Some Thoughts on Mayweather/Pacquiao

Could this possibly result in another trilogy for pacquiao? Pacquiao-mayweather 1 results in an epic battle with mayweather squeaking out a SD after being dropped and hurt for the first time in his career. Pacquiao-mayweather 2, mayweather is more gunshy in the second fight and drops a UD whilst managing to stay off the canvas. Final match either a pacquiao ko or mayweather ko.

 

The only thing is if Pac misses that uppercut .....oh boy he could be countered a la Judah. Floyd punched him in the face three times for his efforts. Floyd would use the high guard like he did in the second half of the Judah fight against Pac and use his reach and body jab to keep Pac from setting up the way he wants. I got Floyd frustrating Pac more so than anything else. Plus reach is a big factor. Pacman overcomes his reach with his lightning quick movements..but Floyd is greased lightning himself. If Floyd fights stationary Pac has a great chance.

 

Floyd is going to be the ultimate test of Manny the "boxer" as opposed to the fighter. Even in the second Marquez fight, he won because he was able to force Marquez into enough hot exchanges, one of which produced the decisive KD.

As of right now, and as good as he has become, I just can't see him putting that kind of pressure on Floyd.

 

IMHO, pac would really be a hard fighter to study. His style/approach/gameplan is different for each opponent he faces. He already KD'd Marquez 3 times in the first fight, he thought he could do it again in the 2nd fight hence the carelessness during the 2nd fight. Meanwhile the next 2 fights(DLH, Hatton), you saw 2 different approaches. I assure you it will be a different Pac come Marquez III OR PBF I.

 

Thanks for a nice breakdown, Outboxer. A couple of times I've posted about the perfect fighter to beat Floyd and my list of attributes that he'd have to have is virtually identical to yours, with the exception that I put more emphasis on speed, (especially when it's used for the sharp punching type of handspeed) and a good to high workrate should help too, because ever since moving up from lightweight Floyd has tended to stay put in the shell rather than risk coming out while a combo is coming his way. (Hell that drove me crazy in the De La Hoya fight because I'd been waiting since the first De La Hoya-Chavez fight to see someone really beat on Oscar and I was afraid that while Oscar was being ineffective as hell Floyd might still be giving away too many early rounds through sheer inactivity).

Until recently I thought Mosley might be the best chance to see it happen, since he has pretty much everything except the jab. (Shane occasionally uses a decent jab, but he flicks too much with it, and Floyd would love trying to counter it). But you bring up some very good points with Pac, especially the southpaw factor and how Mayweather leans into left hands.

I think Pac's speed and relentlessness could be big factors, because much like Judah or Oscar he might get enough early rounds to make it tough for Floyd to make up that ground. The x-factor is Floyd's ring intelligence, because he is an excellent ring general and has fantastic ability to adapt and find solutions to and weaknesses in his opponent's style and approach. Pac has fought a lot of good fighters, but I'm not sure that he's fought anyone with the ability to adapt to any situation and athleticism that Floyd has.

Regarding the uppercut: Pac does have an uppercut at least with his left, he's knocked out a couple of people with it and he really brutalized Fahsan Battery with it back in 2004, but I haven't seen much of it in recent years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jucbE_hnFhk

Might be something for him and Roach to work again, although like others I think it's going to be very hard to use an uppercut successfully against Mayweather.

 

Thanks man. And as I think I told you once, I'm a big A Song of Ice and Fire fan too, great series. :good

Also, reviewing a little Pac footage shows he did use the uppercut against David Diaz a bit too, (mostly either at the end of a combo such as straight right, straight left, right uppercut, or straight right, left uppercut) but it does seem like he mostly uses it against opponents he feels are slow enough not to worry about a counter or them being able to adjust their guard while the punch is on the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86BVdZOZj8

 

:thumbsup great work man! floyd's sneaky left hook. beautiful punch. manny's catching on as well. those short punches don't look so devastating until they land! kinda reminds me of the one inch punch

 

Void will need is referee to protect him and his judges to give him a gift, but Pac might knock him out anyway.

 

How the **** do you have over 9,000 posts?

 

its true that floyd is the better technical boxer than manny- but i love mannys sense of unpredictablity that he brings. Floyd is the kind of boxer- where the better techinically u are- the better he is- because many of his counters are pre-rehearsed thru his training methods. so an unpredictable southpaw will give him something illogical in many regards- somehting his technique has no prep for. Augustus for example gave him fits.

Manny Pacquiao has the athleticism to challenge floyd- but what i love about mannys chances is two factors.
1. floyd always outpoints his opponents as he is the cleaner boxer, with neat hits- but manny is so so busy and active that he has every chance to win rounds- throwing as many hard punches as he does- therefore floyds superiority on points is not assured- meaning he can't box his way safely to a victory necessarlly- he will have to work- and he will have to stand and trade - and win excahnges at times.

2. mannys is more devastatingly powerful. he has proven he can demolish larger men with either hand- although no man has really hurt floyd- manny is fast enough, and strong enough to do it. i can see manny pinning floyd on the ropes- ducking out- and slicing back in and catching floyd and then pummeling him- while floyd tries to shoulder roll. when i see theyre too bodies together i somehow see manny with the upper hand.

all in all great fight- everybody always foresaw the man to beat floyd being a bigger longer stronger fighter- basically a paul williams type- i think its fascinating it may be someone smaller- but faster, stronger and perhaps with a more dynamic style.

 

this is the reason i joined ESB.