Kellerman: Mayweather has the best chance of beating Pacquiao

By Boxing News - 03/27/2015 - Comments

Floyd Mayweather(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Chris Williams: HBO commentator Max Kellerman is leaning in the direction of Floyd Mayweather Jr beating Manny Pacquiao in their gigantic mega-fight coming up for May 2nd. Kellerman doesn’t come right out and saying why he feels Mayweather will win other than the fact that he’s the No.1 fighter pound-for-pound in boxing.

That obviously is a good enough reason for him – and many people boxing experts – to be picking Mayweather to stay unbeaten with a victory over Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I would say Floyd should be favored for a reason. You really can’t make a prediction for the appearance of favoritism,” Kellerman said via Hit First Boxing. “Obviously, Floyd being the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Floyd has the best chance of beating Pacquiao and anyone at 154 or below.”

Anything is possible in the squared circle, but I don’t know if Pacquiao has the technical skills to beat Mayweather. Kellerman seems to realize that Mayweather is just too good right now for him to be beaten by a mere welterweight, especially given that Mayweather is considered the top fighter in both the 147 and 154 pound divisions at this time.

What hurts the 36-year-old Pacquiao’s chances of winning this fight is the tired game plan that his trainer Freddie Roach has for him. Roach spilled the secret for the Mayweather-Pacqiao fight a couple of weeks ago when he told the Boxing Channel

“It’s really key that we’re in and out of the pocket really quick, because if you stay in the pocket for more than two shots with Mayweather, he’s going to hit you back…You take two shots, get out of the pocket, and make him miss and counter that back.”

I think Roach could resist spilling his guts by revealing the game plan after having said he was going to keep it secret. It looks like Roach wanted to be adored ahead of time and given praise as being a genius from the sports writers. The thing is this is exactly how Pacquiao fought even before Roach started training him.

If you look at the earliest video of Pacquiao’s fights, you’ll notice that he was fighting with the same in and out style of fighting that he has now. It’s funny that Roach describes Pacquiao’s style, as if it’s a special game plan for the Mayweather fight when it’s nothing more than the style that Pacquiao started his boxing career with.

YouTube video

Without a new game plan for the Mayweather fight, I don’t think Pacquiao has a chance. Roach should be talking up a new style for Pacquiao instead of the same tired old one that he’s used for the past 20 years.

With Mayweather, he can fight so many different ways that it makes it impossible to plan for him. He can box, he can slug, he can put pressure on his opponents, or he can move around the ring all night long.

The thing with Mayweather is that he can move from style to the other like a person shifting gears in a Porsche automobile. It’s impossible to get comfortable with anything he does because he constantly changes his game.



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