By Babatis Banda: Enough with the accusations, the name calling and rivalry that clearly developed over the past few months as a result of the failed negotiations between the Philippine star, Manny Pacquiao and one American boxer, Floyd Mayweather Junior. While there has been a heated debate about the failed negotiations for months, there are no signs that the debate will die out soon. It is an indication that this is the hotly awaited bout of the decade. While there seems to be a stalemate over who is to blame, one thing for sure is that an assessment of both fighters’ abilities may indicate who has an edge over the other if this epic bout ever happens.

An assessment, based on the fighters’ previous bouts or record, has only ended by creating other confusing explanations and conspiracy theories that seem to go in a loop with no agreeable conclusion for the fans. There are accusations of both fighters avoiding competitive challenges against fighters in their prime and choosing those on the downhill of their careers or old washed-up fighters as they have been called.

Since we are unable to tell the better boxer or fighter by their record alone, can’t we then look at the other factors that are evident about these boxers, factors that have built them into what they are today? Are these factors so difficult to see that they pose another area of disagreement? The only full proof way to know the better boxer is of cause if they fought each other, and for now, I will attempt to arrive at the conclusion by looking at the major attributes of each fighter that has been generally attributed to them.

Manny Pacquiao – Manny is a boxer that has ascended to the top of the game through hard-work and is known for his warrior-like attributes in the ring. The brief retirement of Floyd catapulted Manny into the lime light, effectively capturing the mythical P4P title after convincingly beating a stream of well-known fighters. Weather these fighters were on their downhill or washed-up, is not the argument point in this post.

Manny is basically an aggressive fighter who doesn’t mind trading punches. This is the element most consider as exciting about his bouts. He is evidently strong and has a powerful left hand that has been complimented recently, by an improved right hook. Endurance, power and speed has clearly stood-out for Manny as his best weapons. He has ascended to the top basically on the three attributes. However, Manny lucks a good defense and is vulnerable with any type of attack. He however, makes up for the luck of defense with a good chin a good work rate.

Floyd Mayweather Junior – Floyd is to some, the undisputed P4P king and has a clean record with no draws or defeats. He is a controversial figure because he never shies away from saying what he thinks about himself. He is also an astute businessman who loses no opportunity to make dollars just like his nick name suggests. Other than that, he is a different person in the ring. He is arguably the best defensive fighter of our era, and the most skilled. It is difficult to single out areas where he is lucking because no trainer has yet come out to point at something he does wrong in the ring. He has the hand speed, the feet and the flexibility. He is a thorough thinking boxer both on the offensive and on the defensive. He has an exquisite punch choice and has matured into a boxer that picks punches rather than fire until the magazine is empty.

To answer the question, Can Manny’s strength and endurance over come Floyd’s boxing mastery? The above simple analysis can give an indication. Hoping that I have not left out some important attributes for each of the fighters and that I have said what is not difficult to see, the answer would be…….

Manny would have to find Floyd on a regular basis and pound him with hard punches to unsettle him. Floyd being the defensive fighter he is, this is unlikely as he can use his feet to move, avoid unnecessary exchanges, counter with hooks and rights as he usually does.

Manny would have to wear-out Floyd by heating the body. Like brother Naazim said, step on the tail of the dragon…and hope he finds the head later. To me, this is the most workable approach, Floyd has never been hit that much in the gut, Manny can try this. However, Floyd also covers the body well using his elbows and can counter when least expected, while Manny can negate this with speed.

The Unorthodox style for Manny might work for him, it is likely to render the shoulder role ineffective against the straight rights from Manny, and they can be deadly when they land flush.

All in all, Manny stands a slight chance beating the unbeaten Floyd. If on top of his game, Floyd can make the bout a child’s play affair.