By Chris Williams: Promoter Bob Arum thinks that Manny Pacquiao has to take pressure Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12th or else he could find himself having problems against the counter punching Mexican. Arum doesn’t think Pacquiao will be able to find success if he tries to counter punch Marquez in this fight, which kind of makes sense because Pacquiao is a terrible counter puncher.
“Manny Pacquiao can’t counter,” Arum said to associatedcontent.com. “He can’t fight that way. He only can fight by being aggressive, by punching, disappearing so you can’t hit him. Pacquiao will have to fight like the way Freddie Roach has taught him to fight, just like in the last few years. I mean, if he changes his style, it’s going to be a disaster.”
I hate to be the bearer of bad news for Arum, but Pacquiao is no longer able to “disappear” like he used to. The legs just aren’t working like they used to. Sometimes people get old overnight and lose their ability to motor around the ring. This unfortunately is the case with Pacquiao. He’s a plodder now that comes in like a bit tsunami and just stays on top of his opponents. He’s no longer skipping around and is just has the look of someone that’s having leg problems. He isn’t going to be able to move away after throwing his shots against Marquez. If anything, Pacquiao will plod backwards in a flat-footed fashion but that’s about the best you can hope for.
Pacquiao can’t counter punch, and I think Arum is reacting to some of the quotes that Roach has been saying about Pacquiao being an excellent counter puncher. He’s clearly not, and I’m not sure what Roach is thinking by giving Pacquiao credit something he’s not particularly good at.
Comments are closed.