I think many people are seeing a fight like Whitaker vs. Chavez in their head... I don't, I think Manny can win. Which fight do you think of when you think of this fight?
Floyd UD or mid to late TKO. This fight has a lot of similarities to the Tyson-Lewis fight and I see a similar result too. Floyd is like Lewis, the pugilist specialist who is seen as boring and unpopular next to the charismatic, power punching KO artist Pacqiauo (Tyson). Both men were in there mid to late thirties. The fight should have happened years ago but didn't for a multitude of reasons. Pacqiauo was recently stopped by long term rival Marquez a guy Floyd had toyed with similar to Tyson having the TKO loss to Holyfield, a guy Lewis had already decisively beat. It was seen as a 50/50 fight but the aftermath showed that one fighter was always superior and too technically sound. Same way after this fight, people will say 'Floyd would always have beaten any version of Pacqiauo' Floyds punch power is slightly underrated and Pacqiauo, although great, is slightly overrated as a fighter. I dont see him knocking Floyd out or stopping him and i dont see him outboxing Floyd either. I see Pacqiauo chasing shadows on fight night, Floyd will hit and move and make Pacqiauo look stupid all night. The little bit of success Manny does have is when Floyd probably takes a round off for a breather or goes to the ropes. Floyd is slightly bigger, has longer reach, is probably just as fast and hits just as hard as Pacqiauo, the difference is hes technically superior as well. For those people who keep talking about Pacqiauos speed, i just want to say speed doesn't mean **** if your not hitting anything. Ive been making this same prediction for years and even Hopkins echoed the same view. It will be competitive for a couple of rounds and then Floyd takes it up a notch and takes Pacqiauo apart. Floyd is simply too good and people are overrating Pacqiauo (ever so slightly). I heard Pacqiauo laughing in an interview at Floyds punch power, when round 1 starts and Floyd hits him with a straight right or counters him, that's when its going to hit Pacqiauo and hell realise what hes got himself in for. Pacqiauo although great, is simply not in Floyds league and well see on May 2nd (unless something crazy happens like parachute man or a bite or something)
I picked Floyd over Pacqiauo when i saw Pacqiauo vs Cotto. During the first half of the fight, Cotto foolishly tried to fight toe to toe with Pacqiauo and paid the price. In the second half of the fight Cotto got on his bicycle and Pacqiauo had no answer. In one round Cotto even went to the ropes and made Pacqiauo miss half a dozen shots ala Mayweather. Pacqiauo has also shown signs of frustration when opponents refuses to play ball, Floyd will definitely take advantage of this. Its funny, the accusations people level at Floyd apply to Manny much more. You regularly hear "Floyd hasn't knocked anyone out in years" well neither has Pacqiauo. "Floyd made a career out of beating slow flat footed brawlers" so has Pacqiauo. Pacqiauo is way too one dimensional and predictable to beat Floyd.
Floyd will shut him down by holding whenever Manny gets inside and resetting. He will fight effectively off the ropes when necessary. He will land plenty of jabs and light flurries. It will not be exciting but Floyd will win a decision.
I see the same thing happening. Manny trying to get in range, engage with Floyd. However, Floyd wont want any part of it. I see him pot shotting and then holding (see Hatton fight). Manny is not big enough or thug enough to fight like Hatton/Maidana by taking the fight to Floyd, physically. I see a decision win for Floyd, Manny winning approx 4 rounds, of which he never really had Floyd in much trouble. People will then go on to say Floyd waited until Manny was past it. It is a lose lose situation for Floyd. - He wins by doing what he does best, fighting defensively (with fouls and cheek too). Win gets played off for 'running' and making a boring fight. - He loses Well, that speaks for itself. People will say he would have lost in 09 too.
Floyd will try and box and counter,Manny needs to use his speed and southpaw power and change up, Floyd will be the bigger man but strategy and a Freddie plan may make a difference....Can Floyd stick to a defensive fight? Manny has to punch off rhythm, hard and quick
The bout will look competitive for the first six rounds, Floyd will win five of the last six rounds unless he already has a comfortable lead. Manny might make Floyd uncomfortable here and there early, but Floyd will never look like losing. Easy night, considering the status of the fight.
The self proclaimed TBE,years of insults,bullying... Like Frazier,Pacman drops him late to seal a memorable victory over the big head
Frazier and Pacqiou have nothing in common stylewise. And Floyd isn't coming off a 3 year ecile either
3 years back, I'd pick Mayweather with little doubt. But now I think its close. Floyd is 38, Manny is 36. They style of the swift boxer that is tough to hit cleanly does not age as well as the style of the puncher. Marcos Maidana, who's not as good as Pacquaio forced Mayweather to fight in their first match! The result was a Majority Decsion for Mayweather. If Maidana had more power or better stamina who knows. But Maidana gassed a bit late. It was this moment that I thought to myself that Manny has a chance. I think Manny can win if he fights like Maidana assuming he's willing to get hit and in his best shape. Let Roach map out a duck and body attack, and stay out of the middle of the ring and it could be interesting! Let's assume there is no knockout. Mayweather is rather conservative on the punch stats. On the punch stats I have seen between the two, Pacquiao throws on average 10-15 more punches a round. How will the judges score it? Manny throws more and lands more punches, but Floyd has a higher connect percentage. In most cases the judges go for the volume puncher forcing the action. My pick: With good judging I think Mayweather wins a 8-4 or 7-5 type of decision. Manyweather's jab and 1-2 will stop Pacquiao from advancing when he needs to. I also think the odds of a Split decision either way ( Manny via SD Ha-ha! ) or a Draw has higher than normal chance of being the official result. This is boxing. We have seen it before. $$$ The re-match $$$.
^ there's different styles of aggression. Marcos and Castillo were larger men than Floyd and had success with him when they could pin him against the ropes and start throwing crazy combinations, especially to the body. Maidanas size and reach allowed him to continually hit Floyd in the nape region (illegal blows) without getting any warnings or point deductions. Still, it was quite effective for the first few rounds of their first fight until Floyd adjusted and kept he fight in the center of the ring for the most part. My point is, there's different styles when it comes to aggressive fighters and pacmans aggression is best utilized with him darting in and out of the pocket in the CENTER of the ring. He's not a good inside fighter and definitely doesn't like fighting with guys when they're pinned on the ropes. He's the naturally smaller man in this matchup and he's giving away a 5 inch reach disadvantage to a master boxer like Floyd. I think this can end up being a very one-sided fight by the mid rounds, especially if Floyd can time his counters effectively.
What Manny has going for him is that Floyd likes to get out of every exchange clean. This could work against the money man. Those who fairly beat Pacquiao (Morales, Marquez) did so because they were willing to take their licks. Manny threatens with, not just an awkwardness, but explosive change of pace. The latter is what Mayweather has warily eyed all these years because it makes you second guess, it has the power to make those silky moves stutter. To counter or cover up? This is why Teddy Atlas has changed his prediction. He believes Pacquiao will be able to hustle Mayweather into dropping rounds, keeping him defensively minded for too long. The question is whether Manny can keep it up. We all know the right hand is Floyd's well-lit route to victory.
