The Blueprint 2.0 – How Pacquiao can beat Mayweather

By joey1320 - 04/09/2015 - Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ze6VhS1wNw
by J.R. Leon: Before I go into how Manny Pacquiao can beat pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., let me say I expect Floyd to win via 12rd. unanimous decision. There, I said it. No need to send any death threats. This is not a post hating on Floyd, this is a post trying to figure out a way for Manny to beat him(easier said than done).

Now if you were to listen to Oscar De La Hoya, Robert Garcia or even many boxing fans, you would think that the only way to win against Floyd is to use constant aggression and unrelenting pressure. This is the so called “blueprint” that De La Hoya said he left for others to follow, even though everyone who has used it has lost decisively – including Marcos Maidana on their first fight, which for some odd reason some people think he won.

So what is Pacquiao to do and what strategy should he follow if he’s to have a chance against Floyd?

The answer, or shall I call it the “Blueprint 2.0”, has been left behind by a boxer but not Oscar De La Hoya. The strategy to follow in order to have a chance against Floyd is to duplicate, and more importantly elevate, what Zab Judah was able to accomplish on the first four rounds of their 2006 welterweight bout.
(Skip to the 17 minute mark – https://youtu.be/xgjjuUo5G4o )

During the first four rounds of the fight Zab was not only landing over 50% of his power punches, but also made Floyd touch the canvas with his right glove on the second round, although the referee did not see this happen and a knock down was not appointed.

So how did Zab dominate the beginning of the fight, to the point that Dan Rafael had him winning three rounds to one, when going into the fifth? (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2402266)

Well most Floyd fanatics will automatically conclude that Floyd was adjusting to Zab and because of this he was being hit while figuring out a plan of attack. Therefore although Zab was definitely winning and even wobbled Floyd to the point of making him touch the canvas, it wasn’t Zab who caused problems but rather Floyd was in total control and just getting ready.

Now we know Floyd is one of the best boxers in the world at changing strategies during the course of the fight and yes, he did win the fight and he definitely dominated from the fifth round on, but it wasn’t so much as to what Floyd did but what Zab stopped doing.

From the fifth round onward Zab’s lateral movements were nonexistent and this made it easy for Floyd to go into the attack and land some power shots. Combine that with Floyd’s defense and you can see how this frustrated Zab to the point of committing one of the worst low blows in recent boxing history.
(https://youtu.be/-TcEwUQEAoI/-TcEwUQEAoI)

But any true fan of Zab knew he was only a 6 round fighter, after that he gassed quickly. So the question I present is, “If Zab had the stamina and the punching power that Pacquiao has and had been able to conitue the rest of the fight as he did in the first four rounds, what would the outcome had been?”

I don’t think the so called blueprint that De La Hoya left will net a win agaisnt Floyd; his defense is just too good when pressed against the ropes and he can quickly move around his opponents which then leaves them opened to get hit.

What Pacquiao must do is stay in the center of the ring and use his speed and southpaw stand to his advantage, just like Zab did in the first few rounds. The other, and I think more important, is to have Floyd be the one coming forward. By doing so, you negate the shoulder roll, one of Floyd’s best defense schemes, because you are making him lean in.

If you see the video of the first four rounds of the fight, you can see how Zab was able to catch Floyd on the attack and landed solid right hooks. Then when it came time for Zab to be the aggressor, he did it cautiously landing a left soft-angled straight (almost uppercut like) numerous times.

Zab’s offense was not a systematic attack like that of Saul Alvarez and Robert Guerrero. Both of them were robot-like with their offense, were they walked forward, cornered Floyd against the ropes and then tried to hit him. This is a waste of energy and a horrible plan against a defensive genius. Zab used the small openings Floyd gave him, and made him pay for it in the first four rounds.

What Pacquiao needs to do is attack Floyd in such a way that he’s never fully prepared for it and this is something Pacquiao is a master of. By throwing unusual combinations from all different angles, Pacquiao uses his offense as his defense. Pacquiao must add short-right overhand hook to his arsenal like Zab did and follow it with the straight left.

If Pacquiao is able to do so, and we combine that with the knowledge that Floyd has had issues against southpaws, plus the “Blueprint 2.0” that Zab Judah left behind, you can get an understanding as to how Pacquiao has a tremendous shot at upsetting the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Will it come to fruition? That’s what the world will be waiting to find out on May 2nd., until then, we can only speculate and play the waiting game.



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