Race to 147: The smaller man still has the advantage

[XaduBoxer]

From ESPN:

"Although Pacquiao would be coming up a dozen pounds from his previous high weight and De La Hoya would be coming down just three from his last fight, Mackie Shilstone, the conditioning guru who first came to prominence by turning Michael Spinks into a credible heavyweight, believes that the smaller man still has the advantage.

"Even though he might have less weight to lose, the man coming down is going to have the bigger problem," Shilstone told ESPN.com from his New Orleans training center. "It's easier building a guy up, even if he has a longer way to go, because regardless of what condition he's in, the one losing weight runs the risk of losing the wrong kind of weight."

[Taeth]

I don't think Pacquaio weight, and size wise has that far to go... He weighed 148 against David Diaz, and thats in a 135 pound fight, I think Pacquaio is as big as Mayweather if not bigger weightwise. Pacquaio wouldn't be taking this fight if he thought it was too large of a risk or an impossible mountain to climb.

[Pavlik]

It's not that PAC can't weigh in @147lbs ripped and ready, coz he does at fight night anyways but the thing is he's fighting a much larger man in HEIGHT and FRAME. Think about it a fighter like Cotto built like a tank but was standing only 5'7" to Margarito's 5'11(but almost the same FRAME) was at a disadvantage already imagine a stringy PAC @ 5'6" vs 5'11 of ODLH.

[Pacdbest2]

Height is overrated in this fight. DLH's not in his prime. Dlh maybe longer in reach but But Pac's arms(25") are longer than DLHs(24"). All you have to do is Imagine what The Old 5'6" lefty Pernell Whitaker did to Prime DLH. Pernell might be defensive wizard but he's not known for his offense. Pac's offense is one of the best in the business and he's coming in his prime. NOw watch this fight and Imagine Pac there with DLH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnzeS...eature=related

[Pavlik]

Height is overrated in this fight. DLH's not in his prime. Dlh maybe longer in reach but But Pac's arms(25") are longer than DLHs(24"). All you have to do is Imagine what The Old 5'6" lefty Pernell Whitaker did to Prime DLH. Pernell might be defensive wizard but he's not known for his offense. Pac's offense is one of the best in the business and he's coming in his prime. NOw watch this fight and Imagine Pac there with DLH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnzeS...eature=related

The reason why smaller fighters like Pernell and Floyd are able to do good vs bigger fighters is because of their defense and elusiveness, which PAC is definitely lacking. Regarding the reach, that sounds inaccurate

[WelshDevilRob]

What happens if PacMan wins? Does he then jump up to Middleweight and fight Pavlik cos Arum and Goldenboy see it as a money making fight.

[XaduBoxer]

Does PAC has a chance against Hoya? Of course yes, I give him 1% chance of beating Hoya.

Does Margarito has a chance against Hoya? Yes, bigger chance maybe 60%.

This will be Hoya's last fight. Who do you consider more deserving to have that one last huge payday with Hoya? PAC who gave us so many exciting and entertaining fights over the years or Margarito?

I have nothing against Margarito but I think PAC deserves more in having this last shot against the Golden Boy of boxing. PAC will not be here for long, he will be retiring next year since he will be running for a political office in the Philippines May 2010 elections.

It's time for boxing to return the favor to PAC. He always try to give his best and to please the fans in his every fight. This is evident when PAC reached the pinnacle of being a boxer, claiming the no. 1 P4P best boxer in the world.

PAC also wants to seek bigger risks and bigger challenges. Let's support what he wanted to further achieve in his last year in boxing.

[Pavlik]

It's (almost) official: Golden Boy will take on Pac-Man - Chris Mannix - SI.com

Winning is out of the question for me, I just pray that PAC does not end up getting a TBI(Traumatic Brain Injury) or any other life threatening conditions after this fight.

This sounds like a traumatic year for me, first Cotto lost to Margarito, then Pavlik takes his chance against Hopkins, and PAC faces Goliath in ODLH

[XaduBoxer]

It's (almost) official: Golden Boy�will take on Pac-Man - Chris Mannix - SI.com

Winning is out of the question for me, I just pray that PAC does not end up getting a TBI(Traumatic Brain Injury) or any other life threatening conditions after this fight.

