IT?S THE SAME OLD ARGUMENT?AGAIN Los Angeles Ca- If Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) beats Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) in November in what will be their third encounter, and as he?s expected to do, the same question arises. When will he face Floyd Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs)? Who will win? From the couch in my living room Saturday night watching Floyd?s victory over Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs), although I believe he?ll be the betting favorite, I came to the conclusion that based on what I saw he loses the ?hypothetical? bout with Pacquiao.
In the aftermath of what some considered either a controversial and or tarnished victory (I beg to differ here), after reading numerous stories on various websites basically calling it a ?great? and ?dominant? performance by Mayweather, from my view I just didn?t see it that way. Floyd was effective doing what he normally does. In no disrespect to Mayweather?s phenomenal skills, the performance was nothing all that special. He threw one punch at a time, mainly a right hand lead that lacked power. Whenever he got hit with anything resembling substance he backed himself to the ropes. A recipe for disaster against the Filipino superstar.
MAYWEATHER IS SHOWING SIGNS OF AGE Floyd still exhibits great reflexes, however at this stage I just don?t think he can fight at a fast pace. Pacquiao?s movement from side to side and ability to catch opponents in exchanges are his greatest assets. Floyd normally has the speed advantage in fights. Against Pacquiao he?d be fighting a southpaw with comparable hand speed, and who throws punches from weird angles and in combination. The fact that Floyd rarely commits to his punches is also a problem. If he commits, Floyd possibly leaves himself open. If he doesn?t he won?t hurt the Filipino and thats what he must employ to keep the fight at the pace he prefers.
