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No flames.
This isn't about the will to win, or hunger.
This is not about the heart but the head.
This is about remaining lucid and keeping with what works, when things
somehow start working for your opponent. It is also about the ability to
abandon what doesn't work, when under similar distress.
This is about what you do when you get hit, and hit bad.
Floyd's game is about maintaining composure in the ring, and that speaks
directly to the sort of mental strength I'm talking about. It isn't Floyd's ability
to avoid damage that impresses me the most about him, but his ability to
extricate from very compromising positions, when he DOES stumble into
some damage (moments of Rounds 4, 6, and 12 against Castillo the first time;
Rounds 1, 2 and to a lesser extent 3 and 5 vs. Hatton; and the weakest
example might be Round 2 vs. Mosley). When Floyd gets hit substantively,
he either counters, or has the presence of mind to totally avoid more damage
until he regroups, which doesn't take very long.
When Pac gets hit, he recovers just as quickly as Floyd, but his immediate
reaction depends on how badly hurt he is. If it's merely worrying, then Pac
launches into a flurry of offense (Round 3 vs. Larios, who was overmatched
anyway) to make up for his woes. If Pacquiao's more substantially hurt, he
tends to remain wide open for a breath or two (those connections in Rounds
2, 3, 8 and 11 vs. Marquez, the second time around; and recently in Rounds
2 and 3 vs. Clottey), as would be disastrous against a sniper like Floyd.
Basically Floyd comes out 'stronger' mentally, by reason of style; because
avoiding damage when he's hurt is merely an extension of what he's already
doing in the ring while he's NOT hurt: a 24/7 D.
Pacquiao's defense on the other hand, is codependent on his offense.
Stop the latter and much of the former evaporates. Those hard-to-hit angles
and sidesteps, and especially that wall of flying leather: they all take a little
break when he's seriously hurt, and I haven't seen any indication that Roach
has trained Pacquiao how to reflexively go into a Boxing equivalent of the
Roman testudo, or to otherwise protect himself until he can regroup: not in
a way that would likely matter against Mayweather's opportunisms.
To be fair, I haven't seen indication either, that Floyd can withstand the hail
of leather that Pacquiao can sustain for 12 rounds, simply because Floyd
hasn't faced anything like that yet... but he HAS at least shown that he
knows how to protect himself when swarmed, or when hit by a hard shot.
As much as it pains this Pacquiao fan to say it:
Advantage Mayweather, insofar as keeping an even keel in the ring
is concerned, and that is too often EVERYTHING in a fight between such
terrible, terrible champions.
Underdog that he is, I'd STILL be rooting for Manny, who retains a very
real chance of beating Mayweather.
JMO, YMMV, TANSTAAFL,
h.
This isn't about the will to win, or hunger.
This is not about the heart but the head.
This is about remaining lucid and keeping with what works, when things
somehow start working for your opponent. It is also about the ability to
abandon what doesn't work, when under similar distress.
This is about what you do when you get hit, and hit bad.
Floyd's game is about maintaining composure in the ring, and that speaks
directly to the sort of mental strength I'm talking about. It isn't Floyd's ability
to avoid damage that impresses me the most about him, but his ability to
extricate from very compromising positions, when he DOES stumble into
some damage (moments of Rounds 4, 6, and 12 against Castillo the first time;
Rounds 1, 2 and to a lesser extent 3 and 5 vs. Hatton; and the weakest
example might be Round 2 vs. Mosley). When Floyd gets hit substantively,
he either counters, or has the presence of mind to totally avoid more damage
until he regroups, which doesn't take very long.
When Pac gets hit, he recovers just as quickly as Floyd, but his immediate
reaction depends on how badly hurt he is. If it's merely worrying, then Pac
launches into a flurry of offense (Round 3 vs. Larios, who was overmatched
anyway) to make up for his woes. If Pacquiao's more substantially hurt, he
tends to remain wide open for a breath or two (those connections in Rounds
2, 3, 8 and 11 vs. Marquez, the second time around; and recently in Rounds
2 and 3 vs. Clottey), as would be disastrous against a sniper like Floyd.
Basically Floyd comes out 'stronger' mentally, by reason of style; because
avoiding damage when he's hurt is merely an extension of what he's already
doing in the ring while he's NOT hurt: a 24/7 D.
Pacquiao's defense on the other hand, is codependent on his offense.
Stop the latter and much of the former evaporates. Those hard-to-hit angles
and sidesteps, and especially that wall of flying leather: they all take a little
break when he's seriously hurt, and I haven't seen any indication that Roach
has trained Pacquiao how to reflexively go into a Boxing equivalent of the
Roman testudo, or to otherwise protect himself until he can regroup: not in
a way that would likely matter against Mayweather's opportunisms.
To be fair, I haven't seen indication either, that Floyd can withstand the hail
of leather that Pacquiao can sustain for 12 rounds, simply because Floyd
hasn't faced anything like that yet... but he HAS at least shown that he
knows how to protect himself when swarmed, or when hit by a hard shot.
As much as it pains this Pacquiao fan to say it:
Advantage Mayweather, insofar as keeping an even keel in the ring
is concerned, and that is too often EVERYTHING in a fight between such
terrible, terrible champions.
Underdog that he is, I'd STILL be rooting for Manny, who retains a very
real chance of beating Mayweather.
JMO, YMMV, TANSTAAFL,
h.
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