By Wilmar Patino (Boxing’s Finest): So this is an article that analyzes Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao from the perspective of 2 different boxing fans. This in no way is a prediction, but more of an analysis and theory of what could happen. Not focusing on the hypothetical too much , but rather focus on the strengths and perceived weaknesses of the two.
I will also begin this article on a rather different note than I ever have. I had a conversation a week or two ago with a boxing fan on this site. Arguing why Mayweather would win is rather easy, but arguing why Pacquiao would win is a little more difficult.
Mayweather is to be favored in this fight. This is the sweet science after all, but I do believe Pacquiao can pull it off and win himself. I always have had this belief. I am a fan of both fighters and appreciate what both men have done for the sport. So we’ll begin by Posting excerpts of my conversation with this gentlemen and to keep it fair we will name this man Mayweather supporter and name myself Pacquiao supporter. For the sake of understanding who is who.
The conversation went a little like this:
Mayweather Supporter – Its always been my opinion that Manny Pacquiao is tailor made for Floyd. I think it will be a one-sided fight in Floyd’s favor and a rematch wont be necessary.
Pacquiao Supporter – I understand where you’re coming from. When I really think about Manny’s career and look at his losses I come to realize 3 of them were by KO. 1 of them was a 7 rounds to 5 loss to the great Erik Morales and the other was a robbery decision for Bradley. Sure we can dispute some controversial very close wins against Marquez but that’s neither here nor there. My point is if your going to beat Manny your chances are slim unless he makes a mistake and you can get the KO. Something very similar can be said about Floyd too. Its very tough to decision Pacquiao even if he seems like he’s easier to hit. If you look at compubox numbers Pacquiao and Floyd have been hit at a similar percentage rate so its not like Pacquiao has no defense. He does, but he’s no defensive wizard due to his style and frame.
I’m gonna say this, when Floyd steps up in competition I see him getting challenged in a different manner than he does against most his opponents. Oscar Dela Hoya flashed some good jabs to his face and scored with a big right down the stretch, Mosley wobbled Floyd, Cotto had Floyd bleeding etc. Now this is quite normal when facing better competition, as incidents have happened to Pacquiao in some of his biggest fights too. We know in order to beat Floyd you need speed and I think at this point of their careers Manny can match Floyd in speed. We know Manny has good, quick footwork. We know Manny is the busier fighter and he has good power. We also know Manny is awkward with his angles at times. I believe Manny has fought the higher level of fighters in their prime between the 2, but Floyd has fought more high caliber fighters than Manny did, you know what I mean? I think Floyd might start off a bit too cautious and get outworked, later on picking up the pace and I think there’s a chance Floyd’s ego will kick in and he’ll make a mistake.
This is a very interesting fight to me. Not so much because I’m curious on what Manny could do, but more because I’m curious on how Floyd will handle the fight. Let’s not forget he will be 8 months older, with a rather long lay off if he were to fight Manny in May. All of Floyd’s tough fights were in May. (Cotto, Mosley, Maidana 1, De La Hoya) with all that being said I understand that it seems that Manny’s style is tailor made for Floyd, but don’t forget Manny can adjust too and has a great will to win probably close to or equal to Floyds. Duran’s style should have been easy for Sugar in the first fight but it wasn’t. Mayorga was tailor made for the then #1 p4p Vernon Forrest but we all saw what happened in that fight and the rematch. I will say that I would still favor Floyd but if Manny still looks the way he did against Rios and Bradley in the Algieri match I would say this is nearly a 50/50 fight at this point of their careers for 2015. With Floyd getting the edge, but if the judges prefer the work rate of Pacman over the boxing of Floyd i’m telling you Pacquiao wins. So its possible. Floyd won’t dominate Pacquiao. I’ve never seen that happen before, closest to it was Marquez but Pacquiao is tailor made for Marquez and they ended up needing 4 fights so we’ll have to see.
Mayweather Supporter – I respect your point of view, and you make some good points in that novel of yours. Yes, Pac’s work rate could play a factor, but then again Floyd just beat a guy twice that has an even higher work rate than Pac does. Another factor that I focus on is Floyd’s reach advantage, it would be ridiculous..and I know Pac has faced opponents with height and reach advantages before, however, none of those guys knew how to actually utilize it. Floyd has arguably the highest boxing IQ in the sport, so you can pretty much guarantee that Floyd would find a way to take advantage of that glaring mismatch in terms of arm reach.
Let’s take a look at Floyd’s toughest fights of his career. Castillo, Oscar, Cotto and Maidana..They all had a few things in common when they fought Floyd..they all had a significant weight advantage over him, and they all had a game plan to take advantage of that weight advantage, by muscling Floyd to the ropes, and unloading..With Pacquiao there wouldn’t be a weight advantage, and Pac isn’t the muscle you to the ropes type of fighter. Pac is a boxer puncher that likes to stay in the middle of the ring..In other words, I think Pac’s strategy would be to try to outbox Floyd..Pac is a very gifted fighter, and he will go down as an all time great, but there’s no way I would pick him to outbox Floyd in the middle of the ring, especially with the reach disadvantage he would have..Like I said, I respect your opinion, but mine will always differ, unless Pacquiao proves me wrong and went out there and beat him.
Pacquiao Supporter – Hey can’t argue with that only thing i can add is that I believe Pacquiaos height disadvantage can be a bit of an advantage. When people get low on Mayweather he tends to miss a little more than usual. It benefited fighters such as Tyson and I think it would benefit Pacquiao, Manny’s feints will help him get over the hump of Mayweather’s reach advantage although Mayweather will adjust to that so I agree Mayweather is to be favored. I just think if Pacquiao wins its no upset really know what I mean? Good thing to know I can talk boxing with someone who is not so biased and close minded. Respect
Mayweather Supporter – Much respect too…Its always good debating with someone without all the insults, and its even better when they make good points.
In this conversation both supporters made good points. Floyd Mayweather does have a big reach advantage going into the fight. He also has the higher boxing I.Q. as pointed out by “Mayweather’s Supporter” So this must be taken into account. His defense is still incredible and he seems to find a way to win when he is being outworked. Pacquiao still has the speed to offset anybody’s rhythm, luckily for Mayweather he doesn’t fight in a rhythm per say. Manny Pacquiao does move around the ring quite well and is quick on his feet. I have a feeling Mayweather won’t be able to land his usual 50% of power shots on Manny. Floyd’s skills seem to be slightly declining, but not at an alarming rate. Same can be said about Pacquiao, but if anything Pacquiao lost just a tad bit more of what made him special. If we can take anything from Pacquiaos upcoming fight vs Chris Algieri it will be how the Manny of now deals with a jabbing machine. Someone who knows how to use his height and reach advantage and utilizes it well. This will give us some idea of how Pacquiao will handle someone with a significant reach and height advantage. If Pacquiao wins then we can begin to assess what this fight between Floyd Mayweather could look like a little better. Floyd does use his height and reach advantage as good as anyone in the sport, but it would at least give us a better idea. As far as the fight being in the middle of the ring favoring Mayweather well that is yet to be seen until they fight. Pacquiao is very good at the center of the ring himself and even better when he takes his opponents to the ropes. We will have to wait and see. Until then I hope I intrigued some of my readers and you can begin the debate now, but please try to be civilized or else your debate will get nowhere. Hopefully this article has pleased both fan bases and starts up some interesting conversations.
If We’re going to talk Floyd Mayweather vs Pacquiao lets do it the right way!
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