Photo edit by John Garita/RBRBoxing
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs) will put his legacy and championship belts on the line May 2 when he finally meets Manny Pacquiao (55-6-2, 38 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mayweather is a master technician who has dominated the sport as its best pound-for-pound fighter. The calls for Mayweather to step in the ring with Pacquiao were loud and clear so the fight has been agreed upon.
It’s possible that both Mayweather and Pacquiao have lost a few steps in recent years, but what’s not clear is who will be able to defend their game plan the best when they finally meet.
Check out the five keys to victory for Mayweather.
1. Land First, Land Fast
Photo by Tom Casino
Floyd Mayweather has made a living out of being the quickest to the gun. Manny Pacquiao will do a lot of side to side movement in an effort to time Mayweather to land his own shots.
Mayweather must not let Pacquiao get off first. To do this effectively it is critically important that Mayweather always beat Pacquiao to the punch. What set his rematch with Marcos Maidana apart from their first fight was Mayweather’s ability to beat Maidana to the punch.
Clearly Mayweather was not the bigger puncher against Maidana and he won’t be against Pacquiao either. Mayweather masterfully negates that disadvantage by getting his man off balance to the point where Mayweather can hit and not get hit back.
Pacquiao will have trouble landing on Mayweather if Floyd uses his reach to land the jab before Pacquiao can get started. By the time Pacquiao starts to move forward Mayweather will already be gone.
2. Set Traps for Manny
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
In his fights with both Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather expertly set traps for them and then easily picked them apart when when they couldn’t hit him back.
Mayweather moves around the ring very well and gives the illusion that he is there to be hit. Yes, sometimes a looping right hand by Marcos Maidana or a straight right hand by Shane Mosley will get through and hit the mark.
However, most of the time the punches will miss and Mayweather will tag his off-balance opponents. Manny Pacquiao’s only chance is to out-throw Mayweather and Floyd knows this point very well.
Mayweather can dictate the action and fight when he wants to fight. If Mayweather sets traps, Pacquiao may get frustrated and become reckless, (like he has done against Juan Manuel Marquez) and then Mayweather will pick him apart.
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