Can Pacquiao Knock Mayweather Out?
One of the more popular fight predictions in the Pacquiao-Mayweather stratosphere involves the Filipino ring icon stopping the unbeaten American within the distance. But is this at all possible given the various intricacies of this matchup? Let’s examine the facts.
On Nov. 14, 2009, against his first true welterweight challenger in Miguel Angel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao recorded a 12-round TKO victory. In that fight, Cotto nearly went the distance but was saved from further punishment in the final round after Pacquiao strafed him endlessly with rapid flurries.
Pacquiao also knocked Cotto down twice before the deciding slate, once with a right hand and the next time with a left, proving that the fighting congressman packed power in both fists. That was the last time Pacquiao stopped an opponent within the distance.
So why hasn’t Pacquiao stopped anyone since? Let’s examine the opposition and how they chose to engage the then pound-for-pound king.
Joshua Clottey
In front of one of the largest crowds ever to grace a professional boxing match, Pacquiao went to target practice against Ghanaian battle tank Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010.
Clottey, who had previously built a reputation as a rough and tumble warrior with forearms large enough to cover his entire body, did what everyone feared he would do — and that was to stay inside his pesky turtle shell defense, content with lasting the full frame whilst collecting the biggest paycheck in his career.
Pacquiao threw over a thousand punches when it was all said and done yet Clottey walked away virtually unscathed with a smirk on his face. Clottey wanted nothing to do with Pacquiao’s relentless assault and did just enough to ‘survive.’
Antonio Margarito
Now, at the very least, Margarito believed he could beat Pacquiao and actually fought to win. He just wasn’t fast enough to mount any type of offense against Pacquiao’s slippery herky-jerky movement. To his credit however, Margarito’s legendary iron chin held up pretty well despite Pacquiao remodelling his face into a meat sculpture.
At that point in Margarito’s career, he had only lost once by knockout to Shane Mosley, and only hit the canvas one other time against Danny Perez early in his career. Aside from that, Margarito was known as the brick wall who never stopped coming forward. His constant pressure suffocated foes until they succumbed into nothingness.
Pacquiao landed every punch in the book on Margarito, but the Mexican warrior was determined to stay on his feet. It was also highly rumored that Margarito ballooned to a near twenty pound advantage over Pacquiao on fight night. The added size obviously helped Margarito absorb punishment a lot better.
Shane Mosley
Mosley, ever the confident fighter, went into his welterweight bout with Pacquiao looking to score a monumental upset. Much respect has to be given to a fighter like ‘Sugar’ Shane because he always comes to win.
For the first few rounds, Mosley was a live opponent, but once he hit the canvas in the third stanza by way of a Pacquiao right hand, Mosley immediately got on his bicycle and ran the rest of the way.
Much like Clottey, Mosley just wanted to hear the final bell and wanted nothing to do with Pacquiao and his crazy, dynamite-filled fists.
Juan Manuel Marquez
Unlike other Pacquiao opponents, Marquez was no stranger to Pacquiao’s power having been floored by the Filipino three times in their first encounter and once more in their second.
If any of Pacquiao’s opponents deserve respect, it would have to be Marquez. The Mexican counter-punching maestro laughed in the face of Pacquiao’s left hand and unleashed his own blend of head-snapping combinations.
Pacquiao and Marquez are a match made in boxing heaven and have provided fans with countless war stories. They could fight ten more times and each fight would be as exciting as the first. No matter how hard Pacquiao sledgehammered Marquez, you could bet your house that he would never surrender defeat, much less be stopped.
Neither fighter would relinquish dominance over the other. Until, of course, the fourth and final fight. We all know how that turned out.
Tim Bradley
Bradley, another iron-chinned, iron-willed combatant used his tremendous boxing ability and great punch tolerance to avoid losing to Pacquiao by knockout. Bradley was slick and elusive enough to avoid many of Pacquiao’s power shots and it looked increasingly unlikely a knockout would occur.
Despite Pacquiao once again failing to stop an opponent within the allotted time, fans and observers alike expected to hear Pacquiao’s name announced as the winner but that’s not exactly how it went down. The decision will probably remembered as one of the shadiest robberies in professional boxing.
The second fight felt like watching the “Alternate Ending” section on my How I Met Your Mother DVD, where Ted Mosby gets to live out his life with ‘the mother.’ In short, it ended the way it was supposed to.
Brandon Rios
Rios, much like Margarito, was an incredibly tough kid with an uncanny ability to take punishment in stride. In fact, Pacquiao’s fight against Rios played out similarly to his fight with Margarito with very little difference, including the outcome.
Chris Algieri
Algieri, despite being knocked out six times over the course of the fight, was on his bicycle from round one and offered no resistance to Pacquiao on paper or in the actual fight.
When a boxer goes into a fight looking to avoid exchanges, staying two feet out of punching range at all times, the outcome is pretty much predictable. You could hear the final bell sound before the 12th round expired.
Floyd Mayweather
So can Pacquiao knock Floyd Mayweather out when they finally clash on May 2? Only time will tell. It’s difficult to gauge because, as we’ve examined Pacquiao’s previous contests only one thing is evident, styles make fights and there is none more interesting than a stylistic clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Mayweather is of course undefeated at 47-0, having never officially being credited for hitting the canvas although Zab Judah arguably tagged him with a right hand that caused his glove to graze the ring floor. Maidana had similar success in their second fight, landing a punch at the bell that staggered Mayweather causing him to hold on to the ropes.
It’s been over five years since Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in 2009. Mayweather has never even been down his entire career. His legendary defensive skills have kept punishment at a minimum and has never failed him.
Can Pacquiao knock out Mayweather? Yes, in the sense that anything can happen in a boxing match, but going with that ideology it’s conceivable that Mayweather could also score a knockout on Pacquiao himself.
The better question would be to ask if Pacquiao WILL knock Mayweather out when they finally meet at the center of the ring — and that is highly unlikely.
Loren Mack is a volunteer member of the prestigious Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (NVBHOF), a member of Community Unity of Sullivan County, New York, and has been an integral part of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) industry for years now. He now serves as the director of public relations for ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) headquartered in Singapore. Follow him at @LorenMackBlog
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