BOXINGTALK'S FRIDAY MAILBAG
By G. Leon

Whats up G? Just watched Manny Pacquiao's win over Miguel Cotto again. Just got a few things I want to bring up. First of all is Manny on steroids? How do you take shots from Marquez and get dazed but a bigger fighter in Cotto hits you with some good shots and you take them like its nothing? I was in shock watching the fight as most of whatever Cotto threw at Manny he took in stride meanwhile Cottos face looked like it did after the Margarito fight. I cant wait for Mayweather to expose those horrible technical defects that Manny has. I respect the mans speed, quickness and reflexes but when it comes to boxing skill he is so off balance and all over the place its hard for me to stand watching him hands all over the place not protecting his chin throwing wildly and say he is a good "boxer". I know I sound like a serious hater but I am not riding in the Pac man bandwagon. His whole catch weight bullshit is probably what helped him beat Cotto who didnt look drained like Oscar did but he didnt look as big as he usually is. I would love to hear what excuse pac man fans come up with after Floyd handles Manny. And alot of writers especially that fat meatball Dan Rafael will have to give Mayweather his respect. Ryan from Jersey

Leon's Response: Styles make fights and Marquez was able to slow's Manny's pace down a bit from time to time. Not sure a third fight between them is anywhere near as close, because Pacquiao seems to be improving exponentially with each performance. Mayweather is more than capable of exposing all of Manny's mistakes, but I also feel Manny is more than capable of changing the fight with one punch Mayweather never sees.

Whats up G? First I wanna send my congrats to Manny on a superb performance this past weekend! I had to eat my words because I didn't think he could stand toe to toe with cotto like that...but he dominated him and in my eyes is an all time great. My question is in a fight with Mayweather do you think Floyd would fight at 145? After seeing what he did to Cotto I doubt he would wanna give Manny any advantages. This fight needs to happen! Floyd is the best boxer in the world, now he needs to go out and prove it or I have no problem putting Manny #1 on my p4p list...Mike

Leon's Response: The "little" guy overpowered and outgunned one of the strongest welterweights in the world with relative ease. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've never seen anything like Manny Pacquiao.

I can truly say for the 1st time since I saw Roy Jones getting KO'd by Glen Johnson, I'm excited about boxing again. I see a lot of liars in the mailbag claiming to be Mayweather fans and then bash him after the comma; lol; but I'm a true fan of PBF but I must also say that he has a challenge now! I picked up PBF as my fighter after Roy was retired by Johnson and I saw a fighter with the same skill level to make a great opponent look like a sparring partner. Money May is tha truth but Pacman.....did you see that s*** Saturday night! He walked down a naturally bigger man and took his shots and delivered the more telling blows. I was doing a round by round on my Facebook page and I remember saying "Pac is fast but Cotto is too big and it's just a matter of time cause Pac can't take too many more of these shots" and then after the 4th round it was like "They might have to stop this cause Pac is walking through his punches and Cotto is on his bicycle wishing the ring was the size of Cowboys Stadium". I've never witnessed such a feat where a smaller man was just walking through not only a bigger man's shots but a puncher's shots and taking it to him.
 
Leon's Response: I'm glad you're excited about the sport again, but why Glen's KO over Roy? Pac-Man has gobbled up Marquez, ODLH, Hatton and Cotto like he just ate the big pellet, and there's only one blinking ghost left. Cotto stayed competitive for four rounds. After that it was all Manny. The fight should have been stopped after the seventh or eighth round.


I give the edge to Floyd Mayweather over Manny Pacquiao because I think his speed negates Pac's speed and also as a counter puncher, he will take Pac out of his game plan and pick him apart similar to how he did to Zab Judah once he got his timing down. Floyd will take Juan Manuel Marquez's game plan and operate it more effectively. And to top it off, he's the best defensive fighter since Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker but I would love to see how he would react to catching one of those lefts square on the button. I think this is the fight Mayweather has to make to shut all the haters up and seal his legacy and I hope the competitor in him wants to match up with the second best fighter in the world and give the fans an exciting fight.  But Mayweather saw the same fight we saw and I guarantee you that the butterflies had to get going a bit when he saw the ease at which Manny dissected Cotto. But styles makes fights and I know he also saw something that he could exploit if he made the fight. Logic says Mayweather in 12 but after what I just saw Saturday I will never underestimate the Pacman again. AJ representing Dallas, TX

Leon's Response: Mayweather and Pacquiao is the fight. Other than Shane Mosley, who has some business to tend to with Andre Berto, I don't think there's anybody else out there who can compete with PBF and Pac at welterweight. Mayweather-Pacquiao: Pound For Pound Coming May 2010.....I HOPE.

