MANNY PACQUIAO will have to work on his defense and improve his movement if he hopes to get even with Erik Morales when they square off in a rematch on January 21, boxing observers and fans of the Filipino boxing icon said Monday.
Pacquiao is coming off a 6th-round technical knockout of Mexico’s Hector Velazquez in one-half of the “Double Trouble” fight card Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Morales flopped in the other half of the card when he dropped a unanimous decision to former US Olympian Zahir Raheem.
On Pacquiao’s unofficial website mannypacquiao.ph, fans noted that the World Boxing Council International super featherweight champion has started throwing more jabs, added a right hook to his arsenal, hit the opponent’s body, moved around more and didn’t rush in to attack as much as he did.
But they also noted that “PacMan” is still “weak” on defense, is off balance once he starts throwing more punches and needs to bob and weave more to duck punches in close quarters. The fans also said he continued to rely on his powerful left hand as Velazquez was tagging him “pretty good” during exchanges.
“Manny did a better job keeping his hands up, catching many punches on the mitts instead of his chops,” one Pacquiao fan said on the website’s forum. “He did some good work at moving ‘in the pocket,’ while pinned on the ropes, that is moving his head slightly or ‘rolling with the punches.’”
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach admitted to his ward’s flaws but noted his improved speed and stamina in his second fight at the 130-pound level. In his first fight at super featherweight, the RP hero appeared sluggish at times as he lost a unanimous decision to Morales in their March 19 fight in Las Vegas.
“Manny relied too much on connecting with that left hand of his. He wanted a homerun,” Roach said in the press conference after the fight with Velazquez.
That’s why heading into the rematch with the Mexican icon, Roach said Pacquiao will open training camp for 2 weeks in the Philippines by November, and another 6 weeks at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles to iron out the kinks in his fighting style. “PacMan” had crammed 100 rounds of sparring in only a month before facing Velazquez.
