Ariza thinks Pacquiao would have destroyed Mayweather last Saturday

By Boxing News - 11/16/2010 - Comments

Image: Ariza thinks Pacquiao would have destroyed Mayweather last SaturdayBy Dave Lahr: Alex Ariza, Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, believes that Pacquiao would have destroyed Floyd Mayweather Jr. if it had been him in the ring with him instead of Antonio Margarito. Using a catch-weight of 150 pounds, Pacquiao defeated Margarito by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision at the Cowboys Stadium to capture the vacant World Boxing Council junior middleweight title. Pacquiao has received a lot of criticism for both fighting at a catch-weight for a title and because his opponent Margarito had only fought once at junior middleweight in the past six years.

Boxing fans wonder why Pacquiao didn’t face Sergio Martinez, arguably the best fighter in both the junior middleweight and middleweight divisions, months earlier when he had the WBC title in his possession. Margarito was a junior middleweight only recently.

In an article at Philstar.com, Ariza said “It was like chopping down a tree with a hammer instead of a big axe. If this is the Floyd fight, Manny kills him. You’re not talking about that kind of pressure, that kind of weight, that kind of power, that kind of resiliency that Margarito had. Margarito knocks Floyd out in this fight. Margarito knocks Floyd Jr, last night. Manny could have knocked out anybody.”

I think Ariza needs someone to take him up, because he seems to be dreaming. I can understand how Ariza would favor Pacquiao over Mayweather based on his loyalty to him, but there was nothing Pacquiao’s performance over the limited Margarito that would suggest that Pacquiao would beat a skilled fighter like Mayweather. Also, to say that Margarito would have knocked out Mayweather that just taints everything Ariza said about picking Pacquiao to beat Mayweather and “anybody,” like he says. If Pacquiao could beat anybody, why isn’t he being matched against Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams? And why hasn’t Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Marquez after winning a controversial decision over him in 2008. I think Ariza needs to focus on giving Pacquiao milkshakes and working on his fitness rather than giving opinions. Ariza says “I hope that’s the last fight at 150. Manny and I talked about it today and we’re kind of done with this. I think it has lost it’s appeal for us to keep trying to push it. When is enough enough? Until we get hurt. At what point is enough.”

Well, how about fighting Sergio Martinez or Paul Williams, the best fighters at junior middleweight? That would be a nice welcome change. Fight the best fighters at the weight, not a welterweight that has been positioned to fight Pacquiao for a paper title. And the weight limit for junior middleweight is 154, and not 150. It’s interesting to see Ariza talking about 150, as if it’s the real limit for the junior middleweight division. They’ve created a whole new weight class with this catch-weight. Why doesn’t Pacquiao fight Martinez or Williams? He can even use his catch-weight handicap. My guess is he never will. Those guys are the real deal. They’re not welterweights that have been pumped up to fight for vacant titles like Margarito, and they’re not slow and limited. Looks like Pacquiao will never fight them. Why am I not surprised?



Comments are closed.