Manny Pacquiao's coach Freddie Roach said he knew how to expose the ring savvy of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. come the May 2 mega fight.
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Roach was in the corner of then Pay Per View’s King the dashing Oscar dela Hoya when he tangled in May 2007 with the then ambitious and smaller but loquacious Mayweather Jr.
He explained that when his ward dela Hoya fought Mayweather they won the first six rounds but lost to Mayweather the last six rounds.
Roach explained that split decision fight that went to Mayweather happened because Oscar stopped using his left incessant jabs and contented himself roughing out Floyd at the ropes.
Yes Virginia, that roughing and smothering strategies started from Luis Castillo in their (Mayweather) first fight in April 2002), imitated by Miguel Cotto, Victor Ortiz (with his two hands and head), and Marcus Maidana (in his first fight because their rematch, just like with Castillo, were lopsided in favor of Floyd who stick, slipped, ran, and accurately counter punched.
"He sets traps and if you walk into the trap you'll get hit," Mayweather is a master counter puncher and it's clear that a focus of the camp which is extremely private compared to the past ¬ is to not give him certain openings,"Roach cited.
He explained that Pacquiao will identify when Mayweather sets the trap so the Filipino Superman - except Superman's handsome face - "won't fall for it" and his face, in my impression, would not be a paper target with the accurate looping left jabs and accurate counter punching of the American.
Many experts in this hurt business said the Mayweather-dela Hoya's tiff was a blue print how to defeat Floyd. They said Oscar should have won that fight.
But here's the rub!
Mayweather was the smaller guy, dela Hoya was the bigger one
When Mayweather challenged dela Hoya, the Golden Boy and then PPV king asked an onerous contract with the former.
Oscar gets 80% of the revenues, Floyd gets the measly 20%. Floyd agreed. Oscar wants to fight Floyd at Junior Middleweight (154 pounds) even Floyd had just fought Carlos Baldomir ( November 2006), Zab Judah (April 2006), and Shamba Mitchell (June 2005) at Welterweight or 147 lbs. Before Mitchelle, Floyd was fighting at 140 lbs or Lightweight.
