He Who Is Brave Is Free
Wisdom, compassion and courage are the three universally recognised moral qualities of men.
I think people don't realize how close Pacquiao-Cotto was early on, sure it turned into a land slide, but have Cotto land a few more body shots, and have Pacquiao maybe not quite connect the way he did, especially in the fourth round and it could have been a very different fight. I remember being there and thinking, Manny might be in big trouble, then he got that second knock down and it really changed the fight. IMO Pacquiao has become a better fighter, but a little less wild, and like against Marquez, maybe at little less willing to land those big counters at any expense. Him being smarter has a lot of advantages, but it also has it's draw backs against a guy who really gave him a lot of trouble early tactically. I've heard that Cotto had a lot of problems with his right shoulder, and that they are vastly improved since when he fought Pacquiao, and that was another thing he hardly used, and with very little tenacity. It seems like Cotto has learned a few little tactics based on the second Margarito fight to slow the pace a little bit, and maybe no take punches quite as forcefully as he once did. He knows how to step back a little more efficiently.
Bradley isn't a defensive fighter like Marquez? He is far better defensively than Marquez. Far quicker, and much better instincts and head movement. Watch his fights, he is actually extremely hard to hit cleanly, only Holt did it with any regularity. IMO Bradley is right up there defensively with the best guys in the sport, especially considering how busy he is in there. To the lamen boxing fan, he looks wild and reckless, but watch how he keeps his head always moving and more importantly he always keeps his feet beneath him. That means his head is moving, but also his body is moving so his opponent is trying to connect with two distances moving simultaneously. He's doesn't come through his punches the way Manny does, but he is in better balance and has better technique footwork wise. He doesn't hop in and out the same way. He is in great shape, and considering how much he is constantly moving he has a tremendous output like Pacquiao. Their work rate isn't just in the punches they throw. Its the relentlessness and consistency of everything they do in the ring. Throwing a lot of punches ala Margarito with no head movement and not a whole lot of steam(at least on the outside) on your punches isn't the same thing.
Marquez is a pretty bad defender, that's different than counter puncher. He is good at letting a guy land a less powerful blow to land a far more telling blow in return, but he moves his head, but with his so low he's easy to hit. Watch his fights against Katsidis or Juan Diaz. As he's gotten older and his legs can't move like they once did, you see he doesn't have defensive nuances. The one thing that made him hard for manny to hit is that he caught on the fact that Manny uses angles, but he always comes right down the middle if you don't follow him stupidly instead of cutting the ring off. Marquez used not so difficult footwork to keep Manny from using his footspeed and angles simply by having a better knowledge of angles. he rotated on one spot while Manny tried running all over the ring to get the right angle to come in. You put Marquez against Lamont Peterson, Holt, etc he may win, but he gets hit a whole lot in the process. It would be a matter of if he could land enough to hurt guys that aren't as tough mentally as him. There is a reason Mayweather landed at 60% against him, he has almost no defense against a smart fighter, but he is sharp and quick which is why Floyd couldn't really step up his offense the way he against Gatti, Ortiz, Mosley etc. Against Bradley, Floyd would have to beat him the same way he did Mosley, but it would require a lot more fluidity on his part, and Bradley would push him in a lot of ways that nobody else would because, Bradley moves more like Mayweather and Hopkins than anyone else in the sport does.
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