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The May 2nd fight is getting a fair amount of attention these days, I thought I'd share this bit I wrote with folks more informed than I. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave constructive feedback.
Floyd Mayweather - Fighter Analysis
Floyd Mayweather is guaranteed 150 million dollars for this fight, which is the sort of money that could rejuvenate a small city's economy (or purchase six Apache attack helicopters, if you're into that sort of thing). It is a ridiculous amount of money, and makes up 60% of the purse that is being split (Pacquiao for his own part will walk away with at least 100 million, which would obviously rejuvenate slightly smaller city's economy). With a moniker like "Money", what else could you expect from someone that proclaims himself to be "The Best Ever"?
Known as a defensive specialist with surgically precise counter-punching, Mayweather has befuddled and beaten every fighter that he has come across since his pro debut in 1996. In nearly twenty years of prize fighting, he has relied on his prodigious ring craft and has truly epitomized the meaning of the words "sweet science". His ability to find a way to win is as ridiculous as how much he makes for doing so (perhaps there's a correlation there...). But no boxer is perfect and his toughest test to date is on May 2nd against Manny Pacquiao.
Although Floyd is the favourite to win this fight, he will need to be as sharp as he's ever been in order to overcome a fighter that brings the sort of speed and movement that he hasn't seen in many years. In particular, Mayweather will need to utilize his razor sharp counter-punching, mastery of distance and his superior ring IQ on May 2nd if he wants to remain undefeated and surpass Rocky Marciano's impressive 49-0 win streak.
Counter-punching
Counter-punching successfully means an understanding of several variables when fighting an opponent. A defensive fighter needs to get a sense of distance, habits, timing - of their own in relation to that of their opponent's - and also be incredibly patient as they narrowly slip punches in order to land their own. That's part of the reason that not many knockouts happen early on in fights for defensive fighters. Although it looks like a good counter-puncher is reacting to his opponent's every move, the truth is that this is very difficult to do on a consistent basis. Counter-punchers, though they may seem like they cede control to the aggressor, often are in control for much of the time. Defense is predicated on anticipation, so if a boxer can create opportunities where they only need to anticipate one particular punch (for example, a jab), then they will be better able to time and counter that punch.
Figure 1.1 - Straight right pull-back counter
Against Shane Mosley, Mayweather uses a jab to size up the distance. Once he has understood this, he simply waits for Mosley to lead. Notice when Mayweather threw his first jab, he was leaning in slightly to steal a few inches in order to land. Upon doing so he quickly moves back to avoid the counter jab. When Mosley throws his second jab Mayweather has leaned in to bait it, and times his right hand counter while Mosley is momentarily committed to the punch. Notice also that all of this punching is done at a similar range. This is the distance at which Mayweather prefers to fight because he nearly never gets touched at this range (though there are exceptions, of course).
If an opponent seeks to breach this range in order to land some power punches, Mayweather will also use his left hook to catch them as they attack.
Figure 1.2 - Left hook as a counter to punches and movement
In Figure 1.2 we can observe Mayweather finishing what started out as a very close fight with a decisive left hook counter. Combined with a side step to the left, this hook is known as a check hook and in this fight had was being set up earlier than the gif suggests. Mayweather been spending the tenth round retreating and pot-shotting, going back into the corners to draw Hatton into some defensive blunder. The sequence above where Mayweather lands this check hook was not the first, each time Mayweather lured Hatton back into a corner, Hatton grew a little more reckless. In this case, Hatton is caught with both his feet off the ground when Mayweather's hook slams into the side of his jaw. Having a sturdy chin in boxing means nothing if your feet are off the ground. Oftentimes good posture and balance can help a fighter absorb the shock of a punch. Hatton had slowed down by this point in the fight and was easier to time. As he grew increasingly desperate to drag Mayweather into a dogfight, he sacrificed his defense, and did not have the stamina to make it happen. This is the cumulative effect of Mayweather's style and punching - death by a thousand paper cuts. Although to punch above is indeed a damaging one, there was ten rounds worth of investment in Ricky's steady and then abrupt decline.
Mastery of Movement (Distance and Rhythm)
Mayweather's style is a measured and slow-paced one that is largely dependent upon distance. Although he is often praised as a sharp counter-puncher, it is his use of distance which allows him to execute his counters so effectively. Constantly you will see him shuffling backward or skipping off the the side to thwart his opponent's offense. The former creates space, while the latter denies their line of attack. So, how does he use this range?
