I'm not sure about this. On one or two occasions Cotto caught Manny coming in, and Manny looked stunned for a moment, though his legs held. What's going to happen if Mayweather hits him every time he jumps in to unleash one of those trademark flurries? And we all know Mayweather is capable of doing it, too. Did you see the state of Manny's face after the fight, btw? Cotto didn't even land that many shots, but he still looks like he's fallen down a flight of stairs. Also, when Cotto kept to boxing, tucked his chin in and had his guard high he got the better of Manny [before the second knockdown, after which he went totally defensive]. Mayweather can box far better [on or off the back foot] than Cotto, so I could see Manny getting badly hurt, though whether he would be stopped really depends on whether Mayweather wants to try and finish him or not. I think if he caught Manny and Pac was set off-balance/wobbled/dazed for a moment, Mayweather would be all over him trying to KO him and cement his 'legacy'. He would definitely win on points otherwise, imo, for a few reasons:
1. Manny struggles with good boxers [Morales, Marquez and even Cotto for a few rounds], and particularly counter-punchers who are able to hurt him on the way in.
2. PBF is just as fast as Pac.
3. Manny has never fought anyone as defensively sound as Mayweather.
4. Even though everything was stacked against Marquez [weight, age, hand-speed] Mayweather made him look average after being outside of the ring for over a year. This is a man who arguably beat Manny, and at the very least, offered a stern challenge that he only just overcame by the good grace of the judges.
5. Styles do make fights, and Manny's is perfectly suited to PBF's. This will be the bull vs the matador, and, whilst it would only take one mistake for PBF to get mauled, I don't see it happening - the matador rarely loses, as Floyd's record reflects.
Bookmarks