexes to avoid risk, but PAC seeks the capitalize on risky situations. He believes in his ability and strentghs as a fightrer and he is dangerous both to his oppoent and himself. But no one can capitolize on his flaws b/c he's so damn good. I would call the last 4 rounds of the fight "EFFECTIVE" boxing for Miguel. THat was running and it's hard to mount any effective offense against a fighter just looking to survive. People are giveing Miguel Far too much credit for his running the last 4 rounds so he could try and finish a fight that was over by 9. Manny was frustrated b/c he was in a boxing math or fight with a boxer/puncher all the sudden turn track star. And Cotto knew PAC was frusrated with the running b/c when PAC would stop was the only time Cotto would throw out any offense. What I will say is that I've always stated Floyd could beat PAC...but after last night I can honestly say this fight is 50/50 now. Unless Floyd decides to actually throw caution to the wind and use his gifts to give boxing and its fan a real fight with PAC...he'll LOOOSE. If he does fight safety first he'll edge PAC down the course of 12, but he'll have a very hard fight in the process.
The one thing I'll add though that people should remember is that it wasn't Pac's game plan to fight a moving Cotto that didn't want to engage. His game plan was to wait on Cotto and pick him appart in exchanges. When he fights Mayweather he'll train for a different fighter. The main point people should remember though is Marquez = Ugly shadow of Floyd
Cotto looked great when his approach was disciplined and he kept the jab coming. He got into trouble when he diverged from his game plan. He got into wild exchanges with Pac and that was unwise. Pac doesn't lose those. That's playing Pac's game. Once he ate that right hook and took the KD, he was never the same and it was all downhill from there. Ballsy performance by Cotto, despite being hung out to dry by his ineffectual corner. If he moves on and picks up a taskmaster to run the show for him......someone to analyze and force him to make adjustments, there's no reason he can't get back on top.
In Manny's defense, he was basically stalking Cotto those last three rounds, looking for the KO. Can't really judge his outside defense on those rounds, IMO.
