FIGHT REVIEW ----------------- Pacquiao v Bradley II

Manny still loves to fight.

Manny Pacquiao is a lot more than just a boxer. He is an eccentric entertainer with a tremendously charismatic personality. Nothing seems to phase him, and so we saw Manny enter the ring to fight one of the best boxers in the world bouncing along with his usual infectious smile. This enthusiasm along with his explosive style of boxing is why he is such a loved figure the world over. Manny made upwards of $20 million this fight and as far as anyone deserves that sum for a boxing match Manny does.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Manny entered the ring to fight one of the best boxers in the world bouncing along with his usual infectious smile. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Manny's mother applied voodoo
to Bradley.

Tim Bradley entered the ring to a by now familiar chorus of boos. As undeserved as this treatment is for him given his performances in the ring he  now takes it in stride. He has become used to the big stage and it showed in his demeanour. With his infamous controversial decision win in their first fight he was out to prove a point.

Bradley did a good job in the early rounds by boxing smart as he had when he beat Marquez. He was patient and constantly circled left away from Manny's left hand looking to counter this shot as described in the preview to this fight. But as Freddie Roach predicted, when Manny applied a bit of pressure Bradley's strategy went out the window and he obliged Manny by engaging in exchanges. This was a bad move and very bizarre given his history. He hadn't learnt his lesson against Ruslan Provodnikov. Surprisingly he was standing by his words prefight and going for the knockout. Against Pacquiao this meant loading up on every shot and throwing bombs. Inevitably Manny absorbed the blows and fired back. Bradley

Bradley said bring it on.

tired from this effort and tried to mask his exhaustion by goading and taunting Manny to attack him on the ropes. Manny then took control of the fight. It would not have been wrong to have Bradley winning after 5 rounds. However, from then on Manny turned the tide and dominated the rest of the fight.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
Manny showed a level of patience this fight which we have not seen before. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Manny showed a level of patience this fight which we have not seen before. In recent years he was over aggressive against the elusive Bradley and then with devastating consequences  against the counter punching Marquez when he later admitted he learnt his lesson in patience after being knocked out cold. In this rematch with Bradley he was very controlled and picked his shots landing fewer but higher quality punches than in the previous fight vs Bradley. When Bradley later went back to moving and boxing Manny patiently cut off the ring. He has clearly not slowed down and this strategy of patience was very deliberate which should bode well for likely future fights.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
The challenges posed by Marquez and then Bradley has possibly served to better prepare Manny for what would be the biggest fight in boxing history........a date with Floyd Mayweather jr. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Manny celebrates win with a
Filipino jig.

Fate has a strange way of being kind to Manny Pacquiao. In losing controversially to Bradley in 2012 and then getting knocked out by Marquez, maybe he has been convinced of the need to adapt to his opponent. He definitely showed this fight that he now has the maturity to do that. The most elusive and best counter puncher in the business today just happens to be his biggest nemesis and the challenges posed by Marquez and then Bradley has possibly served to better prepare Manny for what would be the biggest fight in boxing history........a date with Floyd Mayweather jr.

WINNING IS NOT ENOUGH - Danny Garcia beats Mauricio Herrera

Fight Review 

Danny Garcia vs Mauricio Herrera

Prize fighting is more than just a boxing match. To justify its very existance there has to be drama. Prizefighters make a lot of money, generate a lot of hype and there are long build ups to their fights which we all eagerly anticipate for weeks and sometimes even months. If there is no drama during the actual fight it is just another 36 minute sporting event. If that’s all a fight offers there are plenty other options to watch on the weekends. Danny Garcia won a boxing match in his fight against Mauricio Herrera but if he wants to maintain his reputation as a prize fighter he will have to do better against 2nd tier opponents.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Danny outboxed Hererra but he did not deliver what the viewers wanted which was a dramatic beat down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

There has been the usual cries of ‘robbery’ and ‘controversial decision’ in the aftermath of this fight but in reality it was nothing of the sort. Danny outboxed Hererra but he did not deliver what the viewers wanted which is a dominating beat down. In the absence of this kind of expected victory the perception becomes that this was a close fight. 

