Los Angeles, California–
Manny Pacquiao Photo: Sal Guitarez vs. Lehlohonolo Ledwaba (June 23, 2001) vs. Agapito Sanchez (November 10, 2001) vs. Jorge Elicer Julio (June 8, 2002) vs. Emmanuel Lucero (July 26, 2003) vs. Marco Antonio Barrera (November 15, 2003) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (May 8, 2004) vs. Erik Morales (March 19, 2005) * undercard Former IBF & WBO super bantamweight champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (39-3-2, 31 KO’s), General Santos City, Philippines. 26-year-old 5’6″ southpaw, 130 pounds. Trainer Freddie Roach, managed by Shelly Finkel.
Style: Pound for pound Pacquiao just might be the hardest hitter in the sport. He is a banger/slugger but what sets him apart is his hand speed and his accuracy. He throws wicked three, four and five punch combinations that simply detonate on impact. Because he is a southpaw his shots are coming at you from different angles and unlike most lefthanders he isn’t cute or stylish. He will come right at you firing whistling hooks and staggering left crosses from the opening bell.
Significant Bouts: Pacquiao is coming off a difficult loss to Erik Morales last March and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him really turn up the heat on his next opponent and make Senor Velazquez pay the freight. Morales won a hard fought brutal unanimous decision but because of Pacquiao’s power he was still in it even in the last round. Nevertheless, Pacquiao was cut badly over the course of the bout and finished the evening a bloody mess. Morales had the size and reach over the Filipino star and that was the difference all night long.
Prior to the defeat by Morales, Pacquiao scored a four round TKO victory over Fahsan (3K Battery) Por Thawatchai, last December in the Philippines. The bout was an IBF featherweight eliminator for the #2 ranking; 3K-Battery hit the deck four times before the fight was stopped. Prior to that fight in May 2004, Pacquiao was involved in one of the most dramatic bouts of the year. Climbing off the deck to go the distance after being dropping three times in the first round is extraordinary. Somehow being able to salvage a draw after suffering a broken nose and swallowing enough blood to drop an ox borders on the miraculous. Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez retained his WBA and IBF featherweight belts because of guts, will; and judging from the scorecards, perhaps divine intervention in earning a 12-round draw against Pacquiao. The Philippine southpaw sensation landed repeatedly in the first round with withering straight left hands to the chin. The hard hitting challenger floored Marquez three times in the opening stanza, busting him up in the process and breaking his nose while reducing the bottom one-third of his face to ground round. Nevertheless, Marquez rallied over the course of the fight to somehow come up with a majority draw.
In November 2003, Pacquiao recorded the biggest win of his career when he scored an 11th round TKO over Marcos Antonio Barrera. It was a brutal night for the fighter nicknamed the “Baby Faced Assassin.” Barrera was overwhelmed and knocked down twice before eventually being halted by Pacquiao in eleven mostly one-sided rounds. One of the most feared featherweights of his generation, Barrera spent most of the evening eating leather before his cornerman Jorge Barrera climbed into the ring and mercifully ended the beating, in the non-title fight. The southpaw IBF junior featherweight king Pacquiao kept Barrera on the business end of his shots from the second round on and repeatedly scored with wicked combinations. In that memorable fight, Pacquiao was down in 1st, Barrera down in 3rd and 11th. Pacquiao first captured the WBC flyweight crown when he scored an 8th rd. TKO over Chatchai Sasakul, in 1998. Constantly battling to make weight, Pacquiao defended the belt once before he was KO’d in three rounds by Medgoen Singsurat, ten months after winning the WBC crown. In June 2001, Pacquiao won the IBF super bantamweight crown by scoring a six-round TKO over Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao would go on to register a number of impressive victories, including Jorge Eliecer Julio (TKO 2), Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym (KO 1), and Emmanuel Lucero (TKO 3).
Strength: Pacquiao is the complete athlete if you are looking for an action fighter. He throws devastating shots with both hands and he delivers the goods with withering accuracy. Pacquiao’s best punch may be his jackhammer left cross; that’s the shot that both Barrera and Marquez didn’t have an answer for when they squared off with the Filipino star. Pacquiao is at his best when he is moving and throwing wicked combinations. He excels at firing and landing a hard left to the body followed by a whistling right hook to the chin. Pacquiao can put you on the deck with either hand, or grind you down with combinations.
Weakness: Pacquiao gets hit and part of his allure just like Arturo Gatti, is that he is constantly in high action bouts. He has been on the deck several times over the course of his career and in the past he has been vulnerable to counter right hands. When he controls the tempo of the fight Pacquiao can dictate pace and the punch output. However, as in the Marquez fight, when the action slows down and his opponent starts landing his jab Pacquiao struggles.
——————————————————————————– Hector Velazquez (42-10-2, 31 KO’s) Tijuana, Mexico. 30-years-old, 5’7″, 130 pounds, trainer of record Ricardo Torres. Style: Despite ten losses on his record Velazquez is a tough hombre. He won’t back off or back down despite Pacquiao’s sterling reputation. Velazquez likes to muscle fighters on the inside and he will rip to the body with both hands. That said, he is not opposed to going south of the border and also using his head as a third glove in close quarters.
