....Floyd shut down Manny's offense with his reach, timing and the ever present threat of counters (or "checks" as people seem to love calling them nowadays, fuck knows why). Further, he spun out of corners and the ropes beautifully, leaving Manny hitting air most of the time - when Floyd stayed still, he got tagged - so learnt and kept it centre ring. If Pac had really gone for it, been super aggressive, he'd probably have suffered a few 10-8 rounds or been knocked out cold (going with probabilities here, yes he could have hurt Floyd too). And when Manny learnt and had success with low/high combos, Floyd upped the output and got it done. Horrible fight but it was what it was and props to Floyd for being that tiny bit better enough to take rounds.
AgREED. What most people fail to realize is the monumental achievement of making Pacquiao so ineffective. I mean, who else would've fought Pac for 12 rounds and kept him under 450 punches connecting only 19% of his shots?
His defense is still incredible, there's no doubt about that. Up there with the very best defense in boxing history. Still not convinced this tells us much about how a fight 5 years ago would have played out. The current Pacquiao is tepid even against scrubs. 5 years ago he was still a pressure fighter, a vicious one with blazing fast feet.
This. He was holding his feet. When he leapt in, sure, he risked getting tagged but more often than not he got through, or made Floyd run.
Floyd was considerably better 5 years ago himself. Pac fans/Floyd haters have to lie to themselves & go to what-if scenarios to feel better about how their boy was completely undressed
Nah, not at all. I said the exact same thing in the run up to this fight. The current Pacquiao is too tepid to beat Floyd. 5 years ago I picked Manny, but as soon as this fight was announced I said Floyd by boring decision.
The lack of bounce and feinting was the big thing for me. You need to make a guy like Floyd twitch before you come in, Pac was so stationary.
He is almost plodding compared to prime Pacquiao. Weird, because he does still have hand and footspeed when he wants to. I guess it's just the lack of youthful energy that has taken the bounce out of his step, and made him much heavier on his feet.
Yeah agreed. It's a different fight 5 years ago. I remember speaking to you after the third Marquez fight amd saying that Pacquiao had lost that ferocity and willingness to "step into the fire" to land his own, compared to the first two fights. I picked Floyd in this one but hoped Manny could turn back the clock. Loaded is right that Floyd was also better five years ago but there hasn't been as marked a decline as Mayweathers style is more conducive to longevity.
The thing is, Floyd didn't necessarily do anything to win those rounds. They could've been scored 9-9. Hitting Pacquaio's gloves and giving the impression that you're boxing intelligently despite not actually making contact, and spinning out of corners and avoiding any real exchanges isn't exactly amazing sh*t. Simply, the fight was garbage and Floyd was a scared little bitch throughout that fight.
Seriously Hex, were you expecting Floyd to become Arturo Gatti for the biggest fight of his life?? :dunno:
Indeed, my thoughts exactly. That is a big part of it, more than just the decline in speed, IMO. And sure Floyd was better 5 years ago, but ultimately he is still the same fighter - a defensive minded boxer. He hasn't transformed his style like Pacquiao has, he's just slowed down. Basically Slicey, he (or anyone really) needed fire and aggression to beat Floyd, needed to take risks even if it meant taking more in return. It was patently obvious he wasn't going to outbox the master boxer. The current Pacquiao age 36 simply wasn't prepared to do that, he is not the same relentless, fearless warrior he was in his 20's etc. No surprise really. In a nutshell, Floyd is a worse, slower version of 5 years ago, Pacquiao is a different fighter.
It's not like Floyd dominated these rounds tho. I didn't see any ring generalship and pac never took a foot backwards
It was just pitty pat bullsh*t from Fraud. Ring generalship = spinning the f*ck out of the corners and running backwards like a faggot
I had it 117-111 Mayweather. My scorecard was similar to Floyd-Maidana I as in the first half of the fight was close. The second half of the fight was not close at all.
