https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Tn6-0juOs
By Sizzle JKD: Here’s the thing boxing fans, it is clear pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. is looking to find his inner toughness and warrior mentality as he prepares for the fight of his life against Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Since the hiring of former Team Pacquiao S&C coach Alex Ariza, a sudden shift in Mayweather’s training routine has taken place. A couple weeks ago, Mayweather undertook wood chopping as part of his regimen. Last week, he began swimming laps and increased the number of hours in his daily workouts, going as much as six consecutive hours.

“We just saw Floyd; he trained from 3 to 9 o’clock,” stated Maurice Lee to ESN News. Lee is a sparring partner of Mayweather.

Is it strategy or an act of desperation by the self-proclaimed “TBE?” Only time will tell.

Considering that the training norm for Mayweather has always been to include early morning runs at 1 or 2 a.m., should overtraining be a concern for the undefeated fighter? Is Floyd so concerned about what Pacquiao brings to the table that he has completely changed his game plan and preparation in hopes that he’ll be ready to tackle the greatest challenge of his life?
You better believe it.

“Mentally, I have to go back to where it all started from. I have to. Because he’s [Pacquiao] not just any other fighter,” Mayweather told Stephen A. Smith recently in a special “All Access” interview for ESPN.

Fighting Pacquiao is a whole different ballgame folks. He’s a whole different beast. And for a lot of Floyd’s fanatical followers, to think that Pacquiao will be “easy work” come May 2nd is a notion that is make-believe and preposterous because Floyd himself has never said Pacquiao will be “easy work” ever since he began training for this fight last month.

Let me make this clear right now. There is no such thing as a “B-side” to Pacquiao’s fighting skills and determination to win. And best believe Mayweather and his entire team knows it.

Which is why Floyd has decided to up the ante in his training. Mayweather is a serious man on a mission and he will do everything it takes to make sure he comes out on top. If Floyd feels he needs to climb Mount Everest to beat Pacquiao, he’ll do it.

The perceived notion about Floyd has always been that he prefers not to engage in toe-to-toe battles in the ring; that Floyd hates seeing blood and prefers not to slug it out in order to preserve his pretty face. While this may be true in his past fights, Floyd’s actions of late suggest the complete opposite: he’s ready to go to war with Pacquiao.

Case in point. David Mayo of Mlive.com, who has been following Mayweather for many years, recently had the privilege of being inside the Mayweather Boxing Club to watch Floyd train.

According to Mayo, Floyd had “a split lip and injured hands…He sparred through the surely excruciating pain of superficial skin marks on his knuckles…he sparred with the split lip, then when the session ended, he walked to one of the large mirrors in the boxing gym, peeled down the lip to inspect it more closely…then ordered another sparring partner back into the ring for a second session, presumably to split the lip even more.”

Is Mayweather trying to summon his inner warrior? You bet your bottom dollar he is.

Don’t think for one second that Mayweather isn’t aware of the reports coming out of the Pacquiao camp, leg cramps and make-believe “lump eyes” notwithstanding.

Pacquiao is “super fast,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ABS-CBN newscaster Dyan Castillejo yesterday. “The fastest I’ve seen him, ever.”

Buboy Fernandez said to Inquirer.net, “For me, [Pacquiao’s] now at 100 percent. His moves, his speed, stamina are already there. I’d say his form is better than when he fought [Oscar] De La Hoya.”

Other quotes from the Pacquiao camp courtesy of Philboxing.com came after yesterday’s training and cite Manny as having “never been so quick and so strong as a boxer. He doesn’t get tired and his tolerance to pain is unbelievable,” according to assistant trainer Nonoy Neri.

Pacquia’s “hard work and attitude in training is beyond compare,” added Fernandez.
In the minds of Team Pacquiao, Manny is ready to rumble for 20 rounds inside the squared circle against Mayweather.

Hard work and dedication. A phrase long associated with Floyd Mayweather has finally met its match in Pacquiao. And Mayweather has taken notice. Advanced notice, at that.

This is why on May 2, I fully expect a role reversal from Mayweather once the bell rings. Floyd won’t wait around for Manny to be the aggressor. Floyd won’t be content to pot shot and throw single counter punches for 12 rounds. What Floyd will do instead is use his size and reach advantage to bully Pacquiao. Floyd will come out as the aggressor and will attempt to match, or perhaps exceed, Pacquiao’s punch output.

At first glance, one would wonder why Floyd will veer away from what’s made him successful in the past. However, there are tremendous strategic advantages for Floyd to come out as the aggressor. For one thing, if Floyd can match Pacquiao’s punch output and land a higher percentage, Floyd will win the scorecards.

Secondly, if Floyd executes the aggressor role to perfection, he will in essence disrupt Pacquiao’s rhythm thereby causing Pacquiao to throw less punches because one possible scenario could be that Pacquiao becomes more tentative if Floyd can actually hurt Pacquiao.

The only fighter than can make Manny think twice about his transgressions is a fighter who can bloody Pacquiao and throw off Pacquiao’s rhythm by delivering impacting power shots. Erik Morales did it in his win against Pacquiao, and so did Juan Manuel Marquez. Miguel Cotto tried to do it against Pacquiao but Cotto’s problem was that he couldn’t sustain it and he failed to match Manny’s punch output. What made Morales and Marquez highly successful against Pacquiao was that both fighters were relentless in their counter-punching, and both fighters weren’t afraid to throw combinations which had bad intentions written all over them.

So while we may only see spurts of Floyd and Manny going toe-to-toe, I am almost 100 percent sure we will see Floyd immediately try to dictate the tempo and pace of the first half of the fight by being the aggressor and walk Manny down. Floyd will severely test Pacquiao’s ability to fight going backwards. Will Manny’s feet let him down, as he tries to nullify Floyd’s advances and find ways to counter the more aggressive Mayweather? Trust me, I’m just as excited as you are to find out.

If Mayweather can win the majority of rounds in the first half of the fight, establish that he’s got the more powerful punches than Manny, make Manny think twice about attacking, and hence control the rhythm of the bout, then expect Floyd to re-adjust and revert back to his more natural element and style in the latter half of the fight. Because once Mayweather can cause Manny to become tentative and take away Manny’s biggest strength, Mayweather can start to fight more comfortably in the pocket, pot shot and counter, and use his elusiveness and movement to frustrate Pacquiao on his way to a victory.

The only way I can visualize Floyd winning this fight is for him to win the first half of the fight by being more aggressive than Pacquiao and set the tone. If Floyd can establish his presence as the more powerful puncher, it will allow him to fight more freely throughout the latter rounds. But if Floyd cannot establish his power, and if Pacquiao walks right through Floyd’s shots, then Mayweather can forget about an undefeated career.

Sometimes the path to ultimate success entails taking risks and going out of one’s element. On May 2, you can expect Mayweather to try and fight more like Pacquiao and Pacquiao to try and box more like Mayweather.

It’s going to be one hell of a fight.