Can Pac's speed and athleticism overcome the fact he's essentially one handed against a guy as gifted and educated with his feet & angling as Pep? I honestly don't know. Does Pep have enough pop to even gain Pac's respect..... I throw my hands up on this one. Pac's physicality presents some real challenges, but at the same time I can see pep making a 126 Pac look really crude.
I like Pep in this, frankly... I think Manny "gets to him" a lot more than anyone not named Saddler managed to do at or near Pep's prime and he's competetive, but there are moments where Pacquaio is made to look ridiculous and finds the space between he and the elusive Pep frustratingly difficult to close... Pac gets Willie's respect and does better than most ever would have, but I think what hut mentioned (Pac being far more one handed, and even when better schooled later on, still vulnerable to timing and smart countering) is immensely important against a guy who could exploit things like that about as well as anyone ever has I'm thinking a 9-6 type of fight
Really good analysis, CDogg. In some respects, Pacquiao represents the biggest hurdle of Pep's career, and Pep's style advantage COULD be negated to a degree by Pacquiao's swiftness and unorthodoxy. Throw in the power and work-rate, and Pep has a pretty serious fight on his hands. Could he have survived three first-round knockdowns? Perhaps not. Still, I do favour Pep. When youre facing a one-handed boxer who has big-time speed, your best friends are defense and timing, and those two were predicated on, and fed off, one another with Pep. I have to think Pep would win enough rounds in a pretty damn competitive fight for a close UD. There may be patches where one guy dominates the other. Pacquiao's would be more violent and edge-of-your-seat, Pep's, less explosive but a little more prolonged.
