Perspective and Prediction

Manny Pacquiao’s spectacular victory over the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, has the boxing public salivating at the prospects of former multiple-division world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. challenging Pacquiao for pound-for-pound supremacy. Pretty Boy Floyd retired from professional boxing on June 6, 2008, but many pundits don’t take his retirement seriously.

Many boxing analysts deem Mayweather’s retirement as only temporary and it’s only a matter of time before something (or someone) whets his appetite for prizefighting. Pacquiao’s scintillating defeat of six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya is just the perfect motivation to coax the Pretty Boy from his self-imposed hibernation.

The “triangle theory” of boxing may not be applicable to everyone involved in the art of pugilism and has become the downfall of many a boxer. However, seeing Pacquiao utterly demolish De La Hoya makes one wonder if Mayweather’s close victory over the Golden Boy is any indication of the Pacman’s supremacy over the Pretty Boy, at least in the pound-for-pound sense.

Mayweather has indicated that he is willing to come out of retirement and face Pacquiao, and for good reason. Manny Pacquiao is the biggest threat to Mayweather’s legacy as the best fighter of this generation.

In fact, some boxing analysts and fans think that Pacquiao has the tools to put a blemish on Mayweather’s perfect record. The Pretty Boy would love nothing else but to prove that he is still the best fighter of the last 10-20 years by defeating his closest rival for that honor.

Should the fight happen (and most likely it will), what are possible scenarios and who will emerge as the victor? To do that, an in-depth analysis of both fighters’ strengths and weaknesses is in order.

Let’s take a look first at Mayweather. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (39-0, 25 KOs), is considered as the best defensive genius in boxing since Pernell Whitaker. Mayweather’s specialty is firing combinations from long range and using his exceptional footwork and speed to avoid his opponent’s firepower.

Although Mayweather is an expert at defense, it’s a mistake to underestimate his offensive arsenals. The Pretty Boy is a master at slipping punches with laser-like accuracy. Add to that his awesome technical abilities, versatility, speed, stamina and defense, and you have the perfect fighter who can pose serious problems to sluggers like Pacquiao.

On the other hand, Manny Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) is an offensive fighting machine who overwhelms opponents through blistering hand speed and firepower. His defense is somewhat suspect since he is a “hit me and I’ll hit you harder” kind of fighter, but his last fights against bigger opponents have shown that he can deflect or absorb heavy punishment.

To defeat Pacquiao, Mayweather has to implement all the techniques in his book, especially defense. The only way to control Pacquiao’s aggression is through perfect timing and counterpunching. When and if Pacquiao manages to launch those deadly combinations, it’s not farfetched for Mayweather to resort to grappling, holding and other “dirty” tactics to frustrate the Pacman.

To defeat Mayweather, Pacquiao has to pressure him from start to finish, allowing Pretty Boy little space to launch his long-range bombs. Pacquiao has to force Mayweather to the ropes and at the same time, move away quickly to avoid deadly counters.

It’s an interesting scenario of speed versus speed, offense versus defense, but in the end offense will prevail. Manny Pacquiao will force Floyd Mayweather, Jr. into a slugfest the entire fight, and prevail in a close but convincing unanimous decision.