Filipino knockout sensation Manny Pacquiao returns to fight in front of his hometown fans where he faces hard-hitting Oscar Larios on July 1st, at the Araneta Coliseum, Manila, Philippines. The WBC International super featherweight title fight will be broadcast live on USA PPV at 9:00 PM EST.
WBC International Super Featherweight Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (39-2-2, 31 KO’s), General Santos City, Philippines. 27-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: This past January in Las Vegas, Pacquiao scored the biggest victory of his brilliant career with a rematch win over Erik “El Terrible” Morales. The former three-time world champion Morales simply had no answer for Pacquiao’s wicked left cross and after ten blistering rounds he ended down on his hands and knees with his head bowed in defeat. Pacquiao rallied over the second half of the fight and dropped Morales twice in the 10th, compelling referee Kenny Bayles to finally halt the bout at the 2:33 mark. Ten months earlier, Morales had pounded out a searing 12 round unanimous decision over Pacquiao but this time around it was a different story. Fighting in front of a raucous and sold out crowd in Las Vegas, Pacquiao was simply the stronger and quicker fighter, as Morales visibly aged in front of the Nevada fight fans. Pacquiao was relentless as he nailed the Mexican hero with brutal left hands down the middle and hammering right hooks to the body. With heavy swelling around both of his eyes and a broken nose, Morales looked exhausted when Pacquiao dropped him for the first time in the 10th with a scalding left hand to the jaw. Morales was able to beat the count, however, his legs and wind had vanished. Seconds later, Pacquiao landed four more clubbing shots to the head that drove Morales into the canvas for the second and final time. Pacquiao was adamant that the switch to Reyes Gloves, so called puncher’s gloves used in the rematch rather than the Winning Gloves he was contractually forced to wear in the first fight was one of the keys to his TKO victory. After being stopped for the first time in his career, Morales had heavy swelling under and around both of his eyes, a broken nose and gruesome welt in the center of his forehead.
In September 2005, fighting in Los Angeles, Pacquiao hammered out veteran journeyman Hector Velasquez finally dropping him to his knees to score a late sixth round TKO. Both men flurried to open the 5th, but Pacquiao simply had more steam on his shots and a four-punch sequence rattled off Velazquez’s jaw early in the round. With 1:28 remaining in the 5th, Pacquiao caught Velazquez moving forward and he ripped him yet another stunning four-shot volley punctuated by a cracking left cross square on the jaw. Moving in and out while firing whistling shots, Pacquiao began wearing Velazquez down midway through the round, as the former world champ repeatedly drilled his opponent with clean left crosses that rocketed off his skull. With 31-seconds to go in the 5th, Pacquiao caught Velazquez walking straightforward and nailed him with a scalding right hook to the jaw and the crowd responded in unison with a collective groan. Just before the bell to end the round, Pacquiao landed a leaping right hook that caught the tiring Velazquez once again flush on the chin. At the conclusion of the round Velazquez slowly returned to his corner on the backs of his heels.
Pacquiao continued to grind Velazquez down to open the sixth round, as his opponent’s reflexes and ability to return fire diminished noticeably. At the 2:04 mark of the 6th, Pacquiao drilled Velazquez with two hard shots to the belly before his opponent was able to tie up the Filipino. Seconds later, Pacquiao nailed his opponent again with two more ramrod right jabs that snapped Velazquez’s skull straight back. Pacquiao shifted his attack downstairs and hammered Velazquez with a searing right hook to the ribs followed seconds later, by a savage left cross to the belly. With Velazquez noticeably tiring, Pacquiao caught him with slashing right hook to the jaw that again rocked the Mexican boxer. With 49-seconds remaining in the round and the fans screaming, Pacquiao jolted Velazquez with a clean right hook to the jaw. The sound of the punch was audible over the noise of the crowd and again wobbled the durable but overmatched Mexican. Seconds later, Pacquiao drove Velazquez back into the corner and unloaded a brutal volley of unanswered head shots. Pacquiao landed no less than 15 searing punches before Velazquez was able to drop his shoulder and almost tackle the ex-champ to force a momentary clinch. Referee Lou Moret separated the boxers but there was no saving the staggering Velazquez from his fate.
Seconds later Pacquiao drove Velazquez back into the ropes for the second time before the Mexican was able to escape. With less than 5-seconds to go in the round, Pacquiao trapped his opponent back against the ropes for the third time and unloaded five more withering shots that dropped Velazquez to his knees at the sound of the bell. The referee Moret sent Pacquiao to the neutral corner and with Velazquez’s head bowed and still in a kneeling position the veteran official began his mandatory eight-count. At the count of eight Velazquez was able to rise but with blood caked above his left eye he was in no condition to continue and Moret waved off the contest. The TKO went into the books as a victory for Pacquiao at 2:59 of the sixth round.
In March 2005, in his first bout with Morales, Pacquiao made the classic mistake of loading up with his punches against an opponent who was bigger, stronger and a better boxer. Morales’ size and ability neutralized Pacquiao’s impressive power output and the Filipino slugger was always just one step away and one punch away from landing the heavy lumber. Rather than bang to the body and slow down Morales, Pacquiao repeatedly tried to land head shots and ultimately it cost him the decision. It was a bitter defeat for Pacquiao and it will be interesting this time to see if he makes adjustments and shifts his attack downstairs early in the bout rather than head hunting too early. Prior to the Morales loss, Pacquiao scored a four round TKO victory over Fahsan (3K Battery) Por Thawatchai, in December 2003 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 defend 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. There are always a number of demands on Pacquiao’s time and given he’s the biggest star in the Philippines there is always the question if he has had enough time to focus his energy on his job inside the ropes.
