This excellent assessment was written by a man who has eaten some of the hardest punches thrown in Maryland. So you arm chair guys out there have no excuse for not sending an article to jameslafond .com.
Decades after Marciano pulled off an undefeated record, there are those who still aim to mimic this feat. Since the 50’s, there have been approximately 6 notable fighters to etch their name next to Rocky’s and finish their career undefeated (with no blemish on their record). Of those 6 only 3 actively chose to end their career and of those 3 only 2 had over 30 fights. Joe Calzaghe being the sole fighter on that list to breach 40 fights.
A Diamond in the Rough
So if Mayweather pulls off this fight with Pacquiaio that will put him in the conversation with Marciano and Calzaghe. But what will the tone of that conversation be? Let’s return to this point later.
Well if Mayweather gets past Pacquiao unblemished (and I don’t think he will) and retires undefeated then he’ll have a lot more in common with those 2 then just a -0 at the end of his record.
There has been a lot of talk about the defensive proficiency of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Rightfully so as he is the most defensively talented fighter of this current era. That being said, without a doubt, boxing has gone the way of the NFL. A defense first mentality is so rare nowadays that when someone who exhibits this quality pops up, i.e. Floyd Mayweather Jr, you have no choice but to compare him to someone of another era. In the case of Floyd Jr. I think that speaks less to him being ‘The Best Ever’ and more so to the current weak state of boxing. The same boxing that allows an aged, albeit talented, Hopkins to continue to educate fighters in the ring.
A Sun amongst Stars
In order to sum up my assessment of the upcoming mega fight, we have to shift the conversation from defense to offense, from a diamond in the rough to a sun amongst stars.
In this era of boxing where punching power is usually more praised and sought after than technical skill, Manny Pacquiao is a standout. Reasons aside, he started out his boxing career weighing under the 105lb limit and fought as high as 154lbs and hurt fighters everywhere in between.
So in hypothesizing who will win on May 2nd Pacquiao’s offensive prowess should be as much, if not more, of a consideration as Mayweather’s defensive ability. Pacquiao hits at odd angles, and his attacks are so fast & furious that James Wan contemplated using him as an alternate in Fast 7.
Mayweather throws between 30 and 35 punches per round and averages a 50% connect rate. Pacquiao on the other hand throws between 65-70 punches per round and connects at a 43% rate. That means against an average opponent Mayweather would land a scant 18 punches to Pacquiao’s 30 punches in a given round.
Your Hands Can’t Hit What Your Eyes Can’t See
Now this makes no difference if Pacman can’t hit Mayweather. But there are 2 reasons why I don’t think this will be a factor. The first being that a slow, albeit aggressive, Maidana landed at a 25% rate in their fights. That’s factoring in his diminished stamina in the latter rounds. I neither foresee fatigue playing a role in this fight nor do I see Pacquiao being less effective than the inexperienced Maidana.
The second reason is Pacquiao doesn’t get enough credit for punch avoidance. He is hit far less than the weight class average by almost 10%! And no that’s not an expletive. He does this in part by keeping a fist in opponent’s faces. As Jack Dempsey said, “The best defense is an aggressive offense.” Pacquiao does take a lot of risks in the ring but those risks have paid off with titles in 8 weight divisions.
