Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fenster
Naz vs Pac would have been a great fight.. whilst it lasted.
Seeing as Pac has been badly KO'd TWICE and visibly rocked and stunned on NUMEROUS occasions.. you'd have to favour Naz to spark Pac unconcious in 3. Most likely 2. Or 1.
I don't know about this logic. Not to insult you, but I don't believe Naz would've dominated Manny. I'm not 100% positive, but I think his two KO losses came prior to Freddie Roach becoming his trainer. Since he broke out into the boxing world, the only two fighters in my mind that had done any significant damage to him were Marquez (landed the biggest blows on Manny) and Morales (accumulation of damage had Pacquiao in trouble at times). Pacquiao's defense is so much more improved now and he also has one of the best chins in boxing. When fighters get overly aggressive they tend to get caught; Manny on the other hand, has controlled aggression, where he rarely loses "firefights." AND when he gets caught with a shot, he comes back with a flurry of punches instead of backing away.
I was a fan of Naz but mostly for his showmanship. He did have amazing power for his weight but I don't think he handled the "big stage" as well as he should have. IMO his two biggest fights were Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden and Marco Antonio Barrera in the MGM Grand. We all know what happened with Barrera in the biggest fight of his career. He fought frustrated, swung wildly, and got owned! With Kevin Kelley, although Naz knocked him out in 4, Kelley also knocked Naz down numerous times. If that had been Pacquiao on the other end of those knockdowns (Kelley was a southpaw as well as Pac), I don't think he would've gotten up.
Think about the factors in the Pacquiao vs Hamed match-up.
Hand Speed: I think Pac edges Naz. Naz throws one punch at a time while Pac throws punches-in-bunches, not to mention with power backing each punch in the flurry.
Power: I'll give this to Naz. Pacquiao does have knockout power, but it comes from the accumulation of his punches. I've seen Naz knock people retarted with one shot.
Defense: I think Naz gets a SLIGHT edge in defense. Pacquiao displayed in his second fight against Marquez that he can now block most punches. Naz was easily one of the most slick fighters I've ever seen, especially with his akward movements.
Chin: This is easily Pac's category. Since he became big, Manny has been hit with shots that would put anyone else on their back but has yet to be knocked out or even in danger of being knocked out (besides Marquez' performance in round 8 of their second fight). Naz on the other hand was rocked by Barrera numerous times and was taken to the mat multiple times by Kelley.
Experience/Level of Competition: No brainer here either, Pac by far. Pac has one of the most impressive resumes around while Naz quit out on the sport after his first experience with the elite.
There's no way we could predict what would EXACTLY happen. Even if I have Pac winning by the factors I layed out, Naz could've easily caught Manny and put him out for good. I just wish that Naz stuck around for the best part of the great era of featherweights. We have all been around for something special with the GREAT fights between Barrera, Morales, Marquez, and Pacquiao. I feel like Hamed missed out on his chance at history by not involving himself with the names on that list. It would've been that much better!
...Sorry for such a long post. I started typing and stuff just kept coming out!
