I challenge Mayweather to fight Pacquiao toe-to-toe, says Buboy Fernandez

By Boxing News - 04/11/2015 - Comments

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By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao’s helper/assistant manager Buboy Fernandez is daring Floyd Mayweather Jr to fight Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe manner in their bout on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Buboy, who gushes about how hard Pacquiao is working out for the fight, likes Pacquiao’s chances of beating Mayweather if he can get him to fight in a brawling manner rather than by using his boxing skills.

Why Mayweather would want to volunteer to give Pacquiao a handicap for this fight is unclear. It sounds like Buboy is looking for a handicap from Mayweather by daring him to fight in a toe-to-toe battle. Some boxing fans would argue that Pacquiao has had plenty of handicaps in the past in the form of catch-weights that he’s fought at. So why would Pacquiao need a handicap for the Mayweather fight?

“I challenged Mayweather to fight toe-to-toe with our Pinoy boxing idol. He should prove to the world even just for this fight that he’s not a poltroon,” Buboy Fernandez said via Philboxing.com. “Our country is so blessed to have him and we are so lucky to have been part of his breathtaking journey towards boxing immortality,” Fernandez said.

I don’t know why Mayweather would have to agree to fight Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe battle unless Buboy is worried about Pacquiao’s ability to get the job done against Mayweather. But I don’t think Mayweather is going to agree to give Pacquiao a handicap for this fight. There’s too much money on the line for Mayweather to tie one of his hands behind his back so that the smaller 5’6” Pacquiao can have an advantage in the fight.

What Buboy is doing in challenging Mayweather to stand perfectly still in a stationary manner to trade with Pacquiao for 12 rounds would be the equivalent of Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellberbe daring Pacquiao to stay on the outside all night without jumping in and out so that he could fight Mayweather’s fight. I think Ellerbe would take a ton of heat from boxing fans if he tries to campaign for a handicap for Mayweather because it would look bad.

I won’t be surprised if Pacquiao doesn’t take any criticism from fans due to Buboy asking Mayweather to give Pacquiao an advantage [handicap] for their fight. It is kind of sad that you’ve got Buboy making a request like this from Mayweather because it suggests that he’s not confident enough in Pacquiao’s skills for him to be able to deal with Mayweather’s mobility and boxing ability.

If Pacquiao isn’t good enough to handle Mayweather’s mobility and overall talent in the ring, then he doesn’t deserve to win the fight. It doesn’t make sense for one of Team Pacquiao to be making a request to Mayweather for a handicap for this fight. The thing is if Mayweather agrees to give Pacquiao a handicap, he’ll cheapen the win for the 36-year-old Filipino star, although I suppose it wouldn’t be recognized by the fans because they wouldn’t be aware that Mayweather purposefully fought Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe manner to fulfill a request made by his helper/assistant manager Buboy.

“We’ve been together for years but we are still mesmerized by what our boyhood buddy is showing to us inside and outside of the training camp. His hard work and attitude in training is simply beyond compare,” Fernandez said.

It’s going to be a real problem for Pacquiao if Mayweather chooses to box him and use mobility on May 2nd rather than him taking Buboy up on his offer and just standing there in front of Pacquiao for 12 rounds like Pacquiao’s recent opponents Tim Bradley, Chris Algieri and Brandon Rios all did.

Mayweather could surprise Pacquiao and his team by him walking him down and unloading on him with big power shots. In this case, Buboy wouldn’t be getting his wish by Mayweather going toe-to-toe with Pacquiao, but I don’t think that’s what Buboy is looking for. I think he wants Mayweather to stand perfectly still and not come forward, backs or move laterally. If Mayweather decides to come forward and go on the attack for 12 rounds, it probably won’t be what Buboy is looking for in this fight.

My impression is he just wants Mayweather to be there directly in front of Pacquiao without him moving a muscle with his feet saos that Pacquiao can be the one that is picking his moments to attack and retreat. In other words, Pacquiao will have a guy that he can jump in and jump out against if Mayweather stands stationary for him to get his shots off. But Pacquiao won’t likely do nearly as well if Mayweather is coming at him constantly for 12 rounds and taking away the in and out game that Pacquiao likes to use in his fights.

Pacquiao is not effective when he has a guy that comes at him in fights. Look at his four fights with Juan Manuel Marquez. When Marquez walked Pacquiao down, Pacquiao gave ground and didn’t look good at all. If Mayweather gets Pacquiao in the retreat mode for 12 rounds, it’s going to play out as a very, very easy fight for Mayweather with him battering Pacquiao and putting him in a near helpless state.

This is obviously going to be a tough fight for Pacquiao because he’s not facing the type of guys that his promoter Bob Arum has been feeding him over the years. Arum has kept Pacquiao looking good by matching him against beatable opposition that he was able to dominate. Feeding him Rios, Bradley and Algieri has rejuvenated Pacquiao’s career following his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. But I think it’s going to go really bad for Pacquiao on May 2nd, especially if Mayweather walks him down or uses any kind of movement in this fight. I think Pacquiao would have his way if Mayweather just stood still like Buboy wants him to in the fight, but Mayweather isn’t going to give away a huge handicap like that to Pacquiao. He’s got a brain and he’s not going to follow then same game plan as many of Pacquiao’s recent opponents have been using against him.



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