Who’s the Pound-For-Pound Greatest? Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Fight to Settle the Dispute
Pacquiao vs Mayweather is perhaps the most anticipated fight in recent memory. For the casual sports fan, this might be the first time that a prime-time fight will be telecasted in a free network. For the last few decades, boxing has been doing its thing in cable but with a fight of this magnitude, it would be a mistake for local networks to not take advantage of it.
For hardcore boxing fans, they’re probably still pinching themselves, making sure that this is not all a dream. To put this in perspective, when was the last time that two fighters of their caliber were in the same era and weight class? The closest that people can reference to was the Mike Tyson vs. Evander Hollyfield fight and that ended in controversy.
So what makes this fight so compelling? There are multiple reasons why people are willing to pay insane amounts of money to get a ringside ticket in Las Vegas. One of those is the difference in styles.
Manny Pacquiao has made his mark in the boxing world with his fast hands, his quickness in closing the gap in the blink of an eye, and his ability to throw punches from very unusual directions. He is not afraid to get in your face and trade leather if you allow him. It served him well when matching up against fighter types such as Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Chris Algieri, to mention a few.
That is the very same reason Manny Pacquiao could potentially lose this match. Though he is more careful now after his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez during their last outing, it is clear that he will need to be the aggressor in this fight and that will be Floyd Mayweather’s opening. A lot of people are talking about how Marquez and Mayweather are similar in styles. To a degree, one would say yes but only in the broadest sense of the word.
Mayweather is a completely different animal. He is probably the best defensive boxer in the last two decades. Odds are 2-1 in favor of Mayweather according to the bookies in Vegas.
Unlike most of Pacquiao’s opponents, Mayweather is pickier with his shots. He uses his upper body to slip and slide through most punches thrown at him and when the opportunity presents itself, he hits with a counter.
The American fighter is a master of defense which will give him an edge against the aggressive Pacquiao. He has the entire ring to move around in and if he can keep the Filipino pugilist at range, he’ll be able to take potshots all night long. Mayweather is not in a situation that he needs to keep throwing bombs against Pacquiao. That is a losing proposition. Though he is not knocking out people as much nowadays, Pacquiao still has a lot of power to flatten Mayweather. A well-timed counter would likely be his best bet and he knows it and will be looking for it.
It has been a long time since the boxing world had a fight that so riveted sports fans around the world and by all accounts, the Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight will definitely be a classic. As to how will it end? Most experts predict that Mayweather will seal the deal in a brilliant display of defense in a 12-round match-up.