Now seriously, what's the possible 'winning' strategy for pacman.

[pacfan]

Ok, boxing experts or x-perts, what should the mighty-mini Emmanuel Pacquiao (that's him) do to win this fight, if there's anything at all?

They've been telling us that pac needs to use his speed to his advantage and overwhelm slower Oscar with never ending barrage of shots. (They must be dreamin') The local paper blurted our just yesterday morning that pac must avoid Oscar's right hook (was it left?). How the heck will he be able to do that for the entire fight? Frankly I think Oscar the Golden Boy can just go on, on a shooting rampage from the beginning and try to finish the fight early, and I doubt if pac has anything to repulse or counter that, certainly not with his 135lb power, IMO. So if Oscar decides to launch an early all-out offense, I don't think Manny can do anything except...
...run. What about the speed? No doubt pac has the speed but will he be able to consistently attack the Golden kid and hit him enough to hurt him, while avoiding that right hook at the same time? considering the fact that Oscar has enough reach to keep our little boy at bay? Hmmm, this is tough, really tough... hand me some aspirins...

So what have you guys to say about it. Is there any strategy or game plan for pac that can help him overcome his 'handicap' against his bigger and stronger opponent - a golden startegy that will ultimately help him reach that impossible dream? Basically, I think it's a fight between speed vs. power and reach. Share your thoughts, fellas.

(I have my own thoughts on how it might be done but I'll reserve it until friday.)

[GAME]

Im sure Roach has planned a superior straetgy but if I were devising a gameplan for this Id make sure Mannys fitness levels were the highest theyve ever been before I set out on a boxing strategic approach .

I wouldnt be concerned about Manny winning the early rounds. Those rounds would just be about getting through them whilst adjusting to the weight getting use to Oscars size. During these rounds it would be all about SPEED SPEED AND MORE SPEED. Keeping himself out of danger, making himself an illusive target darting in and out of range. Manny has never been the greatest defensivly but he has got to be cautious of Oscars power and and not play a physical game early .

After phase 1 of the fight after about 6 rounds Manny should be getting use to Oscars power and if he has kept on his toes then he shouldnt be feeling the physical strength of Oscar apart from in the clinches. I wouldnt advise Manny to work in the clinches but to wait for the ref to step in between them. At this point I expect Oscar to be ahead on points but he should be tiring whereas Manny has conserved energy for the later rounds.

Down the stretch Manny can start thinking about doing that little bit more than Oscar, without reaching for his shots he can start thinking about letting them go in cominations and then get out again. If things are going really well and he isnt getting caught on the way in he can start utilising his body shots, particulary the right hook. In the closing couple of rounds Manny may be in a position start swarming Oscar and be all over the older man like a rash . Really make him feel the pace and dont give him chance to breath right to the final bell . Keep darting in and out, give him angles and speed speed speed.

This is the best sequence of events Manny can hope for IMO and he may be able to come away with a close points victory .

[JonnyFolds]

Left Hook from ODLH... He's left handed conventional.

Manny will fight him like David DIaz. jumping in and out. You know. Looking good with shoeshine and all. combinations, blah blah.

Honestly, I don't care for this fight a lot. I am over De La Hoya. Love watching pacman though.

Go pac. You should have fought Nate Campbell, though, seriously. And that makes me a mad. Campbell deserved this fight way way way more.

[pacfan]

Im sure Roach has planned a superior straetgy but if I were devising a gameplan for this Id make sure Mannys fitness levels were the highest theyve ever been before I set out on a boxing strategic approach .

I wouldnt be concerned about Manny winning the early rounds. Those rounds would just be about getting through them whilst adjusting to the weight getting use to Oscars size. During these rounds it would be all about SPEED SPEED AND MORE SPEED. Keeping himself out of danger, making himself an illusive target darting in and out of range. Manny has never been the greatest defensivly but he has got to be cautious of Oscars power and and not play a physical game early .

After phase 1 of the fight after about 6 rounds Manny should be getting use to Oscars power and if he has kept on his toes then he shouldnt be feeling the physical strength of Oscar apart from in the clinches. I wouldnt advise Manny to work in the clinches but to wait for the ref to step in between them. At this point I expect Oscar to be ahead on points but he should be tiring whereas Manny has conserved energy for the later rounds.

