"After 6 rounds, Manny will just be target practice" Said Bernard Hopkins.

But he won lol...

 

well, manny does have incredible movement and stamina so not sure why you you think Manny will struggle keeping the distance to his advantage. Algieri ran like a b#tch yet he tasted the canvas 6 times. Granted, only 1 knock down was legitimate but the rest were a direct result of Pacquiao's pressure.

I don't think Hopkins picking Floyd is necessarily an emotional one; picking Floyd is the safest bet and perfectly rational. Where i think Hopkins is letting his mind wander is when he thinks mayweather will cruise after 6 rounds. He is implying Manny will slow down or Floyd will hurt him or be too fast. From an objective standpoint, after ****yzing all their previous fights, this scenario is unlikely. First and foremost, Pacquiao slowing down will be a first; when have we seen Pacquiao slow down after 6 rounds EVER? Secondly, Floyd hurting him is unlikely, how often has floyd hurt anyone in his past 8 fights? Maidana fought with a total disregard for defense and never got hurt, just saying. Third, highly unlikely that Floyd will pick Manny apart like he did against guys like Canelo, Cotto etc... Manny is too quick. Not having faster hands will make it extremely difficult for Floyd to stand in front of Manny and pick him apart.

So the issue is the scenario Hopkins is laying out, it's highly unlikely IMO. Picking Floyd is totally understandable but claiming that after 6 rounds, Manny will slow down, Floyd will dominate and cruise is just difficult to imagine.

As far as your comments on Bradley where you state that if Bradley gave Manny trouble, imagine Floyd. Well, first and foremost Bradley is considered a top pound for pound fighter. Secodnly, Manny kinda cruised against him, in both fights. Now let me throw this at you - if Maidana gave floyd trouble, imagine manny? after all Bradley >>>> Maidana and it can be argued Maidana gave floyd the same challenge Bradley gave Manny. So, goes both ways...

 

I agree with several of your points. But, Manny's stamina is not what it was. He took significant periods off in those rounds with Bradley. No doubt because Bradley's speed and defense made for a faster paced fight. But, also because he lost a step. So has Floyd for that matter, but not in the same way.

Yes, Bradley is a top pound for pound fighter...who just drew with Diego Chavez. I say that as a big fan of Bradley's. He a solid A- fighter. But, he has some deficiencies that keep him from being an A+ fighter. Bradley was not dominated in either fight against Pac. And i think he lost the first fight in a 7-5 sort of fashion. But, he actually looked dominant and in control for nearly 1/2 the second fight. Had he not got so caught up in trying to get the KO and avoid a controversial decision loss, he may have won that fight. He punched himself out instead of boxing more.

Floyd EXPECTS to win and he is always the A-side fighter. So, his mental state is quite different than someone like Bradley. He is more versatile than Bradley and does not lose his composure to the point it costs him the win. Maidana did everything from rabbit punch to bite, knee, kick, arm twist, etc., and Floyd stayed with the game plan. He's extremely difficult to discourage.

On paper Bradley > Maidana. But, the Bradley I just saw trying to slug with a puncher like Chavez, could quite possibly lose to a much improved Maidana. Head to head I'm not sure he is really better. If he boxes...yes he is.

I'm not sure it will be as one sided in the last 6 rounds as BHOP thinks. After all, let's remember Manny actually took about 6 rounds to really start pulling away from Bradley. He can come on late when he needs to. The big difference is Floyd will not punch himself out. He simply won't tire (significantly) at all. Manny will have to control the distance and pace of the majority of the fight to win a decision. And only in the first Castillo fight have we really seen anyone keep Floyd where they wanted him for a significant period in the fight. Maidana was close. But, he expended too much energy in the process. Even when he had Floyd pinned against the ropes, at times, he wasn't fully in control.

I expect a competitive fight...something beautiful to watch, not sloppy or a wrestling match.

 

well kovalev had target practice on b hop after round 1 and b hop didn't see that coming so it's hard for me to believe his predictive skills.

 

If you weren't born back then, then that's your problem. That's one of the most idiotic posts I have ever read. At least we know you're not only stupid, but a newbie as well.

 

good post. Anything can happen and you never know how styles match-up when they are up against each other. Tim Lane thought he had a great game plan but he later said that watching Manny up close, was a different story. The point is, you never know until two fighters face each other and affect each other in different ways.

Trying to stay objective (i heavily favor Manny) i think the most likely scenario is a close fight which ultimately leads in a UD or SD. If both fighters show up focused and in good form, i don't see either dominating. I also don't see Manny fighting recklessly, remember Roach is in his corner and Roach has faced Mayweather before. Roach must know that a reckless Manny would smell trouble. I expect Manny to fight aggressively but using smart tactics; similar to his fight vs Bradley II. Floyd will try and keep his distance and use his reach advantage and Manny will try to cut the ring off and take Floyd to the ropes. Once Floyd feels Manny's speed and power, i think he will realize it's going to be difficult to counter without taking risks and he may get more defensive, which plays into Manny's hands. There will be close rounds and i expect Floyd to connect some and take some, with some exciting exchanges of fast hands.. Rounds will be difficult to score with Floyd possibly being more accurate with his pot shots but Manny outworking him and landing some himself. It may be a less exciting fight due to Manny employing smart tactics and Floyd getting very defensive. I hope though, that at some point one will catch the other off guard and this changes the dynamic of the fight, turning into a fight where one is on the attack and the other in survival mode. At this point, anything unexpected can happen. One concern i have is that the occasion gets to one of them. Sure, both are used to big fights but this is a different animal - a super mega fight and this may get in the way of focus.

 

That's one of the things that could happen. Another thing that could happen is Pac lands a nice punch early in the fight, hurts Floyd, doesn't give him a chance to recover and stops him. We'll see how it goes.

 

:deal.

 

If the bookies knew DLH would be that drained going in, there is no way the odds would have been that high. Most people picked DLH, and rightly so, because of his size advantage. DLH was severely drained. He came in the smaller fighter man fight night. The announcers were shocked. Who would have predicted that?

I think Pac beats Cotto every time too. Cotto is an A- fighter at best. He'll never beat the elites.

 

Did you have a point or not because I have no idea wtf your dumbass is trying to say.

 

What a dumbass. Scar just schooled your ass. Scar is one of the biggest and longtime Floyd supporters on esb.

 

People who watch boxing know the deal. These bookies only know one thing-money. **** the odds. You get fans who try to make it look like this was some super win for Pac, bragging about the odds but really only have Pac **** riding emotions on their mind. But fighters and true boxing aficionados knew that Dlh making 147 and Pac going up was spelling doom for Dlh. How anyone could've truly bet on Dlh is beyond me. We all know Pac would always be trouble for Cotto too, but why ask him to come in at 145? Why? Not talking to you Mark but you catch my drift.