bold predictions for may/pac (proof that you guessed right)

why floyd's size worries some of manny's fans? he's been there with big guys before, bigger guys.

Obviously Mayweather is the favorite. There is no courage picking the favorite. And no one remembers the person who predicted the obvious. I give the edge to Mayweather where it counts, but as I said, only labia pick with the consensus. Pacquiao wins on points, 116-112. Mayweather has lost rounds to far lesser fighters. I also predict Bayless takes a point for a Floyd elbow/forearm. Why in the fiery pits of hell no one has taken a point before is beyond me.

majority draw is what I'm predicting

I'm seeing 115-113, 116-112 type scores on the cards for a split decision win for Mayweather.

controversial pick: fight will be a Draw I'm going with the draw as well

In stark contrast of who I perceive to be the eventual victor, for years (perhaps his entire career, really) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has always been the favorite. An Olympian before his professional debut, his excellence has allowed him to blitz through opponents, though not all of them in emphatic fashion that leaves people talking after the fight. He wins rounds and boxes magnificently, with an undefeated record that allows him to market himself as invincible and untouchable. Without a doubt, one of the best boxers in history, but people would be mistaken to believe that most of his fights are entirely one-sided. Mayweather, even though he wins fights clearly, he does not dominate opponents from start to finish. The only individual who has been shut out recently by Floyd Mayweather was Márquez in late 2009, because even Mosley had his moment, despite how brief it was. Fighters like Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, Canelo Alvarez, and even Marcos Maidana were able to have success against Mayweather, how successful they were is another story. Fighters like Canelo and Cotto clearly lost the fight, but they were given rounds even in the face of Mayweather's accuracy, even if they didn't look impressive;especially Canelo Alvarez. If a fighter as static as Canelo was in his fight with Mayweather can somehow find a way to win rounds, even though to many he couldn't have won more than two rounds, on one of the judges; scorecards Canelo was able to win three rounds, and in another four rounds. How is it not possible for Pacquiao to eke out or steal rounds with how dynamic he fights and throws punches? How is it outside of the realm of reality for Pacquiao to somehow be given rounds, even if Floyd was objectively more successful in a particular round? Pacquiao, even in fights where he loses rounds, hardly does anybody win it in dominant fashion or come away unscathed. Bradley and Márquez have been the only two fighters in recent years that have put up a fight against Pacquiao, yet they did not come away clean afterwards. I can't see Floyd shutting out Manny. He could, but I'd be surprised. Last, but not least, consider the implications of this fight...or the potential aftermath. Floyd Mayweather has been vilified since he became a superstar in 2007. His antics in the build-up to the De la Hoya fight served to garner interest while causing people to rally not only behind De la Hoya, but every opponent that Floyd's faced since then. Called out by many to fight the likes of Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and perhaps Canelo Alvarez;he narrowed the span of criticism by taking on these fighters, all of them coming off of notable wins before that. His unblemished record allows him to boast and talk smack because no one has yet to silence him, and in doing so has created more pressure with each passing fight, different fighters to different degrees. His two biggest fights (De la Hoya and Canelo) were the types of fights that capture mainstream attention and to his credit Floyd was able to perform under that enormous pressure, but you'd be lying to yourself if you said tomorrow night won't be different. For a fighter as brash as Mayweather (whether his demeanor is just a personality or not), to say he is entirely relaxed with how much attention there is circulating around this, not fight, but event. There is little to no pressure on Manny Pacquiao. He is the underdog, and is expected to lose. What happens if he does? Will he be disliked by people? Will that loss be the first thing people think of when they see Pacquiao years from today? The answer is most likely no, but the same thing cannot be said for Mayweather, who has self-proclaimed for years to be better than he is given credit for. The public backlash would be much, much greater than if any other opponent prior to this had beaten Floyd. The public is slowly running out of hopefuls to dethrone him, and this, to them, is the biggest one. There is little to no pressure on Pacquiao, while Mayweather is forced once again to protect his undefeated record, and critics to silence once again. So when all is done, I find myself genuinely excited as much as any other individual looking to turn in for tomorrow night, perhaps more than the average viewer. I am going out on a limb here and going to say that Manny Pacquiao is going to overwhelm with activity en route to a decision win while Floyd is selectively successful but more often than not shooting too little; his isolated counter rights overshadowed by Pacquiao's combinations. Thankfully, fight night is just around the corner and all these questions will be answered under a great deal of suspense, with millions holding their breath that one or the other is dropped to the canvas. Here's hoping that I'm wrong and Floyd Mayweather is once again able to show people why he is regarded as the best defensive fighter of the past few generations. Here's hoping that Manny Pacquiao is once again able to show people why he is regarded as one of the most offensively dynamic forces in boxing. Above all, here's hoping to a great fight that lives up to at least half the lofty expectations surrounding it and that people are left talking about it for years to come. Cheers!

