Debate with a friend after Pacquiao defeat yesterday. He says he thinks Pacquiao will be able to recover and again be the kind of fighter who beat (I know, I know...) Bradley. I say recoveries from knockouts as heavy as that are extremely rare. So, examples of both would be good to hear. Guys who were at the top or at least on the up, then came to a grinding halt when victim to a big KO like last night's and just never looked the same again. Alternatively, those boxers who met with this adversity but recovered to become equally good, or even better, fighters than they were before. What springs to mind, folks? Meldrick Taylor never recovered from Chavez...perhaps George Foreman recovered from Ali to beat Lyle and Frazier, albeit two years later?
Taylor did recover after Chavez. He had the 2nd best victory of his career when he beat Aaron Davis for a WW title. It was only until he ran into Norris (in a weight class he shouldn't be fighting at) that his career came crashing down. Speaking of Norris, he got brutally KO'd by Julian Jackson but ended up winning the 154 lb. title shortly after. Wladimir Klitschko was TKO'd three times but he turned out pretty well. Holyfield got TKO'd by Bowe yet upset Tyson.
Not the same after: Joe Frazier after Foreman stopped him, altho he really wasn't the same since the FOTC. Ezzard Charles after Marciano II. (In fact, several fighters were never the same, or retired after facing the Rock - e.g. Walcott, Louis.) Lou Nova after Galento Recovered to fight successfully again: Louis after Schmeling I Patterson after Johansson, Liston, Ali Fullmer after Robinson II Walcott after Louis II Archie Moore after Charles III, Marciano Harold Johnson after Moore IV Lennox Lewis after McCall, Rahaman Wlad after Sanders
It's such an individual thing. So much has to do with where a fighter is at career-wise to make any sense of this. If this was a young Pacquiao who hadn't been in so many tough fights over so many years, I might say he could rebound, but not this version. One could very well argue he's been on borrowed time for awhile now. Too old now, too far removed from his best, lower weights. There's also now the question with him about focus. From what I understand, he leads quite the renaissance life, with the political thing, movies, singing, etc. Too many distractions now as well.
There was this Panamanian fella who nearly five years after being assassinated by the 'Hitman' beat Iran Barkley; arguably a decade and 25lbs past his pomp...
It's very possible, but it does depend on the psyche of the fighter in question. This isn't the first time Pac has been knocked out, so it's quite possible he will bounce back. Whether he will be the exact same force remains to be seen though. While we can't be sure of what goes on behind closed doors, Pacquiao impressed me with his attitude after the fight. He accepted the loss with good graces, and didn't make excuses. To me, that's half the battle won right there.
the ones who recovered well had to compensate for the knockout by being a little more defensive. I thought Manny would find a jab against Marquez last night. I really did, and still think if he comes back he will have to use his jab more because from now on guys are going to wait and try and knock him out again. He has to change his style like Hearns or Foreman did. If he doesn't this will be a recurring event with him being stopped. Hearns never was as reckless after Barkley as he was before.
I agree. Pac said prior to the fight he was determined to KO Marquez because he wanted a definitive victory over JMM. I think he forced it once the momentum swung his way. He got a little reckless chasing the KO and paid the price
Most of those guys who bounce back were young when it happened. They learned from their mistakes and became better fighters. Pacman is 33 and 61 fights in. He's about where Duran was when Hearns KO'd him. He might have one more Iran Barkley type effort left in him, but even if he isn't physically effected this does hurt his gate and the kind of superfights he had coming in his way.
Returning from being crushed often depends on youth and time. Pacquiao is short on both, so his odds don't seem good. You need time to ge the confidence back, time to recover, and time to make the adjustments that correct the problem(s) that got you caught. That said, you can only get concussed like that so many times in a career. Manny doesn't want that to happen again, and it seems probable his chin might not be the same after last night. Once the rock cracks like that, it often stays chipped.
