By Kirk Jackson: Recently, Hall of Fame boxer Mike Tyson was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and gave his opinion on the huge fight taking place May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On the set of ESPN’s “First Take” journalists Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless offer their insight on Tyson’s remarks in regards to the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather 47-0 (26 KO’s) and Manny Pacquiao 57-5-2 (38 KO’s).
More importantly with what Tyson said, he indicated this will be Mayweather’s toughest fight to date and there is a great possibility of Mayweather getting busted up and losing. Tyson offered great perspective on what Pacquiao should do to secure a victory May 2nd.
“You need to put constant pressure on Floyd, be in front of him all the time by moving side to side and punching from angles,” said Tyson.
“Manny is going to feint Floyd out of position a lot and make him throw more punches than he is used to and that will open Floyd up. He [Mayweather] has never been tested, whatever happens in the fight, I think he’s going to get hit and hurt more than he has ever before; we’re going to see how tough he is.”
Many things to take away from this Mike Tyson quote.
https://youtu.be/RK8y1PSCm8s
Although this is not a full comprehensive game plan, this is a good foundation on how to attack Mayweather and Pacquiao has the athletic gifts to certainly pull off this game plan. Pacquiao has a herky-jerky style and could very well feint Mayweather out of position, where he can capitalize because of his great foot and hand speed. This is one of the advantages and tactics Pacquiao utilizes over most opponents.
A danger exists, if the fighter kennedy execute this style of fighting efficiently. Moving side to side, while dodging attacks can be physically and mentally taxing, especially if the fighter [Pacquiao] is missing punches are occasionally eating counter punches for his troubles.
The thing is, aside from what Tyson mentioned as keys for success against Mayweather, in order to have just a modicum of success against Mayweather, it can be argued the opponent must possess a solid jab, ala Miguel Cotto, Marcos Maidana, Oscar De La Hoya, Jose Luis Castillo (first fight).
A trait all the fighters mentioned have in common with (De La Hoya) being the exception, is they’re really good pressure / inside fighters. Another thing is all of those fighters mentioned are naturally bigger / stronger than Mayweather.
Pacquiao is the smallest opponent Mayweather has faced since Juan Manuel Marquez back in 2009, the size advantage for Pacquiao will not be there. Pacquiao is not a pressure fighter by nature and rarely fights on the inside, he is more a mid-range fighter.
He uses his speech to advantage, move in and attacks, dashes back or to the side, usually towards his right, away from danger. With all the Pacquiao has in his arsenal, the jab is not necessarily one of his best punches.
Tyson and others are mistakenly labeling Pacquiao as an all out pressure fighter, when that’s not really his game. Tyson maybe implying that he has to fight ferociously like he did in his prime, but in reality, they’re two different styles of fighter.
Many claim Pacquiao lost his “Killer Instinct” over the last couple of years, I think he just he evolved and maximized his strengths as a fighter.
As Chris Algieri 20-1 (8 KO’s) post fight after his defeat against Pacquiao this past November was quoted as saying, “Manny is great at being Manny.”
Fighting Marquez four times probably provided Pacquiao with the realization that he can’t rush in giving caution to the wind against certain fighters, which contributes to Manny’s evolution as a fighter.
Pacquiao may have to continue with the next phase of evolution and change his temperament, in order to apply the Tyson game plan and a defeat Mayweather. He is going to have to learn to cut off the ring, he will have to suddenly develop or at least be effective in using the jab as well.
Maybe Tyson is alluding to the strategy Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach plan to implore May 2nd.
The last and take away from Mike Tyson’s analysis of the fight is the question of Mayweather’s toughness or lack thereof.
It seems as though Mike Tyson doesn’t care for the Mayweather, at least not in this fight. Freddie Roach trained Tyson toward the end of his career and Roach is the current trainer of Pacquiao. Tyson on a number of occasions expressed his displeasure of Mayweather and said he would have liked to have fought Mayweather and expressed pleasure and beating him up.
That’s fine and all, I would expect for him to remain loyal to his former trainer and gravitate towards Pacquiao because he is a fellow action fighter.
For him to question the toughness of a guy who has been a champion for over 17 years, defeated 22 former or current world champions, fought in 24 championship fights across five weight classes says a lot. Mayweather was visibly stunned against DeMarcus Corley, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, bounced back and dominated all of them.
Seems like a ridiculous statement and adds to the notion of people will not be satisfied until they see Floyd Mayweather lose. Loyalty the side, guess we’ll see what happens May 2nd.
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