On April 12, 2014 Manny Pacquiao got the win that he deserved the first time around in a rematch against Timothy Bradley. There were questions about Pacquiao going into this fight, mainly about his power. The reason for this questioning was because Pacquiao’s last knockout was seven years ago against Miguel Cotto. In the first fight with Bradley, Pacquiao dominated, but still he could not knock him out. Pacquiao could not knock Bradley out this time either, but he did dominate the fight again, winning by unanimous decision. Even though Pacquiao could not knock him out the questioning of his power was completely unwarranted, and looking back at four of his past opponent it’s easy to see why.
Let’s start with Timothy Bradley; he’s a counter puncher with one heck of a chin. In the first and second fight between Pacquiao and Bradley, Pacquiao was able to control the fight with his superior speed, and skill. With Bradly being a counter puncher (and a great one at that) it’s difficult to land a clean, or hard shot on him because he is constantly moving, always setting himself up to be in the right position to land, and avoid punches. On top of Bradley’s amazing counter punching he has an amazing chin. If you saw Bradly’s fight against the hard hitting Ruslan Provodnikov, you saw Bradley take some of the best shots against one of the hardest hitting punchers in boxing. When factoring in Bradley’s skill, and awesome chin it’s easy to see why Pacquiao could not knock him out.
Before the Bradley fights Manny Pacquiao had a fight in 2010 at 154 pounds (Super Welterweight/Light Middleweight Division) against Antonio Margarito. The reason for Pacquiao not knocking out Margarito is quiet simple, he was just too big. On the night of the fight Margarito weighed 165 pounds, and Manny Pacquiao weighed 148 pounds, thats a 17 pound weight difference, and in boxing thats a lot. Another big difference between the fighters was height; Margarito is 5‘11 and Pacquiao is 5’6. The difference in height is a big factor because fighters lose a lot of force in their punches if they have to throw in an upward motion. Now Pacquiao did win the fight, and very convincingly at that, but even though Pacquiao did not score a knockout he showed just how much power he has by fracturing Margarito’s orbital bone in his right eye.
When it comes to Brandon Rios and Juan Manuel Marquez it’s simply reiterating the same two points with different fighters. Rio’s has an amazing chin, and was the bigger fighter, and Marquez is arguably one of the greatest counter punchers in the history of the sport. The fight that Manny Pacquiao had with Brandon Rios was a complete display of Pacquiao’s boxing ability. He controlled the whole fight from the outside, he used his superior hand speed, and by boxing like the Manny Pacquiao of old; going inside, bobbing and weaving, landing a few punches, and then moving away. When it comes to the fights Pacquiao had with Marquez in 2011 and 2012; well if you don’t know by now you should find, and watch those fights (the two before that as well).
Saying that Manny Pacquiao has lost his power is completely unwarranted. In a post-fight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward said that (I’m paraphrasing here) You’re always looking to finish a fight, but when you are fighting top fighters you have to fight smart. If it not there, it’s not there. Pacquiao has not knocked anyone out in seven years, and the reason for this is because of the talent he has faced. Manny Pacquiao’s power is still there, and maybe we will see a knockout in his next fight or maybe not. Knockouts are always something fans want to see, and something fighters want to deliver. They’re not always a guarantee though; even when that fighter has the type of power Manny Pacquiao has. Fans do know this, if Pacquiao does score another knockout it will be another memorable moment in boxing.
