By Scott Gilfoid: WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch decided to give his own opinion about Saturday’s mega-clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Not surprisingly, Froch thinks that slugger Pacquiao has a good chance of winning the fight.
It’s not surprising because Froch is a slugger too, and you would naturally assume that sluggers tend to favor fighters with a similar fighting style. Froch does, however, think that Mayweather will win the fight if Pacquiao doesn’t fight the right style.
If Pacquiao follows his trainer Freddie Roach’s advice of putting a lot of pressure on Mayweather, then Froch thinks Pacquiao can get the ‘W’ on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Mayweather’s safe bet is to get behind his shoulder, get behind his sharp jab and use his movement,” Froch said via Sky Sports News HQ. “But that won’t work if Pacquiao does what I think he can do and what Freddie Roach, his trainer, is going to tell him to do – and that’s to back Mayweather up with angles, but importantly do the work, throw the punches, fast accurate punches.”
Froch’s advice sounds like a good way for Pacquiao to get drilled with a right hand and planted for a good two minute count. The last thing the aging Pacquiao needs right now is to be following the advice of Froch in my view, because I think it would be extremely foolhardy for Pacquiao to bum rush Mayweather and risk getting knocked into Neverland for two to three minutes like we saw from Pacquiao in his sixth round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
Of course, Pacquiao is going to throw fast punches. What does Froch expect him to do? As for Froch talking about Pacquiao working different angles, I don’t see that working against Mayweather, at least not at this point in Pacquiao’s career. He’s so slow now when he uses different angles that it’s no longer difficult to hit him with shots. Yeah, earlier in Pacquiao’s career he was hard to hit when he was using his side to side movement, but definitely not anymore. He just looks slow and tired when he uses a lot of angles in attacking his opponents.
“Whether or not you’re hitting Mayweather in the head, go for his shoulder his arms his back,” Froch said. “If he’s slipping and turning and giving you that awkward defence he’s got, ducking low, just punch down, take what’s there. If Pacquiao can execute that game plan, round after round, after round, the fight will be slipping away from Floyd Mayweather.”
I don’t know if any of you have noticed but Froch is talking about one game plan for Pacquiao to use for the Mayweather fight. Believe me, that ain’t good. Froch should be yapping about Pacquiao having five or six game plans for the fight on Saturday because he’s probably going to need it against Mayweather. Frankly, it’s simple-minded of Froch to be talking of Pacquiao getting the better of Mayweather using one simple game plan that Mayweather has obviously had two months to prepare for. I mean, come on. This is a simplistic game plan that Mayweather could solve in his sleep, and he’s had ages to prepare for it. It’s not as we’re going to see something new from Pacquiao in this fight, right?
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