Significant Bouts: Velazquez has had 3 wins and two draws since he lost a 12 round decision to Rocky Juarez, in November 2003. In his last five bouts Velazquez’s has wins over Trinidad Mendoza (TKO 5), Guadalupe Hernandez (TKO 6), Marcos Licona (TD 6), Marco Antonio Sandoval (TKO 2), Concepcion Velasquez (KO 5), and Eiichi Sugama (D 10). The loss to Juarez was a bitter experience for Velazquez who fought much better than the three judges’ scorecards indicated. Juarez’s best weapon has always been his left hook to the body. That said, Juarez didn’t land his premier shot against the hard charging Velazquez until there were less than twenty seconds to go in the 12th and final round of their featherweight battle. Nevertheless, the former Olympic Silver medal winner from the North side of Houston connected with enough shots throughout the contest to score a hard fought unanimous decision over the durable banger from Mexico. Judge Ray Hawkins scored the bout 115-113, while Gale Van Hoy tallied 117-111, and Pasquale Procopio had it 118-110, all in favor of Juarez. The BT scorecard had Juarez notching a razor-thin victory over a very impressive Velazquez 115-114.
There was a great deal of wrestling and holding through the first three rounds of the bout, as both men struggled in close quarters. Coming off five straight KO’s, Juarez finally began to find the range in the fourth round and jolted Velazquez with a sharp left hook to the temple at the 2:19 mark. With 1:40 remaining in the 4th, Juarez clipped Velazquez with a sharp right hand to the jaw and a follow up hook that was partially blocked. A counter right hand on the inside nailed Velazquez with 54-seconds remaining in the round, however, Juarez still found it difficult to utilize his power shots. However, with 24-seconds to go in the 4th, Juarez landed a sharp right uppercut and a left hook that rocketed off Velazquez’s skull. Velazquez came back firing hard leather and drilled Juarez with a ripping left hook that caught the former Olympian square on the belt line. However, Velazquez drew a warning from referee Laurence Cole for straying south of the border. Velazquez battled his way back into the action in the middle rounds with ripping body shots as he continued to score with winging left hooks to the midsection. At the 2:04 mark of the ninth round, Velazquez buried a short right hand into Juarez’s ribs. With less then a minute remaining in the 9th, Velazquez scored with a strong counter right hand to the chin.
The crafty veteran Velazquez was also not opposed to using his head on the inside and the rough tactics seemingly threw Juarez off his game plan. However, with 1:32 to go in the 10th, Juarez scored with a snapping lead right hand to the chin followed by a stiff left jab and a rare left hook to the body that thudded off Velazquez’s torso. Moments later, Velazquez came back firing and drilled Juarez with a counter right to the jaw. At the 2:05 mark of the twelfth round, Juarez was able to get extra leverage of a chopping hook that caught Velazquez flush of the jaw. Both men traded shots in the center of the ring but they also struggled with their footing as they attempted to land the definitive punch of the fight. With little more than a minute to go in the contest, Juarez connected with a sharp counter right hand to the head over Velazquez’s left. With the crowd chanting for the local hero and Velazquez muscling Juarez into the ropes, the former Olympian finally hammered his opponent with a wicked left hook that thundered off his ribs, with just 18-seconds remaining in the contest. In the last few moments of the bout, Juarez finally scored with a volley of body shots but the fireworks came too late to impress a number of boxing insiders. Nevertheless, Juarez’s early work in the bout was enough to nail down the win, even if two of the judges’ scorecards did not truly reflect the closeness of the battle.
Velazquez does have a number tough losses on his record including a 12 round majority decision defeat to Orlando Antonio Soto in 2002, and a 9th round technical decision loss to Robbie Peden in 2001. Velazquez was unable to continue after being cut over the eye by an accidental headbutt. One year earlier, Velazquez lost a ten round split decision to Israel Vazquez.
Strength: Velazquez is a hard nosed veteran banger who will hammer to the body with lethal left hooks and ripping right hands if he can cut the distance on the southpaw Pacquiao. His willingness to trade leather makes for compelling fights even if has ended up on the short end of a number of decisions. The tough guy attitude also means he is not above or below using questionable tactics.
Weakness: Velazquez lacks the boxing skill to stick and move with a mauler like Pacquiao. He has the heart but not the athletic skill to do much other than trade with a hooker. He will be compelled to fight Manny’s fight and that means Hector will be on the short end of the power shots. Velazquez is tough but tough can get you in trouble when dealing with a bad customer like Mr. Pacquiao. Velazquez has been cut several times in the past and he’s going to have difficulty in dealing with chopping shots coming from odd angles.
Prediction: This fight should be interesting as long as it lasts. We look for Velazquez to be forced to trade while Pacquiao tries cuts off the ring and deliver heavy artillery. Don’t be surprised to see low blows and one or both guys cut from accidental headbutts. Nevertheless, Pacquiao’s speed and power will eventually catch up with Velazquez. We expect the Filipino star to end matters via a TKO by the sixth round.
