Mayweather vs Pacquiao – THE FACTS: Why You Should Bet on ‘Money’ and Not Gamble with ‘Pacman’

By Boxing News - 11/20/2009 - Comments

pac34343By Mark Phillips: After millions watched in awe at Manny Pacquiao’s destructive TKO over Miguel Cotto on November 14th where Pacquiao claimed a record breaking seven world titles in seven different weight divisions, it seems as though boxing has finally been fully resurrected, standing proud in light of its most exciting weight class, with a new mainstream star seemingly unbeatable even against Puerto Reco’s toughest.

Now that Pacquiao has proven his doubters wrong by showing his ability to dismantle a talented fighter such as Cotto, the mouths of boxing fans everywhere have began watering, oozing with anticipation and an uncontrollable yearning for the ‘Super Fight’ for pound for pound supremacy; a chance to get closure on the aching question of ‘what would happen if Pacquiao and Mayweather stepped into the ring together?’ At this moment in time there is nothing set in stone because of purse issues and the large egos between both fighters, but you can be sure that sometime next year the fight will take place.

Unfortunately alas all the build up and anticipation in the minds of fight fans as they wait for the ‘dream fight’, it will sadly most likely see the seemingly invincible ‘Pacman’ enter into a mismatch with a far superior opponent, with many casual and real fight fans having overlooked many facts between the two fighters. Let’s look at the facts of each fighter’s contrasting tools that they will bring to the ring if they were to meet:

Offence:

Pacquiao may seem to throw the harder shots, but this can be a common misconception because of his dazzling combinations which appear to hurt his opponents, whereas in reality only a few of these shots are in fact landing. Pacquiao’s hardest and most devastating firepower is often from his right hook or two shot combinations which give his opponent little time to react and cover up. Though some analysts have pointed out that Pacquiao’s furious combinations will unhinge Mayweather’s defence as he is only used to blocking one or two punches, this in itself could also be the downfall of Pacquiao himself.

This is because even though Pacquiao frequently throws combinations that can range between a staggering 8-10 shots, this is also a lot of time that his chin is unguarded and susceptible to Mayweather’s shattering left hook as he is a notorious counterpuncher, always looking to catch his opponents off guard. Secondly, Pacquiao’s over eagerness can also leave him open for counters all night long, as he often explosively springs forward whilst throwing shots, causing higher impact as he steps into those big counters. Pacquiao may throw more shots per round, but this doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as Mayweather’s patience allows him to throw infrequent but accurate powerful punches that have often scored him as high as 60+% punches landed, a feat that many other boxers cannot boast.

Defence:

Pacquiao’s defence is great and he is often, as of post Marquez, able to avoid the majority of punches and take little damage from each bout. But he can get hit, and he does get hit. This is the problem, as his opponent on the night would be possessing arguably the best defensive tactics and intelligence ever seen in the history of the ring. Throughout Mayweather’s whole professional career, except for a bleeding nose, he has never received a beating, been knocked down or hurt, or been involved in a real war with any opponent. He doesn’t have to – this is what makes his skills unrivalled, as with his shoulder roll tactics and lightning reactions he can evade the hardest and fastest of punches, making his fight game complete, which is something his would be opponent is not.

Speed:

Pacquiao is without doubt fast, but lacks the piston like straight shots of Mayweather, who himself delivers amongst his array of arsenal an unforgiving solid jab that can land all night long.

Athleticism:

Both are superior athletes in the boxing game, but Mayweather still reigns supreme in this area, never showing fatigue even in the later rounds of energetic bouts, whereas Pacquiao has been seen to run low on gas towards the latter stages.

Size and Reach:

These are two very important key factors that many have not yet considered. The size between both fighters is quite contrasting, with Pacquiao being of similar size to that of Marquez when he fought Mayweather recently; a visible weakness that was clearly seen early in their one sided contest. Mayweather’s size is not something that should be overlooked as he is a big welterweight in build, standing at 5” 8, and his size will be evident against the smaller 5” 6½ Pacquiao. On the other hand if size really does mean nothing then here are some numbers that will make a difference: 67 and 72. Mayweather does have an unusually long reach for his stature, measuring a massive 72 inches, which will definitely cause his counterpart with just 67 inches reach problems.

In summary, a clear Mayweather victory will ensue, scoring an early or mid round knockout acquired by catching Pacquiao as he rushes in trying to land combinations leaving his chin exposed for counter after counter. If this is not the case and Mayweather chooses to not tangle with his opponent, then a clear unanimous points verdict will be seen in favour of him on the judges’ score cards. Remember this is a man who you really have to beat to beat – and he is unbeatable. You can’t knock him out because you can’t catch him. You can’t outpoint him because he is the technician. Only when Pacquiao becomes a complete fighter himself also, will he stand a chance of beating a fighter in the calibre of Floyd Mayweather Jnr.



Comments are closed.