What happened to Pacquiao??!!!

[GoldenGloveLove]

Let's be real, with his style it's shocking he's still fighting as well as he's fighting. People thought the ODLH fight was his retirement payday when they announced it. Thanks for the memories, little guy, we know you're at the end of the road. lol 5 and a half years later...

[A-Wolf]

Maybe it had something to do with Bradley? I think what people were noticing the most was how Tim pulled Pacquiao into awkward positions and made him fall of balance on several occasions. That, had to do with Bradley's superior distance control and footspeed during those specific exchanges and the footage he was able to overextend Manny. People weren't used to seeing that. Rewatching the fight I'm confident it was Bradley who created this impression more so than it was Manny suddenly ageing or slowing down.

[Dezstroyer]

I honestly feel if Pacquaio were ever to face Marquez again, a tune up fight would be good to bring back more confidence if he can win convincingly by a knockout against a top 10 P4P fighter. But on the other hand, he's only got a few fights left in him at the age of 35.

Some fighters age quicker than others and in Manny's case he ages quickly as a fighter. He never ducks any opponent, wants to trade heavy blows with bigger opponents and loves to stay in the pocket too much at times. He loved to throw a hundred punches per round and that also contributes to him declining even quicker.

Let's not forget what happened during the Margarito fight. Up until the Mosley fight i saw the hungry, destructive Manny Pacquaio at his peak form. His performance clearly showed that but fighting such big guys obviously took it's toll on his body.

We could all see that during the Mosley fight, there was still 95% left of the Manny Pacquaio but what he still had in speed and power. He seemed to have lost the killer instinct. He kept following his opponent, made him miss but never really followed up after a one two. Which made me question at that time, what happened?

Then i saw the third fight with Marquez. It was mind blowing how he didn't seem to have the focus and the smile on his face. Then i noticed during the fight that he didn't want to commit. He wasn't really trying, he wasn't concentrated. He just stared at Marquez and took all those heavy blows. Back then it was pretty clear Marquez couldn't hurt him as Manny just had an iron jaw that wouldn't crack.

Then we saw the first Bradley fight and i thought to myself. This Bradley dude seems elusive but didn't have the skills that Manny has nor could Bradley match him speed for speed or power for power blow. And i was shocked that while Manny won, he didn't press for the knockout. He was waiting on Bradley all night long. This wasn't the same Manny who went on the hunting grounds and destroyed Miguell cotto who hits a lot harder and who is tough as well.

And that got me thinking, what's going on Manny? Then he knew that his performance these past few years were lackluster and tried to prove something in the fourth Marquez fight. And he almost did as he was on his way to finishing Marquez off and i said to myself this is the old Manny Pacquaio who once had the hunger to become a world champion and just took risks without thinking too much about it. But at the same time i was shocked that Marquez managed to knock him down. I really was. Marquez is not really a big puncher so i had the question in my mind, what happened to Manny? Then it was followed up by a good but lucky knockout in the final seconds of the sixth round. I was so shocked that i really want them to meet for a fifth time so that Pacqauio could settle the score.

Now the question is: Will Manny be able to do so? I believe yes. I believe he has declined just a little bit but the reason for the decline right now i believe is the knockout loss to Marquez. I noticed how he throws more arm punches now and that's because he's trying to keep his composure and not get hit too much. He is worried about a knockout happening again because honestly? He still has quick and powerful hands.

During the last fight with Bradley i noticed how he threw a solid 1-2 combination in the 11th round and that has some serious speed and oomph on it. It was one of the few punches which he didn't throw as arm punches. I think it's more a factor of age and the knockout loss. As Freddy said it himself. He doesn't understand why Manny seemed slow and more reluctant while his hands were on fire in the dressing room. Pretty easy observation. The KO loss is still in the back of his mind. And it will remain there as his chin also isn't what it used to be anymore but still solid nonetheless.

But all said and done, Manny Pacquaio has transformed from a wild hungry lion into a smart boxer pucnher who has very good foot coordination and quick hands. And that is a less stellar but still impressive Manny Pacquaio at the age of 35!

[gary j. stout]

He must have regained his confidence.... with this win... next matches will be tough for pac man's opponents.

[hugh grant]

Pacquiao clearly beat Bradley in both of the fights, but he didn't look like the Pacquiao we know in the last fight. He was hesitant to engage especially after Bradley hurt him in the 3 Rd, he missed with quite a lot of shots even when Bradley had his hands down and was tagged quite easily. I do think the Marquez KO is still in the back of his head and that can be deadly if he faces Marquez next. What do you guys think? Did you pick up these signs as well?

This thread really confuses me.
Because whenever anyone gets knocked out like Pac did, it is natural to assume whether the guy will ever be the same again, especially when they've had 60 fights behind them and are 36 nearly. When people have car accidents sometimes there personality changes, we didnt even know if Pac would recognise those nearest to him, or if hed remember what happened a week ago.
People didn't know what level Pac could regain. Well he just took a young lions unbeaten record who was a p4p fighter. We know the standards we put on Pac is higher than mere mortals and that is obvious even more so now. Pac wins comfortably but people still don't believe Pac is where he was.

So Pac is not at the level where Floyd was scared of Pac and asked for PED tests.