By Mark White: I am not here to bash Manny Pacquiao in any type of way; I am actually a big fan of his and of Floyd Mayweather Jr. I am, however, a boxing fan first and I like to watch fights and break them down according the fighter’s skills.
In doing so for this fight, I have come to the conclusion that in my own opinion and that of many former professional fighters and trainers that Floyd is going to win his highly anticipated fight against Pacquiao come May 2nd and here is why.
Anyone who is an avid fan of boxing realizes that Pacquiao possesses a certain type of skill set that not many fighters currently possesses or have ever had in the history of the sport for that matter.
Pacquiao is lightning fast with his combinations, as he loves to use his quick feet to jump in and out with fast combinations, and he has even started to use pretty good head movement over the last few years of his career.
Pacquiao also uses his offense to create defense. He throws hard, fast punches and by the time his opponent sees them coming, Pacquiao hops back out and he is gone.
This is what has made Pacquiao so special over the years, and so exciting to watch when he fights. Pacquiao is a warrior; he will box and he will trade punches sometimes to a fault, as he leaves himself wide open for good counter punchers and this is why he has struggled over his career with counter punchers.
Mayweather is the total opposite of any opponent Pacquiao has ever faced in his career. Mayweather is widely considered as the best defender in the history of boxing and one of the best counter punchers of all time. That alone won’t defeat Pacquiao, though, because of his offense. However, Pacquiao has a lot of success against mostly stationary opponents who will try and stand there and slug with him.
A lot of times when he faces a quick opponent who uses the ring he gets very frustrated and tries to come in recklessly throwing punches and that will leave him wide open for Mayweather’s quick and accurate right hand.
You cannot watch Mayweather’s last fight against Marcos Maidana and base that on what will happen in this fight, as Maidana was a rugged fighter who used his body mass, weight, and power to bull Mayweather into the ropes and unload on him. Pacquiao does not have the size to push Mayweather on the ropes.
Pacquiao also has issues with cramping of his legs when facing fighters who move a lot, so there is that chance Pacquiao cramps and then becomes stationary for the second half of the fight. With that being said, Mayweather has all of the advantages going into this fight. He is bigger, taller, and he moves around the ring better than Pacquiao, and can do so for all of the 12 rounds.
Mayweather also has better defensive skills than Pacquiao, and he is more accurate and has quicker hands than the Filipino fighter. Mayweather is a master counter puncher, and he will use his reach to throw jabs to the midsection and frustrate Pacquiao.
This will make Pacquiao jump in at him to throw combos, and when Mayweather gets the timing down, I expect Pacquiao to start running into a lot of straight right hands and check left hooks.
Like I said earlier, Pacquiao has success against stationary fighters and Mayweather will not be stationary at all throughout the fight, which will make Pacquiao have to chase Mayweather in order to make the fight. In doing so, Pacquiao’s suspect defense and poor head movement will leave him open to get hit with body shots, check hooks, and straight rights every time he tries to attack. Make no mistake it will be a good fight, but I expect Mayweather to win eight rounds to four.
Please comment below and let me know what you think.
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