This sounds like a traumatic year for me, first Cotto lost to Margarito, then Pavlik takes his chance against Hopkins, and PAC faces Goliath in ODLH

I'm not that high on Cotto... I believe Pavlik can handle the tough B-Hop and PAC can survive the giant Hoya... Hope I'm right...

[Taeth]

Pacquaio has good enough defense. He is also very, very fast. Maybe not quite Mayweather fast, but he is faster then Whitaker and he hits harder than either. I think if he can maintain his movement that he will be able to throw Oscar off. The biggest question is can Pacquaio take Oscar's punch? Pacquaio will have a better chin at 147 because he will weight lift, his neck will get thicker as will his back, and he will spar with bigger guys. Oscar does have a good right hand, but its not as good as Marquez's which found Pacquaio plenty in that fight. That being said Roach has recently trained both Pacquaio and Oscar, and he has a reason to believe that Manny can win this.

As for the Margarito thing. I can't see MArgarito beating Oscar. He doesn't hit hard enough, he isn't a good enough boxer, and Oscar doesn't crumble unless its against Bernard Hopkins who is far better than Tony.

[Panadzzz]

Pac has the speed as his advantage. He also is more younger and has a trainer who trained both hoya and pac, so he knows both strengths and weaknesses of both fighters. However i still don't know if pac can take the punch of a light middleweight guy in hoya. That said, pac's only ace for me is to take hoya from the outside imo. I think hoya is very dangerous in the inside... i'm rooting of course for pac to win this one.

[Pacdbest2]

Height is overrated in this fight. DLH's not in his prime. Dlh maybe longer in reach but But Pac's arms(25") are longer than DLHs(24"). All you have to do is Imagine what The Old 5'6" lefty Pernell Whitaker did to Prime DLH. Pernell might be defensive wizard but he's not known for his offense. Pac's offense is one of the best in the business and he's coming in his prime. NOw watch this fight and Imagine Pac there with DLH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnzeS...eature=related

The reason why smaller fighters like Pernell and Floyd are able to do good vs bigger fighters is because of their defense and elusiveness, which PAC is definitely lacking. Regarding the reach, that sounds inaccurate

Just look at the stats of Pac vs Diaz & Pac vs MAB1 Pac out-pointed Both guys like 3-1. If Pac is so hittable he can't achieve that hit ratio. Pac's defense is so underrated. Pac can moves so well, he avoid a lot of punches. He can be hit but I'm sure he can land more that he will take.

[TitoFan]

I can't believe we're still talking about a possible DLH-Pac match. All this talk about how Pac might beat Oscar is just making legit a ridiculous fight. Even diehard Oscar fans are secretly embarrassed that DLH would even consider this fight, when Margarito is out there, calling him out. Pac comes from several weight classes south of Oscar, for heaven's sake. Hey, I like Pac as much as the next guy, but let's not get carried away. There is no way in hell that Pac lasts 12 rounds versus Oscar, unless he brings a weapon with him.

Don't get me wrong. Nothing would please me more than to see a monumental upset with Pac laying Oscar out flat on his back. But it ain't gonna happen. The matchup ain't legit, and we shouldn't even be talking about it. We're all falling into the Oscar master plan to build on his damn legacy, even if it means beating up on a much smaller man. Damn, I hate the hype part of boxing.....

[Pavlik]

I can't believe we're still talking about a possible DLH-Pac match. All this talk about how Pac might beat Oscar is just making legit a ridiculous fight. Even diehard Oscar fans are secretly embarrassed that DLH would even consider this fight, when Margarito is out there, calling him out. Pac comes from several weight classes south of Oscar, for heaven's sake. Hey, I like Pac as much as the next guy, but let's not get carried away. There is no way in hell that Pac lasts 12 rounds versus Oscar, unless he brings a weapon with him.

Don't get me wrong. Nothing would please me more than to see a monumental upset with Pac laying Oscar out flat on his back. But it ain't gonna happen. The matchup ain't legit, and we shouldn't even be talking about it. We're all falling into the Oscar master plan to build on his damn legacy, even if it means beating up on a much smaller man. Damn, I hate the hype part of boxing.....

Amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Plopeater]

What happens if PacMan wins? Does he then jump up to Middleweight and fight Pavlik cos Arum and Goldenboy see it as a money making fight.

No he missing them out and going straight to Heavyweight where he will be undisputed champ