By Tan Wang
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The proposed Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight hasn’t even been made yet but people are already putting big money on the Pacman. Pacquiao is the betting favorite, for me that’s even better cause I would bet a significant amount of money on a Floyd Mayweather Jr. victory.
I am not here to insult Manny or discredit his wins, I am simply talking strategic weaknesses in the Filipino slugger.
Pacquiao without question is the most exciting fighter on the planet right now.
Mayweather is the best, most skilled boxer of today or even all time.
The reasons why this would be Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s easiest fight yet are as follows:
1) Manny Pacquiao doesn’t do well against right hand dominant fighters.
If you watched Pacman’s fights against Marquez and the first fight with Erik Morales which Pacquiao lost, you will notice how they were able to offset Pacquiao with the right hand and land it at will. Pacquiao is a southpaw and you need a good right hand counter against southpaws, Mayweather Jr. has one of the best right hand counters in the game. Pacquiao looked great against left hand dominant fighters in David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and recently Miguel Cotto, but struggled against right hand dominant Juan Manuel Marquez in both fights which he arguably lost but was given a gift draw and gift split decision in the rematch.
2) Manny Pacquiao cannot fight backing up.
Going back to the first Erik Morales fight, which was a blueprint on how to effectively defeat the little southpaw muscle monster, Pacquiao had no answer when Morales bullied him back to the ropes with combination’s. Pacquiao would just cover up and try to move away but he had no answer to nullify the attack, Pacquiao went on to beat Morales 2 times after this but Morales was a shell of himself.
3) Manny Pacquiao cannot handle a slick boxer who can move around the ring.
When have we seen Pacman face a slick, quick, intelligent boxer who could get on his bike and counter punch? Never. I believe that has to do with Freddie Roach’s brilliant handling of his fighter, every trainer knows their fighters weakness and Roach has handled Pacman’s career impressively, Roach has said any fighter who moves forward and can be hit and tries to bully Manny he likes because he knows Manny will knock them out. The list of crafty fighters that Pacquiao was protected from include: Joan Guzman at 130 lbs, Nate Campbell at 135 lbs, and Shane Mosley at 147 lbs. Going back to the Cotto fight in the last rounds of the bout Pacquiao shown that he was frustrated at Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao had stopped in the ring when he found it difficult to catch Cotto, Cotto was moving on his bike and made Pacman irritated. Floyd Mayweather Jr. can do that all fight, so if Manny was frustrated by Cotto going on his bike, how much more confused would he be against the smart slick fighter Money May?
4) Manny Pacquiao would play right into Floyd’s game, Pacman will have no answer for the shoulder roll defense.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a counter puncher. Floyd does his best when a guy comes at him and leaves himself open for quick counters. Pacquiao doesn’t clinch or fight on the inside he fights in spurts but when he hurts you he goes all out and throws 20 to 30 punch combos trying to finish you off. If Manny tries to do those multipunch combos on Floyd’s defensive shell, he will tire out and Floyd will pick him apart when Manny tries to take a breather. Many have tried to smother Floyd Mayweather Jr. but no one could effectively consistently break his defense and land any combo on him. Floyd has never been hit clean with a multipunch combo in his career he has gotten caught with a good punch once and a while but he won’t be hit the way Miguel Cotto was hit or Oscar De La Hoya when they fought Manny Pacquiao.
5) Manny Pacquiao is a one dimensional come forward fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a man with many dimensions.
There have been many great one dimensional fighters in boxing history, one example is Mike Tyson he was a devastating offensive fighter who only fought coming forward. Name a time when you seen Mike Tyson get on his bike, throw multiple jabs in a fight or counter punch a guy on the back foot? Manny Pacquiao is the miniature version of Tyson but with a better resume, and a better offensive arsenal. I rank Pacman way higher than Mike Tyson on my all time list, but both guys are one dimensional, meaning they only fight coming forward. Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the other hand is a special fighter, he is so talented and intelligent that he can make a fight look like a sparring session and not even have a scratch or mark on his face. People need to understand that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has it all, he can box, he can fight backing up, he has underated punching power, he has a solid chin, he has great stamina and ring IQ, I could go on and on. Many people say he is boring or non-aggressive, if that is his only flaw then I would take it as a compliment. Floyd will utilize those tools against Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard was able to confuse and frustrate Roberto Duran in the rematch, I see the same frustration for Manny if he faces Floyd Jr. in an HBO mega fight.
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