And as fight night draws near, the excitement continues to escalate simultaneously with interest in both fighters’ performances, skill sets, and attributes. You cannot help but become enveloped by the buzz surrounding the big event, even if you weren’t a follower of the sport before this. For those that were already, I tend to title it as “Christmas in May”…because that is essentially how it feels, even more so if this is the only sport you follow. And much like when a dream is imminently coming to fruition, you overdose on anticipation and to a certain degree hope it never ends, because you’re not sure if something this good will occur again…and perhaps the anticipation is greater than what is anticipated itself. The fight is here, and now there is only time left; time to wait, time to ponder. But interestingly enough, despite the clamoring of the public for years for this fight to happen, or that this would never happen, or that the expiration date had passed, or that one fighter was scared of the other (specifically Mayweather), once the fight was announced officially, there was, to a great degree, the typical “kneejerk” reaction found whenever the undefeated pugilist signs against the opponent…that he will “surely” win, and that it will be “easier work”, or “no wonder the fight was made now, this is when the other fighter is most vulnerable”. I completely disagree with that train of thought. Much like the third bout with Pacquiao and Márquez, or the first match between Orlando Salido vs. Juan Manuel López, I cannot shake the underlying feeling that most people are picking the wrong guy, especially those stating that it will be a clear wipeout. Make no mistake; I am rooting for who the public perceives as the bad guy. However you want to call it, though…either pre-fight nerves, or second-guessing yourself, I cannot in all honesty believe that Pacquiao’s chances are as small as a lot of Floyd optimists are making it out to be. In boxing, anything can happen, but I tend to favor that the likeliest of all scenarios is outside of the general consensus. I’m only assuming here that, like most boxing fans when a big fight nears, you’ll dust off the old fight collection, sit down, and watch both fighters’ latest fights the closer the date nears. And just as I tend to do, this fight was no exception. I went as far back as May 2007 which was when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. crossed over into mainstream popularity and watched both fighters’ fights since then. Pacquiao didn’t become a superstar until a year and a half later after his own win over Oscar de la Hoya while Floyd Mayweather was inactive following a win over Britain’s Ricky Hatton in December 2007. In the span of eight years (since May 2007), Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have a combined record of 25-2-0 (6 KO’s). The numbers don’t look impressive, but when you consider that the grand majority of those fighters that make up that list were highly-touted or high-profile, then it becomes praise-worthy. Among the highlights within this streak are the back-to-back one-sided performances over Juan Manuel Márquez and Shane Mosley by Floyd Mayweather, Jr, or the unbelievably destructive part in the streak where Pacquiao essentially pulverized Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto all within the span of less than a year…losing at most 1 or 2 rounds between all three of them. It’s one thing for a fighter to be excellent, it’s another for them to be exceptionally talented. And because of the rarity of finding special fighters in a sport that is considered niche, promoters, managers, and networks tend to maximize profits while taking the lowest risk possible. It is an all-too-common practice that is almost readily accepted by fans, not because they want to, but because it has become the norm. In both Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao’s cases, they have gone through a list of such strong opposition so consistently, that many fall into the trap of thinking that this is something usual when it is not. For if you were to place any other fighter not named Floyd or Manny, and ran them through either of the superstars’ résumés over the last eight years, they would be praising them, not trying to find defects or criticisms to detract from how impressive the long list is. If the comparisons are to begin anywhere, they are, without a doubt, meant to begin in common opponents. It turned out that the conception of the megafight, or at least some sort of dream for it, began when Pacquiao jumped up two weight classes to pull off what was considered at the time as a notable effortless upset over Oscar de la Hoya and further drove the point home with Ricky Hatton. In the span of two fights, Manny Pacquiao had, not only dispatched Mayweather’s last two opponents before his “retirement”, but, fairly speaking, annihilated them. To add insult to injury, he went on afterwards to fight Miguel Cotto, a fighter who, by some people’s estimations was a fighter that would make an attractive opponent for Mayweather (circa 2008-2009). For whatever reason, be it “retirement” or