Prime Pac was a freak of nature. He and Floyd were the best among the best of their divisions for a long time, and until now Pac is still elite. Of course he was not invincible, but he brought boxing to new heights because he was a small, aggressive fighter who never seemed to tire.
What I really like about Pac is how he started off relying mostly on his left hand but eventually learned to use both hands to set new traps for his opponents. As he progressed he capitalized on his southpaw stance and his stamina to create angles--coupled with his speed--to fluster opponents. I watch Pac videos all the time and I still dont precisely understand half of what he does. I need to watch breakdown vids on youtube and in slow motion.
that hook was called... Manila Ice
Pac was 32yo when Roach taught him that punch
Mayweather had mastered that punch before his 14th birthday
A bit different since Floyd is orthodox, but I see what you're trying to say.
Yes, Pac only received formal training when he was much older as a boxer. He was very lucky to have met Roach. And so are boxing fans: otherwise Manny would have remained a one-dimensional fighter and we wouldn't have seen what he was capable of. Props to Manny for reaching insane heights even though he started training late.
A classic debate that gets old but is fun to revisit from time to time.
Floyd is a great boxer with godly defense, but his lossless record exists partly because he picked his fights well. Pacquiao, on the other hand, would always fight whoever was the biggest fight at the time, and he went through eight weight divisions while doing it. The main argument against Pacquiao's greatness is that his camp arranged fights with catchweights, but he was nonetheless often the naturally smaller man throughout most of his career. I agree without a doubt that Floyd beat Pacquiao during their fight—even though the fight did happen five years too late—but in terms of overall greatness and legacy: Pacquiao, hands down.
Plus, Pacquiao used to be dirt poor and fight for food. And his personality is much humbler because of it. He genuinely believes in God and, although I'm not particularly religious myself, it provides an interesting mindset how he fights through and for his faith rather than his ego or strictly for the money. Of course, Pacquiao loves money as well, but his personality revolves around much more than just cold, hard cash and being full of himself. I know that Pacquiao's personality doesn't have much bearing on his greatness in terms of boxing, but it's another reason why I think he has a stronger appeal for fans. My bet is that if Pacquiao were American instead of Filipino, his greatness would be evaluated much higher as well.
Even if you weren't a huge fan of boxing, if you saw Tyson's early fights (1980–1986) you would see that he was something special. Fast, powerful, and evasive like a locomotive wrecking ball.
Still not giving up on Andy. I want to see what he can do if he gets in shape and learns to close the distance, especially cause he's short for a heavyweight. Not saying that he's as good as Joshua, Wilder, etc.—that remains to be seen—but if he can get in shape, it will be interesting at the very least.
Snoop was a clever addition to the commentary. I wasn't expecting to see him there at all, and having him there was a pleasant surprise.
What I liked about his commentary was it was laid back and he didn't try too hard to sound like an expert. He seemed honest with his input.
You need to learn the skills for any sport instead of relying on athleticism.
Yes some hall-of-famers are naturally inclined to be good at a sport, but you have to sharpen talent with training and dedication.
Nate Robinson had such poor defense which made it seem like he didn't train the technical aspects of boxing and was planning to rely solely on his athleticism to win.
I feel like there are two main factions regarding Andy Ruiz: Those who lost all belief in him for his shameful last fight w/ AJ and those who think he can change.
I like to believe that he was so shamed and hated from his last fight that he'll try to prove himself again in this fight. Hoping the last terrible training camp was a learning experience for him. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Still a huge fan of Ruiz personally. It's clear he has talent and is a freak of nature with his speed and power for his size. His problem with eating habits makes me want to see him overcome them so I can see his true potential.
It's a "number of fights at that weight division" vs "how much you rehydrate over 147" argument.
Some people would argue that Pac is a "true" welterweight because he had many fights at that weight class.
Other people would argue that he's not a "true" welterweight because he never rehydrated much higher than the weight limit by the night of the fight--which is unlike other welterweights who weigh much higher than 147 on fight night unless there is a rehydration clause.
In terms of speed, footwork, and angles they are similarly matched, though I would give an edge to Pacquiao.
In terms of power, remember that Pacquiao was knocking guys down at welterweight, whereas Loma seems already maxed out where is currently is.
So because Pac has moderate edge in speed, footwork, and angles as well as a sharp edge in power, I'd say Pac vs Loma at 130 is heavily Pac-favored. Which is not to take anything away from Loma, who is a prodigy in his own right; it's just that Pac is a freak of nature.
I feel like Porter dictated the pace of the fight. But it remains a question whether Spence ALLOWED him to do it to play his dog-fight type of game. I also noticed that Spence landed a lot of early low blows, but that he was able to parry a lot of the body shots Porter attempted. Meanwhile, Porter came on strong in the fourth, but looked a bit tired after the round because of Spence's body shots against him. Over the course of the fight, Porter looked a little bit more tired to me, but Spence's face looked like he took more of a beating.
Overall, I agree that Spence won this fight. I think it should have been a unanimous decision, especially because of the knockdown. That said, Porter has gained a new fan in me. I'm impressed how he brought the fight to Spence and performed better than most people were saying he would.
If I were Porter, I would want a rematch. I would train myself to handle body punches better, whether by strengthening my core even more or learning to parry much like Spence did in the earlier rounds. I would also try to improve my defense when charging in, cause I feel like that's where Porter got hit the most.
i respect ryan for using the haters to fuel this fight. it's stressful to be in the spotlight all the time. hope he takes care of his mental health. a good therapist can work wonders.
I'm a fan of Ruiz but I ain't mad at how Joshua played this fight, same way that I'm a Pac fan but wasn't pissed when Mayweather outclassed him the way he did.
I'm mostly disappointed in Ruiz because he could clearly be doing much better. To get this far with a fatty body means he has immense talent and is underperforming. Kind of like how Shaquille O'Neal just got heavier and heavier as his career went on and thus never reached his full potential in spite of being a great player.
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Great finds. Seeing the gifs made me lose some respect for Spence. I mean one could still argue that he won the fight, but the low blows plus this hold that led to the knockdown make him seem like a dirty—and more importantly, overrated—fighter to me.
Yes, it makes BJS seem like a hypocrite, but I think a broken face and all the flak he's been getting is enough punishment for his trash talking.
Canelo hits like a truck and BJS's face was moving into the punch.
The fracture wasn't just a "regular" fracture; his face looked like it had caved in.
Fractures anywhere in the body are painful, let alone fractures near the eye.
There's a reason why the eyes are surrounded by bones: It's because eyes are fragile.
If BJS continued fighting, he could have gone blind.