Down the stretch Manny can start thinking about doing that little bit more than Oscar, without reaching for his shots he can start thinking about letting them go in cominations and then get out again. If things are going really well and he isnt getting caught on the way in he can start utilising his body shots, particulary the right hook. In the closing couple of rounds Manny may be in a position start swarming Oscar and be all over the older man like a rash . Really make him feel the pace and dont give him chance to breath right to the final bell . Keep darting in and out, give him angles and speed speed speed.

This is the best sequence of events Manny can hope for IMO and he may be able to come away with a close points victory .

So basically, it's as what they've been saying, right? Staying out of harms way for the earlier rounds and wait for Oscar to tire out, and then attack like a hungry vulture. That makes a lot of sense... except I doubt if pac can totally avoid Oscar's power shots in the earlier rounds. I think Oscar can knock pac out with one good shot especially in the early rounds, though I hope I'm wrong. So avoiding those shots will be one of the major keys here for pac.

Left Hook from ODLH... He's left handed conventional.

Manny will fight him like David DIaz. jumping in and out. You know. Looking good with shoeshine and all. combinations, blah blah.

Honestly, I don't care for this fight a lot. I am over De La Hoya. Love watching pacman though.

Go pac. You should have fought Nate Campbell, though, seriously. And that makes me a mad. Campbell deserved this fight way way way more.

I doubt David Diaz can be compared to Oscar. But I agree pac should've fought someone his own size, like Campbell, Guzman, Marquez III, Diaz, or Hatton at the most.

[albsur2006]

Quite honestly, I think it's gonna be extremely tough to beat ODLH maybe even impossible but I think this gameplan might have a good chance to keep Manny competitive:

Manny will have to move very effectively the entire fight. Quite honestly, I've never really seen Manny box that effectively off of his backfoot, but he has to do this to win. ODLH will be putting pressure on Manny, and if Manny thinks he can meet ODLH's pressure with his own pressure and trade with ODLH in the first six rounds, he's getting knocked out early. ODLH has shown that he's a tense fighter and that he has trouble mounting an offense against a smaller fighter who moves around the ring well. ODLH WILL get tired so Manny shouldn't be discouraged after Round 6. If Manny isn't winning the fight after Round 6, that's fine. He simply needs to put in the body work needed and hope that he can split the first six rounds. ODLH is completely expecting Manny to come forward because he's an exciting fighter. Manny should utilize the entire ring for the first six rounds. If he thinks that he can try that macho stuff (a la Marquez) with ODLH, I'm telling you that he's gonna get KOed early. If he moves around well, ODLH will be confused as hell for at least a couple rounds until he adjusts.

When Manny is moving around and he's looking for offense, Manny CAN NOT headhunt and must place most of his focus on the body of ODLH for at least the first six rounds. He must stick to that plan. Manny works much better when he has space but that same space he needs for his offense in this fight will get him knocked out in this fight because he'll have to lunge in to land straight shots and his tendency to move back with his head up is what ODLH is praying for. Manny needs to stay in ODLH's chest on offense and land hard short hooks to the body. Manny's clear handspeed advantage should allow him to land hard body shots on the inside. Being in ODLH's chest when on offense will help ruin Oscar's jab timing. If Manny tries to work on offense with space then ODLH will get into a rhythm with his jab. Manny might be able to open up when ODLH tires in the second half.

This is a really big factor in my book, when Manny is finished putting in work on the inside, he should move to his left away from ODLH's left hook, hold, hug, and clinch ODLH immediately. Manny CAN NOT be worried about the fans watching on TV, he can not be worried about the crowd maybe booing, he can not be worried about the ref saying stop holding. Manny is not going to win the fight if it's a really good fight to watch. He's not gonna beat ODLH in a slugfest. Manny is going to need to get in, score, hold, then get out effectively for at least the first half of the fight. Manny must do everything possible without getting a point deducted to halt ODLH's return offense. Manny doesn't need to be an all out action star on Dec. 6th, he can save that for people his own size, he needs to be stingy like B-Hop and Floyd. Winning is the most important thing in this fight, how the fight is viewed by others doesn't matter because it's not a fair matchup anyway. People will give him a pass if he actually wins because of the size difference.

[Julius Rain]

Well Roach said at one of the 24/7 episode that he wants pac to make oscar know they are dead serious. Im not sure if he meant pac will storm him from the first bell. I dont think thats a good idea, Roach may just be throwing that statement in public so oscar will think pac will do that. I think the best approach is to keep a good range but at a fast pace that will give oscar a hard time following. In and Out will have to be pacs best bet. He can't storm oscar like he does other oppennet. Atleast not while oscar is still fresh. I say wait til the 7 round atleast.

