Lee Wylie Breaks It Down
For those expecting a fight for the ages, it only took one, clean counter right from Mayweather at the beginning of the first round for Pacquiao to be reminded of what happened to him at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez back in 2012. Consequently, Pacquiao looked tentative thereafter and seemed reluctant to fully commit to his attacks. For example, there was a moment in round four where, having countered Floyd’s jab with a nice “split-entry” straight left before getting off some combinations along the ropes, he unfathomably backed away, allowing Mayweather to return to center ring and gather his senses. While it was important for Pacquiao not to smother his work and punch himself out, he was too relenting here.
Mayweather wasn’t on the front foot as much as I expected him to be, especially later on in the fight, and this was always going to be a problem for Manny, who, as I’ve said on numerous occasions in the past, isn’t at his best when cutting off the ring and applying pressure. There were simply far too many instances when Pacquiao should have been stepping to his right and throwing the hook in order to keep Mayweather contained and from circling out to his left. Of course, the story that came out immediately after the fight regarding Pacquiao’s injured right shoulder may have played a part in this.
In hindsight, though, the warning signs were there for all to see against an inferior Chris Algieri. All those knockdowns may have obliterated any competitiveness on the scorecards, but Pacquiao often failed to block off Algieri’s escape routes and evade his right-handed attacks.
Pacquiao had some success targeting Mayweather’s body with his straight left, and when using it to counter the jab before skipping out to his right, but the Filipino appeared to lack direction and was unable to sustain his attack. Just when Pacquiao seemed to be building momentum, Mayweather would clip him with a well-timed lead or counter, which stopped Pacquiao dead in his tracks and prevented him from coming forward with impunity. The fact that the volume-puncher was essentially out-worked by the counter-puncher pretty much tells you all you need to know. (According to CompuBox, Mayweather outlanded Pacquiao 148 to 81 and even threw more punches, 435 to 429.)
Mayweather’s jab, straight right to both head and body, check left hook while sliding out the back door, and sweeping right hand which arced around Pacquiao’s guard, were the American’s most fruitful offensive weapons, and resulted in him producing the cleaner, more effective work throughout. In the end, I scored the fight 116-112 for the undefeated champion. Mayweather could possibly have had a point deducted for excessive holding (referee Kenny Bayless continually warned him for pulling down on Pacquiao’s head but failed to follow up with a point deduction) which would have then made my scorecard 115-112 for Floyd.
Mayweather might not set the world on fire with his boxing style, but his distance management really is second to none. With precise, calculated footwork, Mayweather has perfected the art of being in the right place at the right time: either just far enough away not to be hit, or too close to be hit effectively. And this, along with his superior physicality and timing, is what enabled him to get the job done on the biggest night of his career against his most dangerous challenger. — Lee Wylie
I thought Paquiao had the chance to win this fight that night. The speed was enough, the power was enough.
Mayweather won the fight, that is clear. But I had a bitter taste in my mouth when the late rounds came to an end.
This was not the Paquiao I had payed to see. To see Paquiao getting caught in Mayweathers game and trying to box with Mayweather in the middle of the ring made me so frustrated.
His gameplan was the worst. Trying to “feel” Mayweather the first round was the first mistake.
Not cutting of the ring another.
Not using odd angles.
Lack of faints in his footwork (in and out, side to side faints) and punches.
Lack of intensity and fast rythm.
It all boiled down to lack of concentration and wrong attitude about how he should have carried himself. The boxer he needed to be was the one he said he was going to be that night. He could not find his identity in the ring. The identity that he once was.
Damaged or no damaged shoulder. He could still have boxed differently.
I would like to see a rematch. And just hope that none of the fighters would get damaged and box the best way they can.
I puke at “Mayweather – Khan”. Hope that Algieri somehow wins and makes that scared crybaby of a boxer loose his chance to get the mega fight.
I have to agree with you. Specifically (and most importantly), Pacquiao looked heavy on his feet. This was the only shock to me. I expected that his punch output would be lower (since Mayweather does that to fighters and Pacquiao is simply too old now), but it’s no excuse for Pacquiao’s slow footwork (something that was evident from the offset). Gone was the bouncing on the toes, the quick look for angles, and the in-out pattern – and the only thing that remained was Honeyghan’s swaying high guard. I had picked Mayweather Jr. to win (and always contended that Mayweather Jr. could beat Pacquiao 5 years ago), but I was rooting for Manny.
As I mentioned, Pacquiao’s inability to inside-fight finally caught up to him when his vaunted foot speed & quickness abandoned him.
It was a great victory for Mayweather Jr. and he should be commended for the win. I for one don’t want to see a rematch. Floyd Mayweather Jr. if finally the undisputed champion of the Welterweight division. I, like Roy Jones Jr. endorsed, would love to see Floyd fight Keith Thurman, or Kell Brook, or Shawn Porter, or Timothy Bradley (all prime, very dangerous fighters). In my opinion, Kell Brook would beat Floyd (maybe even by TKO). Thurman isn’t as refined as Brook, but he has more power. Shawn Porter hasn’t perfected his swarming style yet, but if he puts it together he would be a stylistic nightmare for Floyd. I don’t think Floyd is going to fight any of these fighters though. They are prime and elite (something Floyd has never faced before). Why would he now?
