By Luis A. Cortes III

Its crazy how on one weekend, two different types of fighters that have nothing to do with each other can make you merge their two names together. Of course, this occurs after not being able to really grasp my hands around a concept that I felt passionate about during the dog days (comparable to this weekend’s coming fight) that was the past couple weeks in boxing. I guess that age-old adage of “When it rains it pours” is something that is constantly repeated for a reason.

WBC/IBF 140-pound titlist Devon Alexander displayed nothing but professionalism during the course of his championship unification win over Juan Urango last Saturday night (You’ll see where I am going with this later). After the telecast of the fight concluded, we got another installment from the HBO promotional machine. Granted, it is a machine that produces quality (production-wise) behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of the participating fighters in the upcoming pay-per-view. Of course they may overproduce the behind-the-scenes footage, although in this version of the countdown to Pacquiao vs. Clottey, the footage seemed more authentic in terms of raw actual behind-the-scenes footage that did not seem rehearsed or staged.

Then something popped into my head. Manny Pacquiao is no doubt one of the best fighters of our generation. What is just as impressive is the fact that he is also one of the most improved fighters of recent memory. It is clear that Freddie Roach has created one of the most prolific fighting machines to grace a boxing ring in some time. When Clottey’s trainer Lenny DeJesus commented that Manny Pacquiao had not changed much as a fighter since his days as part of Team Pacquiao, I could only think of all the fans watching who were just shaking their heads in disbelief and asking, “What?”

One thing has been clear to me since I have been watching the rise to greatness that has been Manny Pacquiao’s career. While he has developed into a two-fisted dynamo, for Freddie Roach’s part, he’s got Manny Pacquiao programmed to dictate the pace and range of each fight.

Pacquiao does this by using both his blazing hand and foot speed in order to create angles where his creative combinations can get off, full-blast. Right hands are now deadly to get hit with, just as punishing as the powerful straight lefts that destroyed the 122 and 126-pound divisions. During his reign as a featherweight, Pacquiao was constantly trying to land his sick straight left. It was what was programmed into his head: jab, jab, and throw that sick left straight down the pike. In doing so he found himself moving to his left in order to get a proper angle down the middle. However, when Pacquiao would make that move, it would square up his body and his opponent could land straight rights and jabs of his own on an open target, if they could survive the left hand fury.

It was this flaw in Pacquiao’s game that Erik Morales took advantage of throughout their first fight. I bring up Morales first since he is the last man to beat Pacquiao. Granted, Morales used a plan that was laid out for him during the first Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight.

As Morales was able to get his lead foot on the outside of Pacquiao’s, it allowed him to dictate the pace and range of the fight. This is something that is crucial to do when fighting a left-handed fighter. As the orthodox fighter, one must have his lead foot (left) outside of the southpaw fighter’s lead foot (right), when the two are about to exchange. By doing this, control of the angles that are presented is established and gives the right hand an opportunity to set up left hooks and jabs that can flow up and downstairs on the blind side of the southpaw fighter.

In the words of the great lyricist Rakim, as a result of his star pupil getting beat due to constantly squaring up and giving away the position and range of the fight as he looked to land the left hand, Master Freddie Roach got to thinking about a master plan. His conclusion to this master plan was that he would make his charge a two-fisted power-punching fireball. That’s all fine and dandy and has been a key contributing factor along with his incredible speed of foot and hand, not to mention Pacquiao’s balance, which is freakishly fluid. At its core, it is an offense that is predicated on one thing: movement.

Manny Pacquiao needs to move to his right. If you watch Pacquiao as he tries to set up his offensive blitzkrieg of combinations, he does so when always moving in and out of range to his right. That is when the explosion of punches occurs.

It is a movement that has become the major staple to his offensive attack. Roach figured, appropriately so, that if his fighter constantly had his lead foot moving to the outside to that of his opponents lead foot, Pacquiao could not only punch with his new found right hands, but his movement, while punching to the right, would prevent several of the incoming combinations that his opponents would counter with from landing flush. See, as Pacquiao moves to his right with his offense, he is able to turn his opponent who begins to follow him as he sees the quick dynamo move in and out of range like a jumping bean.

With the constant movement to the right, Roach also solved the problem of his fighter constantly squaring himself up in order to land the left. Pacquiao avoids counter left hooks by slipping and rolling, after firing off shots. Once he has done that, he repeats the action at blazing speed. By the time Pacquiao’s opponent gasps for air, he has been pummeled by several combinations from a different pace and range.

After the first fights with Morales and Marquez, the work on getting Pacquiao to use his right began. Insert the repetition that was needed between Roach and Pacquiao on a daily basis in order for Roach to drill it to the point that it became second nature. As he continued to fight around the lightweight divisions, Pacquiao continued to show his improved right hands during the course of his impressive victories.

