The Las Vegas moneyline says Manny Pacquiao is almost 2-1 underdog when he goes up against Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2 (May 3 in the Philippines).
It is the first time in 7 years Pacquiao is stacked up against a betting favorite. The last time it happened, he was fighting a bigger fighter and a bigger boxing superstar who went by the name Oscar de la Hoya.
Everybody knew Pacquiao humbled de la Hoya into quitting and retiring after a dominant career-defining 9th round technical knockout win.
De la Hoya was 35 years old when he fought Pacquiao. Pacquiao is 36 and will turn 37 in December.
Mayweather is now 38.
Pacquiao and Mayweather however are nowhere near the state of decline of de la Hoya when the latter fought his last professional fight against the Filipino, quitting in his stool before the sound of the bell for the 9th round.
Pacquiao and Mayweather are excellent specimens of extraordinary athletes, naturally gifted if not freaks of nature.
While they may have seen their best years, they are still the best in the business ? pound for pound.
So age is not really a big factor between the two of them.
The legs are.
While Pacquiao is almost 2 years younger the Mayweather, he has already plenty of mileage in his pair of feet.
64 fights to 47.
407 rounds to 363.
All against Pacquiao.
Averages rounds per fight 6 to 7 in favor of Pacquiao (it took Pacquiao shorter time to demolish his opponents, on the average).
The legs are like car tires, the longer they are on the road running, the more they lose their treads. Pacquiao has been doing more sprints to refresh his muscle memories in preparation for his Mayweather fight on May 2.Pic by Edwin Espejo
Those pairs of legs are like tires of your cars. The longer years they are spent running on the road, the more they lose treads. They lost traction. When you lose traction, you lose speed.
Pacquiao camp insiders, including Freddie Roach, say the Filipino boxing icon regularly suffer leg cramps during training and sometimes in actual fights. They are good indications that Pacquiao becomes dehydrated more often. He is losing steam as fights wore on.
But make no mistake about it, I will take a ?tired? Pacquiao going into the late rounds against anybody in the business.
Mayweather on the other hand has become more hittable against volume punchers.
Marcos Maidana, in their first fight, crowded Mayweather like no other.
For the first time, Mayweather?s pretty face grew lumps, got his lips busted and took punches more than anyone he had fought against during the last 5 years.
Is he slipping? Pacquiao coach Freddie Roach says so.
Pacquiao needs to loosen up those muscles in his legs and thighs to be able to outstep Mayweather.Pic by Edwin Espejo
Roach is good at seeing signs of deterioration, himself a product of one ? a case of overstaying his welcome.
He once said de la Hoya cannot pull it (the trigger) anymore. Now he is saying Mayweather?s legs are there no more.
Well, at least against the likes of Pacquiao.
And there is only one Pacquiao.
Mayweather can hide but he cannot run. And when he cannot run, Pacquiao will run roughshod on him.
Ever wonder why Pacquiao is doing more sprints than long distance running?
He is not building stamina. He is reclaiming his lost speed and hoping his muscles will build on past memory.
(Next: The heart of champions)
