At first glance, Floyd Mayweather Jr enjoys the decided advantage over Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao when it comes to preventing an opponent from hitting him.
Defense has always been the trademark and hallmark of Mayweather?s boxing style.
His signature shoulder roll has been the bane of fighters who want to engage the American in a slugfest. Coupled with his quick jabs and above-par foot speed, he has successfully kept that defensive puzzle intact ? winning all 47 of his fights as a professional boxer.
Mayweather often sits and waits for his prey to rush in and get frustrated. But he will pounce on the slightest opening and any hint of mistake from his opponents. At least, that is what he did when he was at his best some eight years ago. He will even take the extra step to gain advantage. Right, Victor Ortiz?
He has good eye and hand coordination, allowing him to evade punches while throwing his own with uncanny accuracy. That is perhaps the reason why he throws less than Pacquiao, who is not really defense personified
But make no mistake about it. Pacquiao does have his own defensive style, only it is overshadowed by his reputation as a ferocious two-fisted attacker who throws punches in volume and at odd angles. And don?t forget, those punches sting ? real hard.
Pacquiao?s defense rests heavily on his feet, legs and thighs. They are among the quickest and sturdiest for boxers his size. This allows him to move side to side, dart in and out in a blur.
Forget about how he gets tagged once in a while. A slugger does not become one without getting hit.
No pain, no gain.
That is his signature.
He does not pretend to be the boxer that he is not.
He is a puncher and he seeks to destroy.
Despite making a living out of hurting and getting hurt in return, Pacquiao is not really the easiest to nail down.
No fighter ? at least in my memory ? has put together a string of five to six punches on his face in an exchange. The only fighter that really outclassed him was Erik Morales. That was in their first fight and unless you are an avid fan of boxing you will not remember it happened 10 years ago.
Pacquiao has added 15 more pounds since then and exacted revenge from Morales via two KOs.
Nobody really wants to trade bombs with him without the fear of getting knocked out ? except Juan Manuel Marquez who got lucky with a well-timed Hail Mary punch that knocked the lights out of the Filipino congressman.
Still, Mayweather will be viewed as the better defensive fighter.
And Pacquiao the quicker puncher.
But that is what conventional wisdom tells us.
Nobody really knows what kind of fight the two will bring when they clash on May 3 (Sunday, Philippine time).
We have 10 days to go.
