pac234 By Sizzle JKD:
Conventional thinking says that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will make “easy work” of Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Conventional wisdom also leads casual boxing fans to think Mayweather will toy with Pacquiao because Mayweather defeated his previous 47 opponents in much the same manner.

Moreover, what strikes me as strange and peculiar is that some so-called “boxing fans” actually believe in their naive and credulous minds that Pacquiao possesses the exact same fighting style as Marcos Maidana, Canelo Alvarez, Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, Roberto Guerrero, Victor Ortiz, Carlos Baldomir, Shamba Mitchell, and Oscar De La Hoya therefore, because of this notion, their flawed deductive reasoning tells them that Pacquiao will fall victim just like everybody else did.

If you’re not scratching your head at the idea, you should be. On a side note, betting odds began at 3 to 1 in favor of Mayweather but with a recent surge in bets for Pacquiao, the odds now stand closer to 2 to 1. By the time both fighters enter the ring, we might well end up with a pick ‘em fight.

It’s easy to discredit Pacquiao’s skills when you believe Mayweather’s jealous anti-Manny rants, when you buy into the hype he creates, when you are quick to formulate misconceptions about Pacquiao without first carefully looking into the details. Paying attention to the intricacies of Pacquiao’s technique and appreciating its beauty isn’t keen to the naked eye of the untrained.

No other fighter since perhaps Roberto Duran has displayed the type of ambiguity, uniqueness, distinctiveness, and unparalleled inimitability in the ring that Pacquiao has exhibited over the course of his illustrious career. Remember, the 5’6” Pacquiao wasn’t supposed to move up to welterweight much less terrorize eight divisions, just like nobody thought Duran would ever take on the 6’1” Tommy Hearns, let alone move up from lightweight to middleweight and challenge the great Marvin Hagler.

Heck, Pacquiao wasn’t even supposed to ever fight Mayweather because nine years ago everyone said he was too small. But Pacman shocked the world, and the skeptics were never ready for it.
In other words, casual boxing fans aren’t used to seeing Pacquiao’s way of fighting and its novelty hit them unexpectedly, which is why they are so quick to dismiss him as a “fraud.” The most ridiculous opinion is the one where they call his fighting style “sloppy” and “one-dimensional.” How foolish and preposterous.

Upon further review of the nonsense, I’ve come to the conclusion that these same fans who, a) barely started watching the sport in 2007, b) love to identify themselves with Mayweather’s character and precarious lifestyle although they will never in their lifetime have what Floyd owns, or c) simply hate the fact that a foreigner has gained much more admiration and reverence in the United States than Floyd, are the same fans who continue to show a complete lack of boxing know-how and appreciation for Manny, as they fervently and intensely downplay Pacquiao’s skills and accomplishments while belittling him as a “C-level fighter.” Comical.

As I sit here shaking my damn head, I can’t help but notice the guile and disrespect thrown at the fighting congressman from the Philippines. Perhaps this is the lasting result of Floyd’s antics from several years ago when he lashed out on video with his racist tirade directed at Manny and loudly proclaimed that he would make Pacquiao cook him sushi without even realizing that Pacquiao isn’t Japanese. A word to Floyd: sushi did not originate in the Philippines.

Ignorance is bliss indeed, and it’s apparent it has rubbed off on Floyd’s most fanatic followers as well. Mayweather has created a monster, and this monster is his rather oblivious and uninformed fanbase whose loyalty is so steadfast and unwavering that they can actually convince you Santa Claus is real, the world is flat, and Boy George is straight.

But without further ado, I present to you some of the more erratic misconceptions about Pacquiao’s fighting style courtesy of the infamous Flomo fanbase, as I break it down with all the boxing intellect you can handle.

Here’s hoping that sometime in the next two months, some of you take a few moments out of your busy schedule to do more research about the sweet science and make better use of the internet. I suggest to start out with LeeWylie1 and JKDinstructor on Youtube, along with a search of “the corkscrew punch.” Eat your heart out.
Opinion #1: “Pacquiao is not a good counterpuncher.”

Wrong. Pacman takes away his opponents’ jabs by countering with his own lead left, also called a “split-entry” straight left, which is a pro-active jab counter move and is set up by constant upper body movement.

Here’s a textbook example of what I’m talking about, courtesy of LeeWylie1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j9DwpL0V-w

Pacquiao also counters the body jab (a Mayweather signature move) with a right hook immediately after the opponent jabs at him or when the opponent throws a pawing jab. Suddenly, BOOM! Pac unexpectedly counters with a perfect right hook or straight left and then bounces out of the way before his opponent can even get off another punch. Watch his fights. Highlights of this are all over the internet.
Let’s move along…

Opinion #2: “Pacquiao fights sloppily and is always off-balance.”

