While Pacquiao was great and was a special fighter, the way he’d use angles, blitz in with lighting speed, set up punches, would edge in subtly and get punches off when you thought he was out of range, but Crawford would neutralise many of his skills, he wouldn’t be able to use his angles, as you need your opponent to be flustered and covering up without their eyes on you, Crawford would remain calm and always with his eyes on the opponent as he’s elite. Pacquiao, while great, didn’t have the most unpredictable rhythm, he’d often overcommit and bite on leads by blitzing in and Crawford, with his elite ring IQ, would start to time that rhythm by taking a lead and timing Pacquiao, he’d also be able to control Pacquiao at range with his longer reach. Pacquiao would often shift his body in to subtly get closer by edging, without you realising so he could catch you when you think he’s out of range, but Crawford is too smart for that, he keep his lead hand on Pacquiao’s guard as a measuring stick that way it’s easier to react when Pacquio throws and with Crawford lead hand on his guard, he can actually feel if Pacuquiao is trying to subtly get closer. Controversial take, but going in depth about this matchup made me realise how it would actually go.
