Key to Mosley beating Pacquiao: Jab and follow with right hands

By Boxing News - 05/06/2011 - Comments

Image: Key to Mosley beating Pacquiao: Jab and follow with right handsBy Chris Williams: Erik Morales created the blueprint in how to beat Manny Pacquiao back in 2005 when Morales dominated Pacquiao by pounding him with hard jabs followed by right hand all night long. It worked perfectly, as Pacquiao was kept on the outside because of Morales’ rights and when he would start to come forward, Morales often tagged him with straight right hands that landed cleanly. This is what Shane Mosley needs to do tomorrow night if he wants to beat Pacquiao in their bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

You don’t want to make the mistake of standing close to Pacquiao and trying to out-work him because that’s something that many fighters have tried and failed at. If Mosley does this then he’s fighting Pacquiao’s game. You also don’t want to heave big wide hooks at Pacquiao either like Ricky Hatton was attempting to do in his 2nd round knockout loss two years ago. That’s asking for it because Pacquiao will time you and nail you with right hooks and straight lefts.

The more effective way to beat Pacquiao is to stay on the outside as Morales did and pound him with a stiff jab constantly. Pacquiao has got little short arms and can’t beat you in a jabbing contest. He’s got to come forward and get near you if he wants to land anything. But Mosley has to hit Pacquiao with plenty of hard right hands the way that Morales did to keep Pacquiao honest. If you throw nothing but jabs, Pacquiao will walk through them and crowd you to land his shorter punches. This is why you got to unload on Pacquiao every so often with two or three hard right hands to the head.

If you do that often enough, Pacquiao will soon start to bleed because of all the scar tissue around his eyes from past fights. Pacquiao doesn’t fight nearly as well once he’s cut and tends to start fighting like a wild mad, forgetting about advice from his corner and just going primitive. This is where Mosley can get Pacquiao, as long as he doesn’t fall into the gutter with Pacquiao and fight the same primitive caveman fight that he is. If you look at Morales in their first fight, he stayed under complete control for most of the 12 rounds by jabbing, landing right hands and avoiding slugging it out with Pacquiao. He was too smart to fight an undisciplined fight and kept up with his steady jabs and right hands until he had the fight won.



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