By Sizzle JKD: On May 2, Manny Pacquiao will put an end to anything and everything Floyd Mayweather can claim as “the best ever” when he uses his endurance, speed, lateral movement, ability to be lighter on his toes, unmatched punch output, unrelenting will, inexorable determination, unsurpassed quickness, and Mike Tyson-sized eight-inch wrists to power punch his way to victory over the currently undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquao’s win over Mayweather would complete a trifecta of victories over previously unbeaten fighters. The other two were Tim Bradley and Chris Algieri.
If Mayweather thinks a longer reach and better accuracy are tremendous advantages, he better think twice since Pacquiao is accustomed to being the underdog when it comes to size. Save for Tim Bradley, Pacquiao’s last nine opponents have all enjoyed a significant height and reach advantage over him.
“I’ve been in this kind of situation many times in my previous fights. It doesn’t scare me. I love being the underdog,”Pacquiao told the Manila Times in an interview yesterday with Josef Ramos.
Nonoy Neri, who oversees Pacquiao’s training in the Philippines while head trainer Freddie Roach is gone, stated, “Mayweather is beatable, because Manny is faster and stronger…he will surely out-punch him…. Mayweather won’t engage.
“Defensively, Mayweather is smart but we will be ready,” Neri added.
Being the aggressor will be the game plan to control the pace and the fight, and according to Neri, Manny’s timing will “whip Mayweather’s [backside].”
Pacquiao has always been the betting favorite for the majority of his career. But whenever Pacman is the underdog, the results aren’t pretty for the opponent because 100% of the time, the fights end in knockout. See Barrera 1, Morales 2, and De La Hoya.
Floyd was interviewed by Fighthype.com the other day and was asked about his thoughts on his super fight with Pacquiao on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and he made it quick to point out that his longer reach, better accuracy, and the fact that he thinks he is “stronger” than Pacquiao would work in his favor.
Mayweather also once again implied that Pacquiao was on performance enhancing drugs during Pacquiao’s time with strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza by saying Pacquiao changed after Ariza’s departure, and since Ariza is no longer Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, it would work to Mayweather’s advantage.
Coming from such a gifted and talented boxer as Mayweather, it’s not a surprise to hear Floyd make ignorant comments such as the one he made when he told Fighthype.com that Pacquiao’s losses are still “in the back of his mind” and therefore the past would haunt him and probably affect him on fight night. Nothing can be further from the truth if Floyd believes Pacquiao is mentally weak.
Pacquiao came from the dirt and rose all the way to the top with perseverance, hard work, dedication, and street smarts in the war-torn region that is Mindanao Island, therefore having the mental toughness and internal fortitude to survive and win is nothing new to the fighting congressman.
It’s funny how defense mechanisms work for those who mask their insecurities. After all, outside of the ring, we all know Floyd isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to morale, integrity, principle, and respect for others. He may know how to count his money and spend it like no other, he may have successful real estate holdings like he claims, and he may know how to stir up the pot. But all of this wouldn’t be possible if not for the genius and counsel of his manager Al Haymon. Without Haymon’s guidance, Floyd would be just another squirrel trying to get a nut.
Mayweather should thank his lucky stars that he met Haymon. Because without him, who would have read the contract and made Floyd understand it and all the legal terms that come with it? Certainly not Floyd.
Since losing is not in Mayweather’s mind because “all [he] knows how to do is win,” as he so eloquently stated during his interview with the known pro-Floyd hugger Ben Thompson of Fighthype.com, Floyd better live up to his words come May 2nd because if Pacquiao embarrasses him in front of planet Earth, Floyd won’t hear the end of it from not only casual fans and Pactards, but his Flomos as well. People will turn on him once he loses his precious “0.” His days of doing over 800K in pay per view buys will be over quicker than a Floyd shopping spree at Diamond District in NYC. His days of claiming to be “TBE” will vanish faster than a chicken leg on a dog’s food bowl. What would happen to all of those shirts and hats that he wears that says “TBE?” If Floyd loses, maybe his brand and slogan should be changed to “TBEBMP” – The Best Ever behind Manny Pacquiao.
There’s no question that Mayweather has noticeably slipped since his 2013 catchweight handicap victory over Canelo Alvarez, who was forced to drop to 152 pounds. You can’t help but notice some considerable slippage in Mayweather because his footwork looks slower, he doesn’t maintain the side-to-side movement like he used to when he was in his prime, and more importantly, for all his talk about being “stronger’ than Manny, Floyd hasn’t produced a legitimate knockout since Ricky Hatton in 2007. Anyone who credits Floyd for knocking out the defenseless Victor Ortiz and counts that as “genuine” is a buffoon.
If Manny’s natural testosterone levels have declined with age, then the same can be said for Mayweather. Keep in mind that at featherweight and lightweight, Mayweather was just as much a heavy hitter as Pacquiao was. The only difference is people don’t remember Floyd’s fights as much as they do Pacquiao’s wars. It’s clear that more fans talk about Pacquiao’s memorable stoppages than Floyd’s knockouts over Gatti, Bruseles, Mitchell, N’Dou, and Corrales. All in all, both fighters’ knockouts have steadily gone down as they moved up in weight and gotten older.
Case in point. Before Floyd moved up to 147 pounds, 19 of his 33 fights ended in KO or TKO, a rate of just about 60% Before Manny moved up to 147, 34 of his 52 fights ended in KO or TKO, a rate of about 65%.
But ever since Floyd moved up to 147 and 154, he only has 3 knockouts in 14 fights (21%). Similarly, Manny has 3 knockouts in 12 fights at 147 and 154 (25%).
Is it JUST Manny whose knockouts have declined? No way. Floyd’s power has regressed even worse than Pacquiao’s. For Floyd to say he’s stronger than Manny now that Manny no longer has Ariza is just another unnecessary attempt at baseless propaganda in order to make fans think Manny was juicing in the past.
Directing criticism at Pacquiao for not having knocked out anyone since 2009 as a sign of decline in skills shows ignorance when in fact Pacquiao’s overall boxing skills have gotten better. He’s a much better counter puncher than he used to be, he’s more tactical and patient as a result of his losses, and his balance and footwork have improved tenfold. This is why it won’t shock me one bit if Manny beats Floyd at his own game and thoroughly outboxes, outpoints, and outmaneuvers Mayweather and beats him to the punch on May 2nd.
Floyd has beaten a lot of smaller and shorter opponents than him during his career (Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Jose Luis Castillo, Miguel Cotto, to name a few), but he’s never fought a fighter as talented, quick, relentless, and explosive as Pacquiao. Not to mention Pacquiao has improved drastically as a ring technician, Floyd is going to struggle mightily when he faces the Pacific Storm in the ring.
Indeed, Manny is no Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez, or Macros Maidana, all of whom would be extremely hard pressed to even be considered into the international boxing Hall of Fame. All of these fighters are slow plodding, flat footed opponents who stood in front of Mayweather and made his job easy.
As we already know, Floyd struggles against southpaws, which is why only 17% of his 47 opponents were lefties. To make matters worse for Mayweather, he gets hit with much more regularity when he fights southpaws who possess speed and excellent footwork. Floyd better not think this is just another day in the office because come May 2nd, he’ll be staring at the eyes of the tiger, and in front of him a Hall of Famer waiting to rip his head off.
Don’t call it an upset because he’s been here for years. Pacquiao by unanimous decision.
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