With the tool of having a two-fisted fighter in place, Roach slowly made sure that through constant repetition and instructions with the rounds and hours that were spent on the pads and body guard, that Pacquiao would continue to move to his right, fire power shots, roll and slip, and repeat.

Now that the reasons for his success have been touched on, it befuddles me why no one has yet to try and take advantage of this factor. I blame it on something that I called the “Trinidad Syndrome” during the former world champion’s reign at the top of the game earlier this decade.

As both Pacquiao and Felix Trinidad moved up in weight, they were able to freakishly carry up both their speed and power. For some reason, after the example that Trinidad left behind, fighters in larger weight divisions continued to try and prove that they are the stronger man in the ring, that they can drop in weight and out-fight Pacquiao, but fighting and getting into heated exchanges you find yourself getting beat into a bloody pulp. Don’t believe me? Regarding Trinidad, ask David Reid, Fernando Vargas, and William Joppy. Still don’t believe me? Regarding Pacquiao, ask Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto.

It’s pretty clear that getting into a sustained exchange of bombs with Pacquiao is not the best of ideas. However, Pacquiao can’t keep a sustained offensive attack on his opponents if he is pushed to his left. Don’t get what I am saying all twisted and misconstrued now. It is not as if Pacquiao doesn’t know how to fight moving to his left. He proved he could when he was younger and dropping bombs with his left.

However, since being programmed to move to the right behind rights and combinations, every time Pacquiao is forced to his left, the offensive output tappers off into a few single lefts. This is before he automatically tries to make room so that he can start up his movement to the right, which is the natural inclination of Pacquiao. “Coach Freddie does not want me moving to the left; I leave my body squared up and open for counters, even if I can shoot these few lefts,” he might think. Nope; back to moving to the right with fluid motion and getting out the way of the return.

Now with all of that out the way, this brings me back to Alexander and what he was able to accomplish this past Saturday night. As his fight progressed, it was clear to me that what I expected from Alexander was what we were going to get. While everyone else in my apartment got into conversations about who was doing what with whomever, I found myself explaining to my god-brother just why Alexander was displaying world-class professionalism and savvy during the fight. His dedication to the jab helped him control the pace and speed of the fight, allowing him to land combinations behind the jab while moving (slipping and rolling) in range to avoid the big counters from Urango.

But like with most spirited champions who want to prove their gall, Alexander started to step away from what he had repeated for the past eight-or-so weeks during training camp.

After round five, as HBO’s Max Kellerman noted, Kevin Cunningham did a wonderful job as the jockey, by pulling on the reins in order to get his thoroughbred to slow back down and run his own race to victory. Everyone got what they wanted, a beautiful display of boxing and movement, hard shots from both men and a highlight reel knockout to close the show. If there wasn’t enough blood for you, I’m pretty sure “UFC 1,000,000” is going to run sometime in the near future on PPV.

Repetition is the father of learning. Boy, was that the case when, after the knockout by Alexander, he stated to HBO, in regard to the first knockdown, “Oh, man, that was the punch that we worked on all camp. The right uppercut behind the straight left, we knew he would be open for that.”

I’m sure most of you are wondering why I mention what Alexander did on Saturday night in relation to how Pacquiao has developed into a fighting machine. The reason for this is that I have come to a realization- one that I had come to before Pacquiao’s last fight with Miguel Cotto.

If Manny Pacquiao is going to be defeated at this point in his career, with the advanced set of skills that he is in position of, it is going to take a team that is similar to the way that Team Alexander performed on Saturday night to do it. I wasn’t too sure that Team Cotto was that team, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, last November. Boy, was I wrong.

Fighters can’t do too many things at once; they need help. They have to have someone they can trust giving them relaxed instructions in a controlled setting even when they have gotten their bell rung. It’s so hard to try and clear out cobwebs and try and pinpoint what you have to do at the same time. Exit Joe Santiago, insert Kevin Cunningham.

What guys like Morales, Cotto, and especially Juan Manuel Marquez were able to do against Pacquiao was to make the realization have a foundation, when considering Pacquiao and the way he has been programmed to fight. Similar to the way Oscar De La Hoya provided Bernard Hopkins with a map or blueprint to the ways of handling Trinidad.

Of course, I am aware that there is a great difference and that styles make fights and so on. This is why I wanted to mention all the ways Pacquiao comes to fight before getting into the back end.

In this instance, in order to beat one of the best two fighters in the world, you must be in possession of several physical and mental attributes. You have to be athletic enough to control the pace and range of a fight with Pacquiao, as Morales did in their first encounter. However, once Pacquiao made his adjustments with Roach, he changed his flow and style and Morales couldn’t for the rematch and rubber match.

