By Yannis Mihanos: There is a DC comic book hero called The Flash. Flash has lightning speed and can overcome any of his enemies. With his speed can overcome enemies much stronger than him.
Many past opponents of Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) have experienced from first hand his tremendous hand speed. Past opponents like Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera have all been overwhelmed at some point and got defeated by Pacquiao’s greatest weapon: Speed.
They couldn’t defend really well because they couldn’t see the punches coming. Punches would come from many different angles and would hit the bull’s-eye…
Pacquiao is not the strongest fighter I have ever seen in boxing but is one of the fastest I have ever seen.
Pacquiao’s punches can come in groups of 2, 3, 4 or even 5 hand combinations.
Speed can overwhelm power, it’s quantity that matters. A flurry of punches, the way that Pacquiao usually attacks can cause significant damage to any opponent whether is bigger, taller or stronger.
We all know that Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs) is a great defensive fighter. A fighter with very sharp reflexes and high boxing IQ. Floyd is a fighter who can anticipate and predict from where the punches are coming. In his career has been often seen making the opponents become fool of themselves by letting them come close and then make them punch frequently in the air like fighting a ghost.
On May 2nd, Mayweather’s reflexes and defense tactics will be put to a real test: To match and avoid Pacquiao’s inevitable flock of punches. To match and neutralize Pacquiao’s speed.
I know that Mayweather has been building up his physical strength with trainer Alex Ariza. But what about his hand speed? What about his reflexes? Will there be at the desirable level?
Pacquiao at his best can wear out any opponent. There is always a limit of how many punches someone can take without falling down or get seriously hurt.
I’m curious to see how Mayweather will react on that and if he will be nearly as fast to avoid these punches.
If he can avoid them then all his other advantages will surface and dictate the match (Size, IQ, strength). If not, then God may have mercy on him because Pacquiao’s speed will win the battle just like my friend The Flash.
Comments are closed.