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After two years of watching mediocre current fighters I decided to rewatch Mayweather-Pacquiao, a fight I only watched once live and never bothered with a replay (except a few highlights here and there.) I was always surprised how any fight fan could argue that Pac won the fight or that the scores should of been closer.
While rewatching the fight I was reminded by how great a fighter Floyd truly is. Pacquiao was completely at a loss on what to do to in that ring. Floyd was in complete control from the opening bell, his movement and actions dictated everything Pacquiao did. Floyd's right hand was a master class....a lot of fighters can not throw the right hand as quickly and sharply as Floyd. Against southpaw's lesser fighters lunge and fall in when they throw the right. Floyd can literally throw the right hand like a jab and never lose his balance or footing.
In addition to Pac not avoiding Floyd's right, Manny also struggled with Floyd's jab....how often do you see an orthodox fighter land as many jabs on Pac as Floyd did? Most guys cant land a jab on Pac at all! If that wasn't bad enough the footwork, Floyd's legs and feet are probably his greatest asset, he moves around the ring like it's a natural habitat. No part of the ring is a dangerous place for him to be, he knows exactly what move to make at every angle of the ring.
Yet it didn't stop there, adding to that Floyd's upper body movement was sensational, he constantly moves his head and body giving Pac the smallest target to fire at. Whether he was on the front foot or back foot he knew how to twist and contort his upper body to stay out of striking distance of Pac's fists. And if that wasn't enough brilliance, Floyd knows exactly when to clinch, exactly when to push off, exactly when to grab his opponent if necessary.
To Pac's credit he has great stamina and did not noticeably wilt like many of Floyd's opponents who become clearly frustrated and start to make mistakes. Pac was frustrated but he did not make the kind of mistakes that allowed Floyd to tee off or go inside to try to break him down.
Overall Pac was out of his depth in facing Floyd, way too much skill, way too many tactics, way too much experience for Pacquiao to overcome. I ultimately scored the fight 10-2 and even in those rounds were Pac scored flurries, Floyd was still having his way with Pac in the middle of the ring.
Most interesting of all is that the HBO commentators pretty much were silent on Pacquiao they reacted to everything Floyd did like he was the HBO fighter. Then again I can understand why, Floyd was masterful that night.
While rewatching the fight I was reminded by how great a fighter Floyd truly is. Pacquiao was completely at a loss on what to do to in that ring. Floyd was in complete control from the opening bell, his movement and actions dictated everything Pacquiao did. Floyd's right hand was a master class....a lot of fighters can not throw the right hand as quickly and sharply as Floyd. Against southpaw's lesser fighters lunge and fall in when they throw the right. Floyd can literally throw the right hand like a jab and never lose his balance or footing.
In addition to Pac not avoiding Floyd's right, Manny also struggled with Floyd's jab....how often do you see an orthodox fighter land as many jabs on Pac as Floyd did? Most guys cant land a jab on Pac at all! If that wasn't bad enough the footwork, Floyd's legs and feet are probably his greatest asset, he moves around the ring like it's a natural habitat. No part of the ring is a dangerous place for him to be, he knows exactly what move to make at every angle of the ring.
Yet it didn't stop there, adding to that Floyd's upper body movement was sensational, he constantly moves his head and body giving Pac the smallest target to fire at. Whether he was on the front foot or back foot he knew how to twist and contort his upper body to stay out of striking distance of Pac's fists. And if that wasn't enough brilliance, Floyd knows exactly when to clinch, exactly when to push off, exactly when to grab his opponent if necessary.
To Pac's credit he has great stamina and did not noticeably wilt like many of Floyd's opponents who become clearly frustrated and start to make mistakes. Pac was frustrated but he did not make the kind of mistakes that allowed Floyd to tee off or go inside to try to break him down.
Overall Pac was out of his depth in facing Floyd, way too much skill, way too many tactics, way too much experience for Pacquiao to overcome. I ultimately scored the fight 10-2 and even in those rounds were Pac scored flurries, Floyd was still having his way with Pac in the middle of the ring.
Most interesting of all is that the HBO commentators pretty much were silent on Pacquiao they reacted to everything Floyd did like he was the HBO fighter. Then again I can understand why, Floyd was masterful that night.
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