not wanting to deal with former promoter Bob Arum, Floyd didn’t fight him at the time and Pacquiao went on to overwhelm Cotto with a barrage of punches that prompted referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight. With the addition of Juan Manuel Márquez and Shane Mosley, you have the fabulous five that have shared the ring with both superstars. All five of them are either hall of famers, or eventually will be. It’s astounding if a fighter fought three of those, or if you fought four of them, all five is a commendable. But the really admirable trait is that all five fought this Saturday’s two superstars, and with perhaps the exception of Márquez in his rivalry with Pacquiao, all of them were decisively beaten (lost at least 8 out of 4 rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards or worse). With all these numbers, they still do not paint the entire picture of people’s perception of the match-up. The manner in which Pacquiao dealt with them (particularly De la Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto) eclipses the manner in how Mayweather triumphed over them. And of course, the old adage of “styles make fights” rings truer than ever. In all honesty, we wouldn’t expect a defensive specialist like Floyd to crush opponents the way Manny has, but it’s not the offense of Floyd/Manny that I wonder about. It is about their opponent’s hesitance to engage. More often than not, fighters that face Pacquiao tend to be not outgunned, but rather swarmed. The activity/work rate of Pacquiao is much higher than Floyd. It’s understood that speed kills and that the countermeasure to it is timing, but I actually wonder if Floyd is equipped to deal with such an unorthodox fighter. Bernard Hopkins, a well-versed technician of boxing, was recently seen on an HBO promo titled: “The Legends Speak” alongside George Foreman and Lennox Lewis, in which they offered their thoughts and predictions on the fight. Bernard Hopkins in the end picked Floyd to win, but he echoed my sentiments when he pointed out that Floyd might tend to shell up and look for solid potshots. It’s a style that’s worked and that allows him to sneak in shots to the body and head, but he has been swamped with activity before in some of those instances, and that is without factoring in Pacquiao’s unusual style. Marcos Maidana in his first encounter with Floyd managed to land awkward clubbing rights while mauling him, not typical of many fighters…Manny Pacquiao is not a conventional fighter. It’s analogous to 2008’s Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe, a fight where Bernard Hopkins landed the harder shots, but ultimately was hampered by Calzaghe’s volume punching. As a result, Hopkins dropped a split decision to the Welshman, though most observers would state that Calzaghe clearly won it. It’s the same situation that could unfold this Saturday; harder, cleaner shots versus volume punching, if Floyd is unable, like Hopkins, to deter Manny from coming in. And supposing he is unable to connect successfully, for a fight of this magnitude, where the crowd reacts audibly from every punch, it is magnified when a flurry is thrown. Eight punches are thrown, only three land, or even two. There is not much accuracy there, but the activity is sure to catch the judges’ attention, regardless of Floyd’s more accurate, albeit economical punches. It’s not that Floyd’s accuracy will be lower than usual; it is that accuracy and volume punching are stacked and measured at a ratio basis, and perhaps rounds will not be easily decipherable, perhaps easier towards Pacquiao because of activity, flashier, more eye-catching, crowd-swooning combinations. ”. It’s this type of ugly match-up that makes it hard for the fight to be interpreted, it makes it harder for the judges to score it correctly, especially when you have a crowd cheering over every time there’s a combination thrown, regardless of whether it lands or not, especially of this magnitude. The straight rights will look good, but say you loiter on the ropes waiting for those openings, landing them…but you only land one out of every three you throw, while you have Pacquiao shooting four or five, landing only one, but the others are grazing or at least hitting the arms or chest…what then? Oscar de la Hoya would flurry, and Floyd would shoulder roll EVERY single punch, and it looks good—even great—but if you are failing to answer back, what good is it? Pacquiao has a very good reason for stealing rounds this way. Who do you score it for? 5 crisp head-turning counter-punches with 8 so-so punches landed with an overall total of 22 punches thrown, or 12-15 decent landed punches for a total of 30-35 punches under the guise of “punches in bunches” in that round?

controversial pick: fight will be a Draw

Pacquiao wins a controversial decision against Mayweather....

Pacquiao wears down Mayweather in the later rounds to win a decision.

mayweather tko7 pac Starting to think that is more likely than a Pac victory now. Pac looks small and skinny, Floyd looks like he's in tip top shape. Memo giving Floyd the good stuff and Manny looks to be off roids :(