Wrong again. Once you put on the bifocals and pay closer attention, you’ll realize that Pac’s so-called “imbalance” or herky-jerky movements are actually his balancing act. Ignorant fans see this as being “sloppy” when in fact Pac’s awkwardness is his main weapon and one of the techniques he uses to establish his defense.

His in and out movements, side-to-side footwork, and seemingly “out-of-tune” fighting style is the essence of his effectiveness because this is what allows him to develop timing and throw off the opponent’s rhythm so it can create numerous openings for him to score points. At the same time, he is able to nullify his opponent’s rhythm and timing. This is the brilliance of Pacquiao’s movements and the dazzling subtleties of his defense.

In sum, Pacquiao’s unorthodox tendencies and his bob-and-weave technique are designed to negate his opponent’s timing, which is why all of his opponents save for Juan Manuel Marquez have an extremely tough time trying to time him and gauge his movements.

According to Lee Wylie’s video (The Fight City), “Many boxers tend to maintain a steady rhythm when they fight, meaning they move according to a certain tempo or cadence. If a boxer remains in-sync with his opponent, it can be difficult to land punches because his offensive movements can be easily tracked by his opponent’s defensive movements. So in addition to controlling distance, a boxer’s objective is to always control rhythm, because whoever can impose their rhythm, generally controls the fight.”

Pacquiao controls his opponent’s rhythm by breaking his own rhythm and he varies his rhythm by lulling his opponent and suddenly speeding up his movements. In this regard, Pacquiao’s rhythm is no longer in step with that of his opponent, thereby giving him the opportunity to surprise his opponent with an attack or combination when his opponent is unprepared. This is how Pacquiao’s offensive mindset works.

Here’s an excellent video that displays southpaw Guillermo Rigondeaux’s use of movement and footwork to throw off an opponent’s rhythm in order to create openings for his own offensive attacks, courtesy of LeeWylie1:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPztlXk3JSY

I use the southpaw Rigondeaux as an example because although he doesn’t move as constantly as Pacquiao, they both employ a very similar boxing technique when it comes to using their rhythm to set up their defense which, in turn, establishes their offense. Rigo is deceptively quick, just like Pacquiao. After watching this video, pull up a recent Pacquiao fight (vs Algieri and vs Bradley are great examples) and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The last time an opponent really busted up Pacquiao’s face was almost 10 years ago during his first fight against Erik Morales and against Marquez in 2008. Virtually every fight Pacquiao has been in since 2006, his face was largely untouched at the end of the fight. The only fighter you can say who did real damage to Pacman was Marquez during their fourth fight in 2012, and this was only after it took Marquez 42 rounds to finally figure out and time Pacquiao’s rhythm!

Opinion #3: “Pacquiao makes too many mistakes; his athleticism can’t make up for them.”

Perhaps one of the worst opinions of them all. Simply put, Pacquiao’s athleticism is his greatest asset. It’s his athleticism that allows him to counterpunch and move out of harm’s way. It’s his athletic abilities that lend credence to his rhythmic movements, his ability to throw combinations, and his footspeed. Finally, it’s Pacquiao’s athleticism and ability to be extremely light on his toes and quick on the draw that will allow him to escape and negate the effectiveness of Mayweather’s clinches and simultaneously create openings for him to clean Mayweather’s clock.

Anyone who thinks Pacquiao can’t fight backing up obviously missed the Ricky Hatton fight. Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto constantly backed Manny up against the ropes and went for his body, and so did Morales, yet what did Pacquiao do? He used his speed and utilized his athletic gifts to side step, move out of the way, and position himself to counter attack. Each Pacquiao opponent’s busted up face at the end of the fight tells the story.

As great as Mayweather is at timing an opponent and as accurate a puncher he is, he’s never ever faced an unorthodox fighter with the type of movement and style that Pacquiao possesses. You can’t prepare for Pacquiao, and this is the sole reason why Mayweather won’t see it coming on May 2nd. You can prepare for an accurate, defensive minded counterpuncher who loves to stand in the pocket and use lateral movement, but you cannot prepare for an unorthodox fighting style whose foundation is based on martial arts footwork and movement. Just because Mayweather is undefeated, it doesn’t mean he’s infallible.

Chris Algieri said, “Manny Pacquiao is the best in the world at fighting like Manny Pacquiao.”

Sometimes you see Pacman, most of the time you don’t. And you know the adage: the punches that hurt the most are the ones you don’t see coming.

47-1.