What’s up Greg? Glad to see you back on the Mail Bag. You know that a fighter is exciting and explosive whenever there are reports following their events of how many people had heart attacks while watching their fights. For me, Pacquiao is the only fighter since Tyson that really gets me excited while watching him fight. I can only imagine what it was like to be ringside for Pacquiao Cotto. It must have been electric. For the first five or six rounds, that was the most exciting fight I have seen in years. Pacquiao was straight out of the Matrix! Floyd Mayweather doesn’t have that effect on me and he’s never going to. Don’t get me wrong, Floyd is the most gifted fighter of this generation. He is an almost flawless fighter. The cold hard truth is that he hasn’t taken a real risk in the ring since fighting Diego Corrales. You hit the nail on the head when you said that Pacquiao wouldn’t be where he is today if Mayweather had taken rematches with De La Hoya & Hatton and had went on to fight Cotto, Mosley, Margarito and Paul Williams. I think he could have beaten all of them. The fans would be discussing how much of an all time great Mayweather is and arguing over his place in boxing history right now instead of Pacquiao’s. He has no one to blame for that but himself. He should have put his balls on the line and cemented his legacy. I just watched Floyd’s latest (scripted) interview on Sky Sports. He poo poo’s Pacman, bitches about not getting any respect from the fans, and brags about being undefeated and not taking any punishment during his career. Blah, Blah, Blah. The more that Floyd talks outside the ring the more I lose respect for him as a fighter. He is starting to sound more like a whiny spoiled little kid than the world class fighter that he is. He is demanding respect instead of earning it. He should take lessons in humility from Pacquiao and do his talking with his fists inside the ring.  I pick Mayweather over Pacquiao if they ever make it to the ring but I see Pacquiao as an extremely serious threat and might just steal the show and hand Floyd his first official loss. We all know that Floyd lost the first fight with Castillo but a “W” is a “W”. Right? I know this is a long post but I hope it makes the mailbag. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this one. D.

Leon's Response: The atmosphere must have been electric, but I've seen far more exciting fights with two guys on the same level. To me, this was another test that Pac passed with an A+. Can he dominate and destroy a natural welterweight, a big welterweight, who presents different obstacles than ODLH and Hatton. The answer is yes. The second round was the best round of the fight. Cotto was winning three and four until he went down and from round 5 on it was pretty much over. Not sure we all KNOW Floyd lost to Castillo, but it was a close fight and one he immediately ended any controversy over by easily outpointing Castillo in the rematch. Not sure if Manny should be thanking Floyd or Big Willie who Madoffed Mayweather. Afterall, if Mayweather remained $50M strong, he would have NEVER come back.

Did they recently add a new weight class in boxing? Mannyweight? aka 145 lbs? I am reading all over about Pacuiao's next fight being at Mannyweight, whether it's against Mayweather, Mosley, Marquez even.. This crap really needs to stop.. Last time I checked, the welterweight limit is 147 lbs, and Manny is a welterweight (not mannyweight) title holder.. No more excuses Manny!  If this guy is so great, and wants to fight welterweights, why can't he let them weigh in AS WELTERWEIGHTS?? As far as Marquez, it's the opposite, and because their first two fights were so close, Manny and his bitch want nothing to do with a Marquez that can actually be competitive, so let's fight him at 145 where we know he won't be the same as he is at 140 or less!  All I'm saying is if this guy is holding a welterweight title, it's time to step up and fight welterweights at welterweight!  No more catch weights PLEASE! This whole crap with trying to give Manny every possible advantage is getting old quick.. Also, the WBO should not allow someone to hold their 147 lb title if he refuses to sign to fight opponents who are allowed to weigh 147.  If he thinks he can beat Floyd or Shane, do it at welterweight because they are welterweights. I've always been a Pacquiao fan and I'd like to remain one, but this crap is getting old too quick and making me dislike him (and especially his bitch) more and more.. Maybe he can get David Haye to come down to mannyweight and add a heavyweight title to his collection! B from NY

Leon's Response: Let's not hate on Manny weight. Oscar De La Hoya, Hopkins and many others have fought at catchweigths. Cotto came in at 146 for Clottey, 145 for Pacquiao isn't a ridiculous request. Cotto might have weighed 145 for 10 seconds tops and then, unlike De La Hoya, bulked up 15 pounds by fight time.


I hope after Floyd dominates Manny, people aren't shocked. Manny is like the Terminator, Floyd is like The Godfather...both classic movies, but only one really great. I just hope they don't try to discredit his win when it goes down. LLH

Leon's Response: Funny comparison. We'll see.

What up G; man like everyone else I am praying that the Floyd vs Pac fight will happen in 2010. im a huge Floyd fan and I like Pacquiao is a great fighter as well, I think Floyd will take Pac though. Im writing because everyone has hailed Freddy Roach as “The Greatest Trainer” alive, he has done a good job bringing Pac along, but do we honestly not believe that Pac could have been this same fighter is not for Freddy? If he’s so friggin great then why couldn’t he help DeLaHoya beat Floyd. I watched a documentary on Sugar Ray Robinson and in it was stated that Sugar Ray’s trainer once bragged about how he was the best trainer in the world and someone replied “you’ve trained tons of fighters, if you’re so great, how come they all aren’t as good as Sugar Ray”. Also Pac did a great job against Cotto so now that he has a welterweight belt shouldn’t Pac be defending that belt at the welterweight limit? Why is Freddy already talking about getting Floyd to fight at 145? I am positive that Pac can carry two more pounds extremely well. Even if Pac weighed 147 against Cotto, the fight would have had the same out come. All im saying is Pac can fight at 147, so why is Freddy trying to give his guy the advantage by making everyone else kill themselves to make these lower weights, if Pac is so great, allow him to perform on the same terms that the rest of the welterweights are performing on. Enough of this catch weight crap. We have not seen one single decent catch weight fight since it’s become a fad, they have all been one sided. There are enough weight classes as it is. Freddy Roach is full of shit.

Leon's Response: Freddie Roach is one of the best trainers in the world and he's certainly the best trainer for Manny, much like Roger is the best trainer for Floyd. I also favor Mayweather, but less and less with each Pacquaio victory.Pac is so great that  you're forgetting he's totally virtually skipped lightweight and junior welterweight. He went to 135 for 9 rounds against David Diaz, lasted a whole four mintues at junior welterweight and nearly decapitated the best guy in that weight class, so is the extra pound or two a big deal against a guy like Cotto, who started at 140, when Pacquiao started at 106?

Send questions and comments to: boxingtalkg@Yahoo.com