By Babatis Banda: A closer look at the two bouts, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Sugar Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto can help define who these fighters really are, and what makes them tick. They can provide the blue print on who wins when they finally do meet. I must admit, I am not a boxing expert, and neither am I a boxing trainer, but an ardent fan of boxing. This two bouts are a perfect choice and they are recent too.
Manny vs. Cotto – The early rounds were interesting, with Cotto seemingly getting the best of Manny and having success with his left hook, uppercuts and huge shots to the body. From the mid rounds, Manny turned up the gears and started to harass Cotto with anything he threw at him. The second knockdown was really a turning point as Cotto really started to ask himself questions. What did Manny do that won him the fight? In summary, Manny didn’t need to do much as Cotto fell into Manny’s trap the moment he thought he could trade punches with him. The early success fooled Cotto into believing he could break-down Manny. It was not a good defence, or measured aggression that won Manny the fight, it was raw power, speed and blinding combinations. Manny had no effective jab to set his punches in the bout, the target was readily available. Cotto showed signs of doing well when he decided to fight from the outside, basically boxing Manny. In summary, Cotto was tailored for Manny’s style.
Floyd Vs Sugar – There was basically nothing to talk about the first round as the two were testing and feeling each other. Second round…things happened, Floyd was caught by a sharp, hard right with his left way down. Floyd held on, and seemed to recover before he was caught again, two or three more times. This is the moment Sugar was waiting for. He searched for the final punch to put down the wobbled Floyd but it never came. Floyd finished the round on his two feet, but that was a close call. From here on, we know what happened. Floyd calmly gathered himself and started to take Sugar apart systematically while denying him any slight chance to repeat the second round action. What did Floyd do to win the fight? In summary again, Floyd for a change, took the fight to Mosley. He showed good speed with a crisp, sharp jab that occasionally set opportunities for hard straight rights. Floyd hurt Sugar time and again with hard right hands but as usual, never got excited into a brawl or an exchange of punces. He picked his punches, unsettled Sugar and literally neutralized Sugar to the point that people started to ask questions about how one sided the fight was.
What then is of significance in the two bouts about the two fighters? – Manny is a hard hitting machine. Manny does not mind exchanging shots in order to land his. Manny does well with fellow aggressive boxers who he can pick by sheer volume of punches he throws. Manny breaks down his opponents by overwhelming them physically and sometimes mentally as he takes their best shots without showing any effect.
In contrast, Floyd is a calculating guru, never taking unnecessary chances. He doesn’t love to be hit as he says that there is nothing cool about being hit. Floyd can attack going forward, or he can be deadly as a counter puncher. One aspect people have not really talked about is his ability to strike from a distance, recoil and strike repeatedly while evading punches. Floyd has matured into a thinking machine, only striking when necessary and virtually not wasting much energy.
If a boxer cannot be hit, then he has the better chance of winning. It is also almost clear, that Manny might not hit Floyd at will, as he does not make himself readily available like Cotto did. It is also clear that Manny will be busier than Sugar, but also stands a higher chance of getting stung.
If the dragon chooses to blow hot air more than the fire itself, it may be a long night. But if the dragon spits the fire as it usually does, and maybe this time, use its tail as a whip, there will be brimstone and hellfire coming down and fireworks will light the night sky.
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