While Mayweather may have other options in the early rounds, it is obvious that he will run away from Pacquiao to maintain a safe distance in order to prevent him from launching a massive assault.
Oscar de la Hoya, a common opponent of both Mayweather and Pacquiao believes that Mayweather will run away from Pacquiao all night which could result in a boring fight that could displease the viewers especially those who paid thousands of dollars to see the fight.
“If Mayweather gets on his bike, if he starts boxing at the distance, throwing a jab here, another there, doing just enough to win the rounds, it can turn into a boring fight. I think this fight is in the hands of Pacquiao, and for this, he should apply the pressure every second of every round.” de la Hoya told Hustleboss.com
Mayweather doesn’t really care if his viewers are bored to death as long as he emerges victorious at end of the final round. He isn’t interested in a knockout win either because he seems to think that a win does not require a knockout but only a point ahead of his opponent.
As de la Hoya said, Mayweather will fight from the distance knowing the danger that Pacquiao will bring if he mixes it up with him in the early rounds.
If Mayweather can find his range and score points while on his usual hit and run mode, he could be on the way to scoring another win without exchanging heavy punches.
But he should realize that Pacquiao is a hard target because unlike Mayweather’s past opponents, Pacquiao possesses the hand and foot speed that no one in his list of 47 victims had.
ESPN’s Brian Campbell observed that Mayweather has never fought a guy who could approximate Pacquiao’s speed in the ring.
“At 36, Pacquiao has inexplicably kept his top-shelf speed. And despite retaining his pound-for-pound stranglehold on the sport, Mayweather showed in two 2014 fights with Marcos Maidana that he has slowed just enough entering his 38th birthday,” he said.
“The key question for me is this: When was the last time you saw Mayweather face anyone with Pacquiao’s speed or his combination of movement and power? And while Floyd is the master at shutting down traditional offense, Pacquiao still disguises his punches well by throwing from awkward angles. In a fight that I believe is destined to be close on the scorecards, look for the judges to favor Pacquiao’s aggressiveness late,” Campbell added.
Mayweather is known for his ability to make quick adjustments in his fight plan if there is a need to do so. Once he finds out that his distant jabs and quick punches do not earn him points because of Pacquiao’s foot and hand speed, he may engage Pacquiao sporadically until he can make the necessary adjustments.
Engaging Pacquiao in a prolonged exchange would be too risky for Mayweather who has problems dealing with southpaw opponents like Pacquiao.
