Should Manny dump Roach? Mayweather TBE?

By Sebastian Mora - 05/04/2015 - Comments

1-12-5By Sebastian Mora: First of all I think we SHOULD give enormous respect to the two men Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao that went inside that ring last Saturday night.

Did the fight go how boxing fans wanted it to go? Probably not, I do not think the fight lived up to the hype. Is there anybody to blame? Let’s go back and see what we learned in that fight.

What was the famous “Secret plan” for the fight? Unfortunately, what I saw was a talented and courageous FIGHTER in Pacquiao fighting ALONE. Now, I truly respect Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach. I might not agree with some of the stuff that he says, but I respect anybody that knows what is like to go inside a ring and fight. However, Round after round we saw Pacquiao trying what he thought would work, but fail to execute his game plan due to Mayweather’s lateral movement, precise punches, and great defense. We all knew Mayweather was that type of fighter. People believed Pacquiao was going to be able to impose his style over Mayweather’s and take over the fight, his trainer Roach constantly said he had a secret strategy, I want to be the first one to ask this question to the fight fans; what was the secret strategy?

I look at Pacquiao and I do see a fighter with decent skills, great punching power, and respectable heart,.. I can’t help but wonder how would a Virgil Hunter, Robert Garcia, Or even the Cuban trainer Pedro Diaz help Manny? In my opinion these are all trainers that would take advantage of the natural abilities that Manny has and teach him NEW things or help him get better at other parts of his game. Imagine a fast, powerful fighter like Pacquiao with not good but at least decent defense. I am sure he would have a lot less L’s on his record.

Would he beat Mayweather if he has any of those trainers in his corner? I don’t think so, but I do believe he would be less confused and maybe would have a plan B, and C. Instead of a “Secret plan” which happens to be the same plan every fighter used when they fought Mayweather.

He is known for being loyal, but in my view in boxing you have to be greedy and do what is best for you. At the end of the day he is the one that goes there to fight and risks his life, so in my opinion it’s only right for him to have a trainer that cares less about what is going on in the media and concentrates on helping his fighter focus for the fight. How much unnecessary pressure did Freddie Roach put on Pacquiao?

Only 429 punches thrown by Manny Pacquiao!? Out of all of the things that I watched Saturday night, this is what surprised me the MOST. I am going to break it down to show you why this surprises me as much.

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Antonio Margarito: 1069
Landed: 474 (44%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Joshua Clottey: 1231
Landed: 246 (20%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 3: 578
Landed: 176 (30%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Tim Bradley II: 563
Landed: 198 (35%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Brandon Rios: 790
Landed: 281 (36%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Chris Algieri: 777
Landed: 265 (34%)

Pacquiao’s punches thrown vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr: 429
Landed: 81 (19%)

In my head only two things can explain why this happened. First thing that comes to mind is what I want to think as a fan, which is Mayweather is THAT GOOD. He managed to keep a fighter that normally throws 700 to 1000 punches per fight only throw 429. What did Mayweather do to keep Pacquiao from throwing combos? His ability to counter punch. I personally thought Mayweather was going to be able to counter Pacquiao, but not as easy as he did yesterday. Mainly because of Pacquiao’s speed, and odd angles. Something else that he did was never let Pacquiao get comfortable fighting his fight, when Pacquiao would think about throwing a left Mayweather was already setting up his famous left check hook. That and many other little things that the casual fan fails to see due to the lack of knowledge.

Second thing that comes to mind; Now, I never like to unfairly accuse fighters of something nobody really knows. However, this is the first OFFICIAL Pacquiao fight were fans and the opposing camp had actual proof that Manny Pacquiao was in fact taking random blood and urine test. I know people will bring the Bradley fights as well as the Rios and Algieri which he claimed he did random blood testing and I can’t say Manny Pacquiao’s camp was lying. BUT, there was NEVER proof that those tests took place. Rios camp actually complained about that before AND after their fight.

Is it just a coincidence that in his first official fight with Random blood and urine test he was only able to throw 429 punches compared to 1069 that he threw vs Margarito, Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton? I would love to think that, although it does seem a bit suspicious that when he was averaging those number he denied to take a blood test, and now that he accepted the test he looked gassed out after every combo that he threw. Again, I am just putting that out there to see what people think about this since it was the thing that surprised me the most about the “Fight of the century.”

Is Mayweather truly TBE? This is one of boxing hottest debates now days. If you ask me who is the best ever for one week straight, I would probably give you a different name every day because that is how tight I see this race. Is Mayweather TBE? I can’t truly say. Is he the best of HIS era and THIS era? Absolutely yes, here we have a guy that has faced ELITE opposition from his teen years until now and still has people wondering not how to beat him, but rather how to win more than 5 rounds against him. In the 1996 Olympics he was the first American to beat a CUBAN in 20 years, so not only was he already dominating before his pro debut he was doing it against real competition.

Why did I say “his era and this era?” Because Floyd is actually dominating a completely new era! It is crazy to think that in a 20 year career after facing so many world champions, people can count with one hand the number of times he has gotten hurt. After yesterday I believe Floyd Mayweather is ALLOWED to think he is THE BEST EVER. After all, this is a man that has dedicated his life to the sport ever since he was a child, he never disrespected this beautiful sport by coming in unprepared for a fight, and no matter how cocky or arrogant he seems to be his message to the youth is simply Hard work & Dedication.

What is next for the two living legends? For Pacquiao I think he has enough left in the tank to beat some top names in the 140 division. Now that Top Rank and Golden Boy are working together, I don’t see why a fight against Lucas Matthysse cannot be made, or Terrance Crawford who is a Top Rank fighter. Do I think they have a chance at beating the PACMAN? Yes, I do specially with Freddie Roach in his corner. However, with a respectable corner I see Pacquiao beating anybody not named Floyd Mayweather. If he chooses to hang up his gloves he has nothing to be ashamed off. Win. loose, or draw this guy always conducted himself like a true champion, and just like Mayweather I think he has already done more than enough to earn everybody’s respect.

For Mayweather I think he DESERVES an easy fight to say goodbye to the sport. He already showed us time after time how great his skills are, he faced everybody that they thought had a chance at cracking that incredible defense. If Mayweather wants to go away in style he could fight a Miguel Cotto who will be free in September, or he can also give a young lion a chance like Keith Thurman or Kell Brook. Does he have to? NO. If I was in his team like Paulie Malignaggi said, I would advise him to fight somebody like Berto or maybe give Danny Garcia a shot. None of those 2 fights will be competitive, but I think they are good enough fights to say goodbye to the sport of boxing.

I do not like to rate a boxer great because he is a good person or for what he believes in. I think as writers AND fans of the sport we should care less about a fighter personal life, and concentrate in what truly matters which is; How did he performed when his was inside the ring?
Did Mayweather impose his style over any boxer he faced? Yes. Did Mayweather earned the respect of every opponent he faced? Yes. Did Mayweather take a short cut to the top? NO. In my humble opinion this how every fighter should be judged or rated.
Hate it or love it, you have to respect him.

If you wish to contact me you can e-mail me at sebastianmora67@yahoo.com.



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