Something was definitely amiss with Manny that night and I don’t think Floyd can take all the credit for it. Floyd worked his plan but something was missing from Manny. I think the shoulder problem was a factor but maybe something else that he’s not willing to say. If I was him, I wouldn’t want to give one excuse after another either. Congrats to Floyd and he was surprisingly respectful and a good sport. He seemed to win the interviews too. An observation I made too was Jr’s seeming contention with his father. A boy that never got his father’s approval. Nobody was asking about his father but Jr kept talking about why he wasn’t listening to him when he was yelling at him. Maybe he gave us a glimpse of why he is the way he is.
Since we’re finally done with “The Hype of the Century” and witnessed a brilliant display of footwork by Money May, Can we finally see that Willie Pep video Lee Wylie?!?!
For those of you who just started watching Floyd “Money” Mayweather, will not understand what Mayweather did and will only see a boxer who is running, but that’s not the case, how can a running boxer hit more than his opponent.
Let me break it down a little on what Floyd “Money” Mayweather the boxing genius did.
Manny could not throw from different angle because Mayweather kept him at a distance. Angle punches come when your opponent is close and then you can release the fury. But since Mayweather kept him at a distance, Manny could not hit Mayweather.
Manny like to jump in and out; he jumps in, position himself and release punches, he jumps out, so he can assess the damage and if he smelled blood, he will jump right in for the kill. Mayweather took that game plan from Manny, because when Manny jumped in, Mayweather will time him and hit Manny with a lead right from a distance or the check left hook if he got close enough and this will paralyze any boxer on its track and what ever plan they had, is now gone. For that reason you saw how Manny was hesitant to jump in and throw, Manny knew that if he gets careless in there, he would pay big time.
You saw how at time Manny was releasing his punches at Money Mayweather’s tight defense and would back up, the reason for that is because Manny was being hit with check left hook and he knew Mayweather was setting him up to punch himself out for the latter rounds and hit him with the check left hook.
When you noticed Mayweather backing up from Manny, noticed the foot work on how both of them shuffle simultaneously, the reason for that is because Money Mayweather was not going to allow Manny position himself in the inside and get hit by Manny, this is the brilliance footwork of Money Mayweather.
Another part to look for is on the feinting game; Pacman would feint coming in to Money and Money responded by taking a step back and feint his right shoulder back, in other words, Money is saying I am baiting you to throw your lead left so I can counter punch you with my lead right. For that reason, you see that Manny hardly lead with the left punch, Manny will use his straight left just to counter Mayweather in which Manny timed him perfectly in the 4th round.
Other ways that Money Mayweather took Manny’s punch output away is that when Manny got to close, Money Mayweather would get close enough and hold Manny down.
Mayweather loves to throw left jab to the body of his opponent, Pacquiao seems to train hard to avoid that because when Mayweather tried to do it couple of time, and even though Pacquiao missed, Pacquiao responded with two hard punches. This is the reason that Money Mayweather used the jab on Manny’s head and not to the usual body. JEJEJEJE.
Next time you watch the fight look at the mental game they both had and see how the boxing genius took away Manny’s arsenal away…
If you expected to see a you hit me and I hit you battle, then, those glory days are now over. The reigning heavy champion “Wladimir Klitschko” has remained on the top because of his boxing style.
See the fight again with this little boxing tip and see how the story and the drama unfold. This is the reason on why you hear professional boxers saying, if you are a casual fan you will not understand the inside game as a boxing purist.
Even if Mayweather is one of the best in history, or even the best defensive fighter in history:
1. He only fights in Las Vegas, and many times he makes the opponent fight with the gloves he wants. This is unseen in any sport. Imagine the Lakers only play in the Staples Center, and with the ball they choose; or the Steelers only play in Heinz Field, and the other team has to play with the equipment they say.
Mayweather controls too much the environment of his fights. He plays by the boxing rules PLUS his own rules. This discredits him and his victories. And it even makes me suspicious.
2. I think an investigative reporter should see if he pays more money to at least one of the referees. For example, in Castillo I, Maidana I, or even 118-110 against Pacquiao.
There could be more reasons for his nickname.
If you are saying that because Mayweather fights in Las Vegas meant that he has “home court” advantage, or whatever you will call it, then you are completely wrong. I was at the fight and the crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of Manny. When Manny entered the ring he got a loud cheer, and Mayweather got booed. Whenever Manny threw one of his flurries which were oftentimes ineffective, the crowd went crazy. I was also at the Maidana II fight, and the same is true. The chants for Maidana were far louder and the crowd majority pulled for Maidana. At both fights the crowd was upset that Mayweather got the decision and booed him once more, the guy next to me saying bullshit at the Pacquaio fight. In the Pacquaio fight Manny used his preferred Reyes gloves, and in the Maidana II fight Mayweather let Maidana use the gloves that Mayweather denied him to use in the first fight. He does usually make a big deal about equipment, but in both cases the fighter got what they wanted, regardless of Mayweather being the A side and is allowed to pick these things. Therefore your analogy does not work. Mayweather controls the environment of his fights because he is his own promoter and gets to decide things like that for himself.
As for paying of the refs, I cannot say for sure but it is highly unlikely that he would have made it this many fights under the spotlight he is in without getting caught. Sure both of those decisions were controversial, but he gave each of them a rematch and beat them decisively the second time around.
watch the replay manny mad floyd miss alot of those jabs and power punches with his head movement, at first i fought floyd landed alot of jabs because of how fast they were and manny moving his head back when watching live upon replay floyd missed a whole lot and connected with mannys gloves, manny had a case of winning the fight, look in slow motion and you can say Manny out pointed him and won more rounds by connecting with more shots and won mpre rounds