——————————————————————————– Challenger Oscar Larios (56-4-1, 36 KO’s) Guadalajara, JA, Mexico. 29-years-old, 5’8″ 122 pounds, trainer of record Edison Reynoso, manager Jos? Reynoso. Style: Larios is a standup banger/boxer that likes to come forward and unload with both hands. Larios is a high-energy action pugilist that has a history of being in very entertaining fights. Larios has a sharp left jab that fuels a wicked right cross and can put opponents on the seat of their trunks.
Significant Bouts: Larios is coming off a very disappointing loss via a third round TKO to Israel “El Magnifico” Vazquez, this past December in Las Vegas. Larios was on the deck in the opening round, however, problems were only just beginning for the twenty-nine-year-old 122-pounder. A quick ripping punch that landed with the inside padding of the right thumb sliced through Larios’ left eyebrow followed by a chopping overhand right that opened a brutal two-inch gash on his head in the third round. Blood began to cascade and the much anticipated junior featherweight showdown between two world champions and old adversaries was over for the night. Referee Tony Weeks simply had no choice but to stop the bout at 2:52 of the third stanza.
Prior to the loss to Vazquez, Larios posted two straight wins over former world champion Wayne McCullough. Last July defending his WBC super bantamweight crown, Larios scored a dominating 10th round TKO over the 35-year-old McCullough. Given his age and the amount of wars that the Irishman had taken part in; McCullough’s hand speed and reflexes were in question and he simply was at the end of the line. Five months earlier, Larios posted a dominating 12 round unanimous decision over McCullough. Larios simply had too much speed and accuracy for the Irishman and the champion retained his belt by an overwhelming margin, 118-110, 118-110 and 116-112. Larios lost his first attempt at winning the WBC belt in Sacramento, California when hometown hero Willie Jorrin scored a 12 round unanimous decision over Larios back in January 2001.
It was a different story 22 months later, after Larios posted six straight wins and then flattened Jorrin in under a minute and a half of the first round to extract his revenge in front of an equally stunned Sacramento crowd. Going after Jorrin at the opening bell, Larios waded in and snapped the jab. Moving side to side, the confident champion moved away from the oncoming challenger. Stepping in, Jorrin threw a right hand and was countered with a fast one two.
Pressing forward the challenger connected with a looping right to the ribs, as Jorrin landed a straight right to the head and glided away from the aggressor. Pinning the champion on the ropes, Larios banged in a sharp right to the temple. Bouncing off the ropes, Jorrin jumped in with another straight right and was clocked under the chin with a riveting right uppercut that sent the champion sailing into the air before he crash-landed sideways on the deck. In a haze, Jorrin had the expression of a dizzy drunk with a large smile creasing his puzzled face, as he managed to somehow gather himself into a kneeling position. Instinctively scrambling up at seven, the rubbery-legged Jorrin ducked an overhand right, as the action continued and he stumbled to the floor. When the action resumed, Larios landed two sharp right hands to the face that trapped the champion in a neutral corner. Unloading both fists in a prolonged heated flurry, Larios hammered away at the teetering Jorrin until referee Dr. James Jen-Kin, Jr., rushed in and stopped the fight at 1:28 of the opening round. Larios would go on and defend his title on five more occasions; scoring wins over Shigeru Nakazato (UD 12), Kozo Ishii (TKO 2), Napapol Kiatisakchokchai (TKO 10), Shigeru Nakazato (UD 12) and Nedal Hussein (UD 12) before he faced Wayne McCullough for the first time.
Strength: Larios is a gritty and talented pro with a wicked right hand when he gets the distance and finds the target. Larios has an underrated left jab and has evolved from a banger to a more polished boxer but he still likes to let his hands go. In his last six victories he has gone the distance five times, however, if Larios traps you on the ropes, or in the corner he can hurt you with a trip hammer left hook to the ribs, liver and head.
Weakness: It will be almost seven months since Larios suffered a brutal gash over his left eye in his loss to Vazquez. The general rule of thumb is that a cut heals 1% a day, so it takes a little over three months for the tissue to totally regenerate. However, some boxers tend to cut more easily and old wounds tend to re-open because of scar tissue. It doesn’t help Larios that he tends also to drop his hands slightly when he pulls the trigger on his left hook. Simply put Larios has had 61 pro fights and at 29, he is an older fighter.
Prediction: For Larios to travel to Manila and beat Pacquiao is asking a great deal. Pacquiao is on a roll and he’s at the top of his game, with lightening quick right hooks and left crosses that can overwhelm opponents. With Freddie Roach in the champ’s corner, Pacquiao has taken his battle plan to a higher level. We look for Pacquiao to cut off the ring and nail the challenger with rocketing right hooks and swift left crosses and start busting up Larios by the fifth round when the challenger starts to trade with the champion. Pacquiao via a bloody 7th round TKO victory.