In the second Marquez fight, Marquez (like Morales in his first fight against Pacquiao) was able dictate the pace of the fight during the rounds that he threw in his bag. Marquez understood that with Pacquiao bouncing on the balls of his feet, he had to himself get up on his toes with movement that was in rhythm with his opponent’s. By doing this, Marquez was able let Pacquiao lead with his offense. As a result, he started to get out of Pacquiao’s range with foot movement and, at times, behind his own jabs and straights.

Unfortunately for Marquez, it wasn’t his lack of adjustments, like it was for Morales, or his lack of mental focus. It was the fact that Pacquiao is simply faster and stronger and was able to land some punishing punches that resulted in knockdowns in both the first fight and rematch. It was those knockdowns that saved him from defeat in the first go and secured a victory in the rematch. No wonder Freddie Roach constantly states that Marquez is the toughest fight they have had, from a tactical standpoint. In the words of HBO’s Larry Merchant, “It was high-speed chess.”

As for Cotto, for a round-and-a-half as the fight got under way, he displayed that he too was going to allow Pacquiao to overextend. As a result, Cotto was going to land hard jabs while getting in and out of range with some nice fluid movement of his own. However, in the case of Cotto, when he got hit by Manny or when he landed hard shots of his own and would win exchanges when Pacquiao moved to his left (early in the fight), the getting got good to Cotto and he pressured Pacquiao, getting into seek-and-destroy mode. We all know what happened next when they got into heated exchanges. For Cotto, it wasn’t a lack of physicality; it was his mentality that did him in. If it was high-speed chess against Marquez, it was a high-speed game of Risk against Cotto.

See where I am going with this? It is going to take a fighter that not only is able to do things naturally from an athletic standpoint, but one that has to use that athleticism, along with a focused game plan that works in beautiful synergy. It will also take a strict and focused corner who will refocus its fighter when he starts to let the pace and range slip into Pacquiao’s favor, similar to what Cunningham was able to do with Alexander when Urango was beginning to come on strong during the fifth round.

Alexander and Cunningham were able to execute their plan when Urango threatened to shake it up and Alexander wanted to stand and prove that he was just as strong and tough. It took Cunningham to step in and say, “No way, Jose. Stick to the script and everything will flow accordingly.” That’s what would have to happen during the course of a fight with Pacquiao in order to be successful.

In order to dictate the pace and range of a fight with Pacquiao, one thing is a given: Pacquiao is going to attack. No reason to believe that he is not going to try and pressure you as he backs you up with his two-fisted fury. If you constantly are moving back and to the left or right in conjunction with Pacquiao’s movement in order to get out of range, Pacquiao is going to overextend himself as he tries to land his combinations.

A solid response should be a solid jab to Pacquiao’s open mug while gliding back into range to unleash a combination to the body and head. Once those shots have landed, in no way should pressure be applied. Stick to the script and get out once the shots have landed, once again, behind the most important punch in the sport, the JAB. This will cause Pacquiao to rock back as his opponent moves out of range. By the time he settles and tries to bounce in, his quarry is nowhere to be found.

If done properly, Pacquiao will be frustrated that he was unable to gain constant control of the fight early on. You see, even if you are circling with him and are slamming a jab into him, he will continue to try and move to the right to set up his attack. Instead of playing along, even if you think you can handle the situation, you must disengage at the moment his lead foot gets outside of yours. If not, you are in for a world of hurt over the next couple of seconds. Why bother? Get out, reset, and get back to the plan of controlling the greatest fighter of our generation.

Lastly, like Alexander and Cunningham stated during their post fight, they were breaking down Urango with their boxing. He was ready for the bigger shots that Alexander could get off later in the fight. Alexander was in control; he was still fresh to land thudding shots, and Urango was the frustrated fighter who had been broken down. Those same shots of Alexander’s that didn’t faze the Big Bad Wolf early, started to really chip away at him. As we all saw in the eighth round, a tired Urango made mistakes and Alexander was there, fresh and ready to take full advantage of those mistakes.

In summary, it is going to take a true professional fighter who is focused and dedicated to a well-scripted game plan of not allowing Pacquiao to dictate the pace and range of the fight. Along with that, the discipline to stick to the game plan even when that tingly feeling creeps up and wants you to prove your gall in the face of the pound-for-pound king. Let’s see if Joshua Clottey is going to be the man that takes advantage and puts all of his tools, mental and physical, together and boxes his version of a perfect game in order to win. Let’s see if his trainer is on to these “keys” to victory, or if he has a totally different set of keys to use.

If Clottey is able to do it, good for him. He has spent his whole career trying to prove that he is one of the best welterweights in the world. Clottey is one victory away from doing so. However, while he is athletic and strong as can be, I don’t think he will be fleet-footed enough to glide and slide in and out of range while punching, in order to execute the right plan of dictating the pace.

The truth is, the two fighters that have all of those tools, from the brains to the brawn and the athletic intuition to make the right counter moves with both their feet and hands, are fighting each other on May 1st.

Who are you picking? read more