LAS VEGAS -- Despite a crop of talented young stars in boxing there is an older fighter whose name still reigns supreme among sports fans, Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs). Pacquiao remains a marketable star which is one reason his fight on Jan. 19 against Adrien Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) will be on Showtime pay-per-view. On the line in that fight will be the WBA "regular" welterweight title that Pacquiao lifted off of Lucas Matthysse.
Pacquiao is a southpaw who, in his prime, was a devastating puncher. While some of that power and killer instinct has faded, his hand speed has not. Neither has Pacquiao's ability to throw punches from seemingly any angle. The Filipino senator works behind a sharp jab and can do damage with both hands. What has helped him remain dangerous 24 years after his career began is the fact that he hasn't lost much hand speed and he can still surprise opponents with where his punches come from. Just ask Matthysse who Pacquiao dropped three times from various angles. Also, at 40 years old Pacquiao's energy level hasn't seemed to fade and he can still go all out for a full 12 rounds.
Pacquiao's stoppage of Matthysse in 2018 was his first stoppage victory since his 2009 fight against Miguel Cotto. Fan's shouldn't expect Pacquiao to make it two in a row since Broner has always shown a good chin and Matthysse was a very depleted fighter at that point in his career. Not many career resumes are better than Pacquiao's. He is boxing's only eight division world champion and has beaten the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and others. In his last five fights though he has gone 3-2, losing to Floyd Mayweather and Jeff Horn, although most felt he won that bout against Horn. It is clear that Pacquaio still has father time beat, at least for now, and rumors of a rematch with Mayweather have already started, as have names like Errol Spence along with other top welterweights. But before any of that Pacquiao will need to dispatch Broner.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Broner was considered one of the most talented fighters in boxing. At one point, not too long ago, he looked like he'd be on the top of pound-for-pound lists for years to come. Perhaps that's when Broner started to believe his own hype. Suddenly the sharp counter puncher, who threw electric combinations, flashed good hand speed, and had pretty defense seemed like a different fighter. Broner fights out of the orthodox stance and usually has a very low punch output. He's still a sharp counter puncher but seems to rely on a single punch to win him fights instead of a volume of punches. He also has problems with weight and really packs on the pounds between fights which means he has to spend the first few weeks of his training camps just losing weight. Broner does still have power in both hands and throws a good uppercut but he'd be better served letting his hands go more than he does.
Around 2012 and 2013 Broner looked like he could be the future of a boxing and a major pay-per-view star. While he's certainly still one of the bigger names in boxing, he isn't the star he could have been. Broner has beaten fighters like Antonio DeMarco, Paulie Malignaggi, and John Molina but has losses to Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, and Mikey Garcia. Pacquiao, even at this stage of his career would be Broner's biggest win.
Although Pacquiao is now 40 years old and Broner isn't the fighter he once was this should still turn out to be a good fight. Broner has never been stopped and he still flashes good power in spurts and can catch opponents by surprise. Pacquiao's movement should bother Broner as should his opponent's much high punch output. Broner has already said that he expects to knock Pacquiao out which probably means he will keep his hands at home until he can really sit down on a single punch. If Broner just looks for the knockout he will give away a ton of rounds to the busier Pacquiao. The senator can't get overconfident though because Broner remains dangerous for all 12 rounds.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to go the full 12 rounds. Manny Pacquiao isn't the knockout artist he once was and Adrien Broner doesn't let his hands go enough to stop the champion. Expect Broner to win three or four rounds during this fight while Pacquiao puts the other rounds in the bank on his way to a clear unanimous decision victory.
 |
| Pacquiao splitting the guard of Lucas Matthysse with a jab |
Pacquiao's stoppage of Matthysse in 2018 was his first stoppage victory since his 2009 fight against Miguel Cotto. Fan's shouldn't expect Pacquiao to make it two in a row since Broner has always shown a good chin and Matthysse was a very depleted fighter at that point in his career. Not many career resumes are better than Pacquiao's. He is boxing's only eight division world champion and has beaten the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and others. In his last five fights though he has gone 3-2, losing to Floyd Mayweather and Jeff Horn, although most felt he won that bout against Horn. It is clear that Pacquaio still has father time beat, at least for now, and rumors of a rematch with Mayweather have already started, as have names like Errol Spence along with other top welterweights. But before any of that Pacquiao will need to dispatch Broner.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Broner was considered one of the most talented fighters in boxing. At one point, not too long ago, he looked like he'd be on the top of pound-for-pound lists for years to come. Perhaps that's when Broner started to believe his own hype. Suddenly the sharp counter puncher, who threw electric combinations, flashed good hand speed, and had pretty defense seemed like a different fighter. Broner fights out of the orthodox stance and usually has a very low punch output. He's still a sharp counter puncher but seems to rely on a single punch to win him fights instead of a volume of punches. He also has problems with weight and really packs on the pounds between fights which means he has to spend the first few weeks of his training camps just losing weight. Broner does still have power in both hands and throws a good uppercut but he'd be better served letting his hands go more than he does.
 |
| Broner rocking Jessie Vargas with an uppercut |
Although Pacquiao is now 40 years old and Broner isn't the fighter he once was this should still turn out to be a good fight. Broner has never been stopped and he still flashes good power in spurts and can catch opponents by surprise. Pacquiao's movement should bother Broner as should his opponent's much high punch output. Broner has already said that he expects to knock Pacquiao out which probably means he will keep his hands at home until he can really sit down on a single punch. If Broner just looks for the knockout he will give away a ton of rounds to the busier Pacquiao. The senator can't get overconfident though because Broner remains dangerous for all 12 rounds.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to go the full 12 rounds. Manny Pacquiao isn't the knockout artist he once was and Adrien Broner doesn't let his hands go enough to stop the champion. Expect Broner to win three or four rounds during this fight while Pacquiao puts the other rounds in the bank on his way to a clear unanimous decision victory.
Comments
Post a Comment