With a 72 inch wingspan, he has an abnormally long reach for a guy who stands around 5'8". What this means is that when he and his opponent are jockeying for position at long range, he usually is able to outreach them. This is a significant asset because his best punching comes from this long range. Since this is such an advantage to him, he tirelessly works to fight at the longest range possible. Standing just outside of punching range, Floyd plays with the distance to get his opponents to commit to strikes
Figure 2.1- Controlling distance, stopping rhythm and exploiting distancehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-znIUVQ-u7R0/VQ2gDp-J8WI/AAAAAAAAIOk/xxz41-gjMhQ/s1600/Mayweather-1-2-range-Hatton.gif
In Figure 2.1, Mayweather utilizes the body jab while retreating in order to maintain distance and to disrupt the rhythm of Ricky Hatton. Now that Hatton is tentative and at range, Mayweather feints with his head slightly once and then lands a crisp straight right to the head. Varying the levels of one's strikes is a great way to confuse the opponent's reaction and defense (one of the reasons Mayweather likes fighting at long range - there is less to account for).
If an opponents gets inside that long range, then Mayweather will try to time them with a left hook or a straight right. However, even if his opponent can avoid that (or eat the punch and persevere), he is always balanced and poised enough to respond either with his elusive defense at close range, or make use of effective clinching. Mayweather doesn't win rounds fighting up close on the inside - he bides his time and tries to stay competitive there. Although he is perhaps best known for his "Philly" (or Crab) Shell defense, this is not what wins him fights. Picking up points by landing punches at a comfortable, longer range is how Mayweather wins fights. When he chooses or is forced to fight along the ropes, it is usually to get his opponent to expend energy and see if he can clobber them with sharp counter-punches.
Figure 2.2 - Elusive defense along the ropes
When Floyd Mayweather fought Miguel Cotto in 2012 it was the first time in a long time that an opponent looked good against him for more than just a couple seconds at a time. That's the thing: rarely ever does a punch land cleanly on this guy. Again, this isn't where Mayweather wants to stay, but he uses his sound defense to stay relatively safe while conserving his stamina. Mayweather is great at budgeting his stamina so that he can keep up a strong effort in the twelfth round, and these moments of dormancy along the ropes are part of that energy conservation strategy.
Figure 2.3 - Clinching to negate aggression
In Figure 2.3 we see Floyd Mayweather retreat to the ropes and refuse to allow Marcos Maidana to punch. In their first fight, Maidana had a ton of success strafing Mayweather with punches from all angles and this made the fight a close majority decision in favour of Mayweather....
For the rest of it, please go to: http://a-neutral-corner.blogspot.ca/2015/03/floyd-mayweather-fighter-analysis.html
Floyd Mayweather - Fighter Analysis
Floyd Mayweather is guaranteed 150 million dollars for this fight, which is the sort of money that could rejuvenate a small city's economy (or purchase six Apache attack helicopters, if you're into that sort of thing). It is a ridiculous amount of money, and makes up 60% of the purse that is being split (Pacquiao for his own part will walk away with at least 100 million, which would obviously rejuvenate slightly smaller city's economy). With a moniker like "Money", what else could you expect from someone that proclaims himself to be "The Best Ever"?
Known as a defensive specialist with surgically precise counter-punching, Mayweather has befuddled and beaten every fighter that he has come across since his pro debut in 1996. In nearly twenty years of prize fighting, he has relied on his prodigious ring craft and has truly epitomized the meaning of the words "sweet science". His ability to find a way to win is as ridiculous as how much he makes for doing so (perhaps there's a correlation there...). But no boxer is perfect and his toughest test to date is on May 2nd against Manny Pacquiao.
Although Floyd is the favourite to win this fight, he will need to be as sharp as he's ever been in order to overcome a fighter that brings the sort of speed and movement that he hasn't seen in many years. In particular, Mayweather will need to utilize his razor sharp counter-punching, mastery of distance and his superior ring IQ on May 2nd if he wants to remain undefeated and surpass Rocky Marciano's impressive 49-0 win streak.
Counter-punching
Counter-punching successfully means an understanding of several variables when fighting an opponent. A defensive fighter needs to get a sense of distance, habits, timing - of their own in relation to that of their opponent's - and also be incredibly patient as they narrowly slip punches in order to land their own. That's part of the reason that not many knockouts happen early on in fights for defensive fighters. Although it looks like a good counter-puncher is reacting to his opponent's every move, the truth is that this is very difficult to do on a consistent basis. Counter-punchers, though they may seem like they cede control to the aggressor, often are in control for much of the time. Defense is predicated on anticipation, so if a boxer can create opportunities where they only need to anticipate one particular punch (for example, a jab), then they will be better able to time and counter that punch.
