When did you see the cracks start to appear in both fighters? What fight confirmed it to you that both men are on the slide? Who has slipped more and for what reason? Even though both have slipped, what attribute(s) have both fighters not declined in?
Floyd has slipped more - he is only 20% the fighter he used to be. Too flat footed, too lethargic after a few rounds. It's a surprise he still has that 0 since the last 5 years. Manny on the other hand is pretty much the same. All he needs is the needle.
Work rate is down for Manny.....Floyd is getting hit more.....PAC lost some of that killer instinct....Mayweather is moving a lot less around the ring than before. Floyd's decline has been more recent.....3 years or so....manny I saw the lack of killer instinct after his Cotto win...It was never the same after that and after he became a born again Christian.
Mayweather's movement isn't the same nor is his activity in the ring. He mostly relies on one punches at a time to score enough points to bank in rounds. In his prime, he would be throwing combinations, constantly moving and constantly keeping his opponent confused and nervous. Pacquiao's aggression is clearly not the same and the KO against Marquez plays a major psychological role. While he continues to throw a lot of punches, he's clearly more tentative and calculating which plays against his natural aggressive style. His southpaw stance and speed will always help him give others trouble regardless. I would have safely said that both are on the slide in a similar level but the KO to Marquez gives Pacquiao the edge here as far as physical and mental affects are concerned. Though despite that insane KO, Pacquiao still bounces back psychologically which is why he's the ATG we all know he is. Almost no one would bounce back from a KO like that to completely destroy the likes of Rios(despite being a walking sand bag), Bradley and Algieri.
I'd say Manny has been visibly declined Rios fight on in JMM 4 I had him winning and he was starting to bust up JMM had him in big trouble in 5 and won 6 I thought he was on his way to a clear points win to be honest vs Rios he won easy but I wasn't impressed I thought he looked slower like he definitely lost a step. Bradley 2 is a performance lots cite to say Manny is back I wasn't impressed Bradley clearly suffered and injury and Manny fought very flat footed and got hit plenty and was rocked unlike their first fight. Truthfully I wasn't impressed with Manny in either Bradley fight....Algieri he should have blew him away in 6, no way that fight should have gone 12 Floyd looked vulnerable for the first time in a while vs Maidana. Cotto had more success than I predicted and Ortiz had his moments too but Maidana won anywhere from 4-6 rounds in the first fight and really pushed Floyd. It was the first fight since Castillo where they read the cards and I didn't know if Floyd was gonna get the call. The rematch I wasn't impressed he mounted little offense against a guy like Maidana whose no defensive wizard and held a lot. I don't know if he would have won fight 2 so clearly without Bayless and if 2 would have resembled 1 with a less interventionalist ref Because Maidana hasn't fought anyone since to prove whether or not he got better I mean the Broner and 2 Floyd fights tell us that he did but we haven't seen him and Garcia take on another top fighter. Maybe Maidana is just poison for Floyd and its not relevant I mean Maidanas size stance and approach resemble nothing that Pacquiao brings End of the day each is the others best opponent and provides a style the other has never seen
He looked great, but he was clearly a step slower. Jordan looked great when he came back from his 3 year retirement and won another 3 championships, but the man lost a step and wasn't the same player. The two (looking great vs losing a step) are not the same thing. You can look great, but still have lost a step.
Because he cherry pick his opposition. Ortiz, guerrero and maidana. Floyd admitted that he delayed fighting pacquiao.
Exactly. Looked great against mosley and not so long ago against canelo. Floyd still is much nearer to top form than pac today compared to the 2008/2009 beast mode version.
Floyd has been slower since he came back from retirement. He looks great when his legs aren't an issue relative to his competition but he has been slower every fight.
Unbiased view: Pac is still lightning fast, but clearly has lost some power. Rios is slow, but he is also a good fighter and I trust him when he says he was seeing 3 Pacquiao's. Bradley is a very fast fighter and Pac beat him twice. Algieri isn't great at all but he is a quick guy who Pac has no issue hitting. However, he would have stopped Algieri and Rios in his younger days I think. Floyd's scenario is weird. He impressed the hell out of me against Canelo. Yes Canelo had a terrible gameplan but Floyd dominated him. However, I'm not sure what happened between Canelo and Maidana because Floyd lost his reflexes. I like Maidana, but he is a B level fighter and a guy Floyd would have beaten 11-1/12-0 a few years ago. Instead we got 2 competitive fights where Floyd was tagged quite a bit. Yes I understand styles make fights, but in the end, Maidana is a guy who was tailor made for Floyd. So I think it's safe to say he has lost his speed. So I think it's fair to say they have declined equally. Which really goes to show how legendary they are since they are still #1 and #2 P4P in the world.