[kingfrnk]

non stop workrate and avoid that left hook. then he could get a SD

[Mar]

....pac and his crew seem to be trying to bait de la hoya into fighting a agressive type of tire-ing style. They keep mentioning how he can't pull the trigger and other meaningless type of phrases...i imagine his goal will be to hit and move and try and tire oscar out and look for late opportunities to take some chances..

[XaduBoxer]

Maybe PAC will take the opening minutes very cautiously like what he did in the Barrera first fight... Up on his heels and very quick in his every move...

But PAC will be PAC... If there's an opening, he will try to land something decent (and gets out very quickly) to let Hoya feel his power even in the early rounds...

Then gauge his succeeding moves from this early actions... If Hoya will be surprised of his quickness, PAC then slowly build up his attacks as what they trained in the gym... If Hoya not affected at all, then PAC will be more patient employing the tactics he trained in the gym...
.

[Majesty]

Go to the body and hope it makes Oscar gas late.

Going to the body would be something Pacquiao should do. As well as using his southpaw jab. Oscar has had troubles with southpaws like Whitaker and had issues with Shane when Shane would switch southpaw on him.

So I think Pacquiao should do what no one expects him to do, thats go to the body and lead with his faster jab. A hard jab not just a flicking jab to set up the straight left.

[Kel]

Don't get hit with that left hook!

[pacfan]

So the general consensus here and at my other thread is basically, more or less, that pac should or will be using his speed to evade Oscar while taking some potshots and wait for him to tire out, and then make a final all-out assault with the hope that the exausted Oscar will fall into submission. Hmmm, it sound like a bit of fairy tale. No problem with that except my concern is that how will pac be able to evade Oscar's power shots for the duration of the fight, taking into consideration his enormous reach advantage. It'll just take one good shot, imo, to put pac down. I'm really concerned about the weight issue here. I just can't get off my mind what happened to Hatton in the Mayweather fight. Nobody in his weight class can make him budge but bigger Floyd, whom even his fans acknowledge isn't the biggest of puncher in his division, send him flying into the corner post! And we're talking about a much bigger weight difference here. How will pac be able to avoid that? that is the question.

[SweetPea]

First off, Pacquiao is going to taste Oscar's left hook at some point. It's inevitable. Pacquiao is not Whitaker or Mayweather, he doesn't have the defensive skills or the mindset to avoid Oscar's left hook for 12 rounds. He is going to be hit with a flush left hook at some point, and he has no choice but to be able to handle it.

The punch Pacquiao needs to avoid is the jab, and he needs to avoid the jab by constantly staying in Oscar's chest, negating Oscar's reach. This will also prevent Oscar from extending his arms, reducing some of his power. He needs to constantly be in his face and force him to fight 3 minutes of every round, since stamina and workrate figure to be Pacquiao's main advantages over Oscar.

Some fighters use their speed by keeping the fight on the outside, I think Pacquiao has to do the opposite and use his speed to get inside.

[Pacdbest2]

After watching 24/7, it solidifys my pick for Pac to wear down DLH. Pac is coming to the fight very Fit and very confident. Same with Roach, this is the fight that Roach is very confident of a Victory. Saying he's 90% sure of a Pac Victory. Last time he was this confident was with the Pac-Barrera 1st fight.

What I'm seeing is that Pac is very wrong style for DLH. Same as Pac was a wrong style for MAB. Both are left hookers & almost the same style only DLH a much bigger guy. But the Bigger size will be dragged down by his age, weight Draining & Inactivity.

In contrast this will be Pac at the strongest & the fittest. No weight Draining for him. This time he's the Hungry Person again. Last time he comes in as a Hungry fighter was with Pac-MAB1 & the Pac-EM2 and we knew what he brought in the fight, a Virtuoso Performance. That's what I'm expecting Pac will do to DLH. Pac by TKO rd10/11.

[hitmanhatton]

when was the last time oscars left hook caused serious damage to an elite fighter ... vargas ?

im an oscar fan but i have to say i think alot of people are seeing this huge threat in the form of his left hook that just isnt there,

and as for pacquiao being so small, wasnt stevie forbes at the same sort of disadvantage and he couldnt stop him or really outmuscle him that much, and light hitting stevie marked Oscar up real good

at 147 oscar wont be throwing anythin past the 6th

it will be tough for PAc-Man but it is possible