Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Head-to-toe preview

Already dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” the upcoming tilt between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao has been hyped for years. And rightfully so: On Saturday night the debate over who is this generation of boxing’s greatest fighter can finally be put to rest.

680 NEWS reporter Geoff Rohoman talked to Sportsnet writer Stephen Brunt about the fight. Listen to the full interview here.

 

Setting that hype machine aside for a second, though, ignoring each fighter’s various out-of-ring activities and looking at each as objectively as possible, who has the edge in the fight?

In our quest for an answer, we broke the matchup down in seven categories.

Punching Power

Mayweather: In a rare turn for Mayweather, he will enter the ring as the bigger fighter, both in terms of height and weight. That shouldn’t be discounted because Mayweather, a natural out-boxer, will be able to pair his size advantage with his longer reach and historically great punching accuracy to do some serious damage from afar, making his hands seem heavier than they actually are. —Loung

Pacquiao: Just compare the number of career knockouts from each fighter and it’ll tell you all you need to know about who has the power edge. Twenty-six of Mayweather’s 47 wins have been by knockout or TKO with only stoppage victory since 2007 (and that was his controversial KO of Victor Ortiz). Meanwhile, Pacquiao has incredible power for such a small man, with 38 career wins by KO/TKO. True, Pacquiao hasn’t finished anyone since Miguel Cotto in 2009, but his most recent fight against Chris Algieri in November proved his power is still very much intact. —Johnston

Advantage Pacquiao

Hand Speed

Mayweather: At 38 years of age, Mayweather’s hands aren’t as lightning-quick as they used to be, but they’re still plenty fast. Mayweather is a deadly trap artist and counter puncher, and a big reason why he’s considered to be an all-time great defensive wizard is because his hands are quick enough to counter almost any attack without leaving himself exposed for any retribution. —Loung

Pacquiao: Mayweather undoubtedly has the speed advantage when it comes to individual punches, but Pacquiao throws quicker combinations. In the centre of the ring we’ll see the speed of Mayweather’s counterpunching, but if the Filipino superstar can cut off the ring and keep Mayweather against the ropes—even for fleeting moments in each round—that’s when we’ll see Pacquiao’s hand speed. —Johnston

Advantage Mayweather

Footwork

Mayweather: This isn’t really a contest, as Mayweather’s fundamental footwork trump’s Pacquiao’s by a mile. Mayweather’s feathery feet are probably the biggest reason why he’s hailed as a technical genius. He’s able to throw hard jabs, counter punch, block attacks and slip and weave out of harm’s way because his base is always solid, never leaving him compromised or unbalanced no matter where he is in ring. —Loung

Pacquiao: If landing and avoiding punches were all about footwork then Manny wouldn’t stand a chance. Pacquiao won’t be quicker with his feet, but he can be smarter. Using angles will be the key to finding openings in Mayweather’s superb defence. Being a southpaw can also work to Pacquiao’s advantage. Slipping punches, sliding to his right, flicking or faking his jab to set up his straight left will be the key for Pacman. He has used this technique to great effect to drop Algieri and Shane Mosley, as well as so many other opponents throughout his career. —Johnston

Advantage Mayweather

Chin

Mayweather: The closest thing we’ve come to seeing Mayweather’s chin get tested was in his first bout with Marcos Maidana in May 2014, when Maidana managed to shake him up a bit in the early rounds by throwing punches from unorthodox angles that Mayweather was only barely able to block. With that said, there’s a big difference between a few glancing blows and a solid, square on shot—something Mayweather’s never really experienced in his professional career—so it’s difficult to determine just how much punishment he can take. —Loung

Pacquiao: In addition to Mayweather’s first bout with Maidana, we also saw him get wobbled by Mosley back in 2010. He did the “stanky leg” in the second round of that fight, but Mosley couldn’t capitalize. When Pacquiao smells blood, he pounces. Everyone will point to Pacquiao’s 2012 KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez as reason to doubt his chin, but Mayweather doesn’t sit into his punches like Marquez. Pacquiao’s chin won’t be a concern in this fight. —Johnston

Advantage Mayweather

Boxing IQ

Mayweather: Simply put, there’s no smarter fighter in the world than Floyd Mayweather Jr. To be as accurate as he is requires another level of understanding. Everyone in boxing knows the kind of traps Mayweather likes to set—basically, anything that will set up his straight right coming down the pipe—and yet they always work. Is this coincidence? With a 47-0 record it can’t be. Additionally, Mayweather has an innate ability to learn and adjust on the fly. Just look at how he essentially downloaded Maidana’s fight plan midway through their first bout. —Loung

Pacquiao: At times Pacquiao leaves himself susceptible to damage when he turns up the aggression, but that doesn’t mean he’s an unintelligent boxer. Pacquiao can usually sense the right time to conserve energy and when to pour it on. Also, as odd as it may sound, the fact Pacquiao has lost several times (both by KO and decision) might be a good thing. He has shown an ability in the past to learn from his losses and grow, which could result in limited mistakes against Mayweather. —Johnston

Advantage Mayweather

Corner

Mayweather: Built from the ground up by his father, Floyd Sr., and his uncle, Roger Mayweather, the Money Team is the ultimate realization of the unorthodox Mayweather style of boxing. Floyd comes into the ring perfectly prepared to fight his fight without ever needing to adjust his style in a significant way, and he never really suffers much in the way of cuts or swelling. It would be surprising to see his seconds play much of a factor in this fight. —Loung

Pacquiao: Take nothing away from Mayweather’s team—including valuable role players like Nate Jones, who, like Mayweather, won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996—but the best trainer in boxing is Freddie Roach. No one knows Pacquiao like Roach, who says his fighter hasn’t looked this good in years. Take that with a grain of salt, obviously, but also remember that Roach has always been honest. He can provide a perfect balance of technical advice and passionate motivation between rounds. —Johnston

Advantage Pacquiao

Heart

Mayweather: Similar to his chin, Mayweather’s courage in the ring is difficult to measure because of his natural, defensive style. It’s easy to say Mayweather has no heart because he doesn’t just stand and fire, but that misconstrues the fact that, in order to connect on those counter punches, he still needs to invite very dangerous swings within a hair’s breadth to maximize his damage output. So, while he isn’t courageous in the same way Arturo Gatti was, it’s tough to call him a coward in the ring. —Loung

Pacquiao: How many true wars has Mayweather been in? Not many. Pacquiao on the other hand has been in some of the most exciting back-and-forth fights in recent boxing history—and that’s why most fans prefer his style. As we saw in his loss to Marquez, Pacquiao is willing to risk taking a punch in order to finish a fight. It’s not always the smartest decision, but it’s the one that garners the most respect. —Johnston

Advantage Pacquiao

Final Verdict

4-3 advantage to Mayweather

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