Herrera tried to win with the jab. The jab is a punch to be used for many reasons, but mainly distracting and occupying your opponent and also for timing and positioning to land power shots. It is not supposed to be used to win fights. On the rare occasion he did throw a ‘power’ shot it was not thrown with conviction. Fighting like this you will never hurt your opponent which is the main objective of professional boxing. Throwing a power punch is risky as when it is actually thrown with power, if you miss or even if you land you can find yourself off balance and out of position. This opens you up to counters. Herrera, by never throwing with power rarely left himself open. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Throwing a power punch is risky, as if you miss or even if you land you can find yourself off balance and out of position opening yourself up to counter punches.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

As a consequence of this strategy Danny found it hard to land any dramatic big shots. His strategy is mainly to counter punch but if his opponent doesn’t open himself up this ability is restricted. If Garcia wants to be a prizefighter however he must initiate attacks a lot more. Agaisnt a light hitter like Herrera he should have been applying constant pressure but this lack of attack first shows up in his jab stats. Of his 675 punches thrown only 273 were jabs. A good jab is a near necessity to set up and initiate attacks and Danny clearly needs to work on his.

This fight was a clear win for Danny as he threw 402 power punches to Herrera’s 276. He landed on 150 to Herrera’s 82 for a much higher land percentage. They also landed with a lot more power and conviction. Garcia showed the skill and athleticism to distiguish himself as a world class fighter vs the 2nd tier Herrera, but if he wants to maintain his fame and prize fighter reputation he will have to win in a lot more dominating fashion in the future. He did not provide the drama required to make a large audience required for blockbuster fights to sit up and take notice.

ROBBERY IN TEXAS---Lomachenko v Salido Review

Lomachenko v Salido Fight Review

Salido forfeited the WBO featherweight title on the scales. On fight night he came in at an ‘unofficial’ weight of 147 lbs while Lomachenko weighed 136 lbs. Lomachenko was fighting for the vacated title (and $230 000) while Salido for pride (and $235 000).

In the preview of this fight I said Salido has a habit of bending over in a lunging attempt to reach his more fleet-footed opponents. I didn’t think he would take it to this level. This move pretty much became the story of this messy fight. Take a look at the following collage of screenshots: 

Every photo shows Salido leading with the head. Effectively a head butt. These moves are against to rules of boxing. There are 30 photos and these are all taken AFTER the 8th round which was by the time I had lost all hope in the legitimacy of this fight.

There are many more examples of this from the previous seven rounds. Ironically Lomachenko was criticized by the referee and commentators for repeatedly holding. What do you expect him to do when his opponent is burying his head into his sternum? Anyone who has seen Lomachenko in the amateurs knows he hates holding and would not hold unless forced to.

This lunging, leading with the head, headbutt ‘manoeuvre’ pretty much killed the flow of the fight and hence Lomachenko was not able to use his skill with this blatant flaunting of the rules. However the few times the fight was able to flow we could see flashes of his brilliance.

Regardless, I had Lomachenko winning the fight 116-112. Not much different to the judge Levi Martinez (who had it 115-113).

Lomachenko landed more total punches (164 to 142) at a much higher percentage (37% to 22%). He landed less Power shots (105 to 137) but at a much better percentage (44% to 25%). Lomachenko had Salido hurt badly in the 12th while never being hurt himself. This while being outweighed by 10lbs. In other words if you like fighters who swing wildly with little thought you probably thought Salido won. On the other hand if you like fighters who use their superior footwork, balance and defence to get into position to land smart accurate shots you probably thought Lomachenko won. It’s up to you…... What’s that famous quote by Roger Mayweather again (reminder on left sidebar of this blog)?