Figure 1.1 - Straight right pull-back counter
Against Shane Mosley, Mayweather uses a jab to size up the distance. Once he has understood this, he simply waits for Mosley to lead. Notice when Mayweather threw his first jab, he was leaning in slightly to steal a few inches in order to land. Upon doing so he quickly moves back to avoid the counter jab. When Mosley throws his second jab Mayweather has leaned in to bait it, and times his right hand counter while Mosley is momentarily committed to the punch. Notice also that all of this punching is done at a similar range. This is the distance at which Mayweather prefers to fight because he nearly never gets touched at this range (though there are exceptions, of course).
If an opponent seeks to breach this range in order to land some power punches, Mayweather will also use his left hook to catch them as they attack.
Figure 1.2 - Left hook as a counter to punches and movement
In Figure 1.2 we can observe Mayweather finishing what started out as a very close fight with a decisive left hook counter. Combined with a side step to the left, this hook is known as a check hook and in this fight had was being set up earlier than the gif suggests. Mayweather been spending the tenth round retreating and pot-shotting, going back into the corners to draw Hatton into some defensive blunder. The sequence above where Mayweather lands this check hook was not the first, each time Mayweather lured Hatton back into a corner, Hatton grew a little more reckless. In this case, Hatton is caught with both his feet off the ground when Mayweather's hook slams into the side of his jaw. Having a sturdy chin in boxing means nothing if your feet are off the ground. Oftentimes good posture and balance can help a fighter absorb the shock of a punch. Hatton had slowed down by this point in the fight and was easier to time. As he grew increasingly desperate to drag Mayweather into a dogfight, he sacrificed his defense, and did not have the stamina to make it happen. This is the cumulative effect of Mayweather's style and punching - death by a thousand paper cuts. Although to punch above is indeed a damaging one, there was ten rounds worth of investment in Ricky's steady and then abrupt decline.
Mastery of Movement (Distance and Rhythm)
Mayweather's style is a measured and slow-paced one that is largely dependent upon distance. Although he is often praised as a sharp counter-puncher, it is his use of distance which allows him to execute his counters so effectively. Constantly you will see him shuffling backward or skipping off the the side to thwart his opponent's offense. The former creates space, while the latter denies their line of attack. So, how does he use this range?
With a 72 inch wingspan, he has an abnormally long reach for a guy who stands around 5'8". What this means is that when he and his opponent are jockeying for position at long range, he usually is able to outreach them. This is a significant asset because his best punching comes from this long range. Since this is such an advantage to him, he tirelessly works to fight at the longest range possible. Standing just outside of punching range, Floyd plays with the distance to get his opponents to commit to strikes
Figure 2.1- Controlling distance, stopping rhythm and exploiting distancehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-znIUVQ-u7R0/VQ2gDp-J8WI/AAAAAAAAIOk/xxz41-gjMhQ/s1600/Mayweather-1-2-range-Hatton.gif
In Figure 2.1, Mayweather utilizes the body jab while retreating in order to maintain distance and to disrupt the rhythm of Ricky Hatton. Now that Hatton is tentative and at range, Mayweather feints with his head slightly once and then lands a crisp straight right to the head. Varying the levels of one's strikes is a great way to confuse the opponent's reaction and defense (one of the reasons Mayweather likes fighting at long range - there is less to account for).
If an opponents gets inside that long range, then Mayweather will try to time them with a left hook or a straight right. However, even if his opponent can avoid that (or eat the punch and persevere), he is always balanced and poised enough to respond either with his elusive defense at close range, or make use of effective clinching. Mayweather doesn't win rounds fighting up close on the inside - he bides his time and tries to stay competitive there. Although he is perhaps best known for his "Philly" (or Crab) Shell defense, this is not what wins him fights. Picking up points by landing punches at a comfortable, longer range is how Mayweather wins fights. When he chooses or is forced to fight along the ropes, it is usually to get his opponent to expend energy and see if he can clobber them with sharp counter-punches.
Figure 2.2 - Elusive defense along the ropes
When Floyd Mayweather fought Miguel Cotto in 2012 it was the first time in a long time that an opponent looked good against him for more than just a couple seconds at a time. That's the thing: rarely ever does a punch land cleanly on this guy. Again, this isn't where Mayweather wants to stay, but he uses his sound defense to stay relatively safe while conserving his stamina. Mayweather is great at budgeting his stamina so that he can keep up a strong effort in the twelfth round, and these moments of dormancy along the ropes are part of that energy conservation strategy.
Figure 2.3 - Clinching to negate aggression
In Figure 2.3 we see Floyd Mayweather retreat to the ropes and refuse to allow Marcos Maidana to punch. In their first fight, Maidana had a ton of success strafing Mayweather with punches from all angles and this made the fight a close majority decision in favour of Mayweather....
For the rest of it, please go to: http://a-neutral-corner.blogspot.ca/2015/03/floyd-mayweather-fighter-analysis.html
