Tweet
Let's take a trip back to 2004, Morales just finished his trilogy with Barrera losing two 2 of the 3 fights. In the finale, it appeared as if Morales lost something. It was the first time he was knocked down and he looked like a fighter on the way out.
Only a few months after his loss to Barrera he was scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao, who was coming off an impressive victory over Barrera. In this fight, Morales was a 4/1 underdog and counted out by many. Freddie Roach, before the fight, was quoted as saying "He's got nothing left, Manny will walk through him". Roach was touting of a new weapon called the "Manila Ice" which he said would stop Morales. Having seen Manny dominate Barrera, whom Morales just lost to, it was expected that Manny would not only win, but dominate the shop-worn veteran.
Why did Morales win? I believe the loss to Morales confused Roach. Barrera was arguably a better fighter at that time in his career than Morales, so why did Manny lose? Why did Marquez struggle with a past-prime Barrera himself, but then proceed to out-box Pacquiao once again in the rematch 4 years later?
The answer to this all is the old adage that "Styles make fights". Barrera was a left hand lead fighter without the jab and crisp straight right hand to disrupt Pacquiao's in and out movement. Marquez and Morales both possessed the tools to implement the blue-print to beat Pacquiao. An interesting fact is that since his arguable loss to Marquez, all of Pacquiao's recent opposition have been left hand lead fighters. Cotto and Barrera are practically the same fighter in different divisions, which is why I picked Pacquiao to win that fight in a 12th round stoppage. This is why I'm absolutely certain that Roach figured this out as well, being the veteran trainer he is.
So how does Mosley fit in all this?
Erik Morales vs Zahir Raheem reminds me a lot of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Shane Mosley.
Raheem didn't "run" from Morales, he brought the fight to him. He did it, however, in a way that wouldn't allow Morales to get off any punches. Notice the commentators speak on the fact that Morales can't seem to pull the trigger vs Raheem, despite stunning Pacquiao with crisp shots just 6 months earlier. Keep in mind, even after getting shutout by Raheem, Morales still managed to outbox Pacquiao during the 1st half of their rematch - despite coming down in weight. (which ultimately killed his legs and stamina)
Like I said earlier, Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar, on top of being "past prime, drained" or whatever else, were also all left hand lead fighters with absolutely no right hand. Cotto was essentially a one-handed fighter and was able to win rounds with a jab alone. However, once that jab is extended all Manny had to do is time it and dash in with his straight left down the middle. Cotto has no right hand counter to keep him off him.
Enter Shane Mosley. This is the first fighter that Manny has faced that actually has a chance to implement the blue-print to defeat Pacquiao. The fact that Roach only took this fight because of Mosley's terrible last two performances tell you just how dangerous he thought he was after the destruction of Margarito.
Stylistically, let me illustrate how I view the match-ups I discussed so far.
Pacquiao vs Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar fit into Group A.
Pacquiao vs Morales, Marquez, and Mosley fit into Group B.
How many straight rights did Marquez or Morales throw against Manny? Hundreds among them both. How many did Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar throw? Perhaps a dozen among them all. While Mosley, at this point in his career, doesn't box as well as Marquez and probably won't land nearly half as many straight rights, the part that interest me is the fact that Mosley hits far harder than Marquez and doesn't need to land as many either...
Mosley can win, but it all relies on his stamina, legs, and reflexes. To summarize, If Mosley enters the ring in great condition, he has the tools to win the fight and I expect him to win by knockout, but if he comes in with poor reflexes and gets tired, I expect Pacquiao to dominate him. Will Mosley enter the ring as Morales I, or will he enter as Morales III. That, in my opinion, determines the outcome of this fight!
Keep the replies clean.
Only a few months after his loss to Barrera he was scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao, who was coming off an impressive victory over Barrera. In this fight, Morales was a 4/1 underdog and counted out by many. Freddie Roach, before the fight, was quoted as saying "He's got nothing left, Manny will walk through him". Roach was touting of a new weapon called the "Manila Ice" which he said would stop Morales. Having seen Manny dominate Barrera, whom Morales just lost to, it was expected that Manny would not only win, but dominate the shop-worn veteran.
Why did Morales win? I believe the loss to Morales confused Roach. Barrera was arguably a better fighter at that time in his career than Morales, so why did Manny lose? Why did Marquez struggle with a past-prime Barrera himself, but then proceed to out-box Pacquiao once again in the rematch 4 years later?
The answer to this all is the old adage that "Styles make fights". Barrera was a left hand lead fighter without the jab and crisp straight right hand to disrupt Pacquiao's in and out movement. Marquez and Morales both possessed the tools to implement the blue-print to beat Pacquiao. An interesting fact is that since his arguable loss to Marquez, all of Pacquiao's recent opposition have been left hand lead fighters. Cotto and Barrera are practically the same fighter in different divisions, which is why I picked Pacquiao to win that fight in a 12th round stoppage. This is why I'm absolutely certain that Roach figured this out as well, being the veteran trainer he is.
So how does Mosley fit in all this?
Erik Morales vs Zahir Raheem reminds me a lot of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Shane Mosley.
Raheem didn't "run" from Morales, he brought the fight to him. He did it, however, in a way that wouldn't allow Morales to get off any punches. Notice the commentators speak on the fact that Morales can't seem to pull the trigger vs Raheem, despite stunning Pacquiao with crisp shots just 6 months earlier. Keep in mind, even after getting shutout by Raheem, Morales still managed to outbox Pacquiao during the 1st half of their rematch - despite coming down in weight. (which ultimately killed his legs and stamina)
Like I said earlier, Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar, on top of being "past prime, drained" or whatever else, were also all left hand lead fighters with absolutely no right hand. Cotto was essentially a one-handed fighter and was able to win rounds with a jab alone. However, once that jab is extended all Manny had to do is time it and dash in with his straight left down the middle. Cotto has no right hand counter to keep him off him.
Enter Shane Mosley. This is the first fighter that Manny has faced that actually has a chance to implement the blue-print to defeat Pacquiao. The fact that Roach only took this fight because of Mosley's terrible last two performances tell you just how dangerous he thought he was after the destruction of Margarito.
Stylistically, let me illustrate how I view the match-ups I discussed so far.
Pacquiao vs Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar fit into Group A.
Pacquiao vs Morales, Marquez, and Mosley fit into Group B.
How many straight rights did Marquez or Morales throw against Manny? Hundreds among them both. How many did Cotto, Hatton, and Oscar throw? Perhaps a dozen among them all. While Mosley, at this point in his career, doesn't box as well as Marquez and probably won't land nearly half as many straight rights, the part that interest me is the fact that Mosley hits far harder than Marquez and doesn't need to land as many either...
Mosley can win, but it all relies on his stamina, legs, and reflexes. To summarize, If Mosley enters the ring in great condition, he has the tools to win the fight and I expect him to win by knockout, but if he comes in with poor reflexes and gets tired, I expect Pacquiao to dominate him. Will Mosley enter the ring as Morales I, or will he enter as Morales III. That, in my opinion, determines the outcome of this fight!
Keep the replies clean.
we don't know.
Comment