Countdown To Mayweather-Pacquiao: MayPac Compares To Leonard-Duran I

Published

10 years ago

April 7, 2015

With the much anticipated super fight between welterweights Floyd Mayweather 47-0 (26) and Manny Pacquiao 57-5-2 (38) nearing, it’s been hard to find another super fight that it is most analogous to.

And that’s mainly because the dynamics that are bringing Mayweather and Pacquiao together are unlike any other super fight of my time following the sport of boxing.

In terms of anticipation and seeing two fighter’s names together on a marquee, I suppose Frazier-Ali I and Hagler-Leonard work best. From a style perspective, Ali 31-0 (25) was more offensive minded than Mayweather, and Frazier 26-0 (23) was much more aggressive and applied sustained bell-to-bell pressure, in contrast to Pacquiao, whose pressure is more sporadic. In addition to that, Joe, 27, and Muhammad, 29, were at or near their physical prime the first time they fought. And prior to the fight it was impossible to picture either Frazier or Ali losing, and that certainly doesn’t apply to Mayweather or Pacquiao.

Hagler-Leonard shares some interesting parallels because you have an aggressive southpaw (Hagler) fighting as the attacker going after a superstar boxer (Leonard). It also works because both Marvin, 32, and Ray, 30, were past their prime when they finally tangled back in 1987. The problem is, Leonard 33-1 (24) the boxer was moving up in weight to challenge the bigger man in Hagler 62-2-2 (52), who like Pacquiao is viewed as the bigger puncher. That doesn’t fit the Mayweather-Pacquiao template because Mayweather the boxer is clearly the bigger framed man compared to Pacquiao, the presumed aggressor and bigger puncher.

I suppose you have to go back 35 years to find the super fight that is most analogous to the upcoming welterweight clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. And that would be the WBC welterweight title bout between title holder Sugar Ray Leonard 27-0 (18) and former undisputed lightweight champ Roberto Duran 71-1 (55) on June 20th 1980. No, it’s not a perfect match because Ray, 24, and Roberto, 29 were close to their prime, as opposed to Floyd, 38, and Manny, 36, who are slightly on the decline……but it comes the closest regarding their personalities, boxing styles and the anticipated style clash between them. Also, the superstar boxer went into both bouts as the betting favorite. Leonard was 9-5 over Duran and Mayweather is between 13-5 and 3-1 over Pacquiao.

Let’s start with the similarities and contrast in their personalities. Sugar Ray Leonard was a superstar who exuded almost Muhammad Ali-like natural charisma, and he was covered like a rock star the moment he announced he was turning pro. As for Floyd Mayweather, he had to wait 11 years before he transformed himself into boxing’s biggest star. No, he’s not the media darling that Leonard was and he certainly doesn’t have the charm or magnetism that Ray still has, but he is the superstar in this fight and has called the shots accordingly. Also, it’s never mentioned but another difference between Ray and Floyd is Leonard went out of his way to be entertaining in the ring, which is something Mayweather really only pays lip service to.

As for Duran and Pacquiao, despite being foreigners both had/have a huge fan base in the United States and their fighting is what is most captivating about them. They aren’t the talkers or promoters that Leonard and Mayweather were/are, but the way they handle their business in the ring draws fans out to watch them whenever they fight.

Another correlation between Duran and Pacquiao is they’re both the smaller framed man and started their careers way below welterweight when they turned pro. Duran skipped the junior welterweight division and went right from lightweight to welterweight when he challenged Leonard. Pacquiao turned pro as a flyweight and has never weighed more than 145 for a welterweight title bout, two pounds below the maximum allowed for the division limit. Mayweather turned pro as a junior lightweight but as it was the case with Leonard, is a full-fledged welterweight by the time of the big fight.

When it comes to boxing styles, Mayweather, as it was the case with Leonard, is the more conventional boxer in the match-up. However, other than being fast and flashy, that’s where the similarity ends. Leonard could really punch to the head and body with both hands, and he went into the Duran fight thinking he could beat Roberto going toe-to-toe with him. On the other hand Mayweather will most likely only engage Pacquiao if he’s forced to. Mayweather is better than Leonard was defensively, but a lot of that has to do with Leonard being more offensively driven and that he sought to win by knockout, whereas Floyd is most content going the distance. This makes him less vulnerable to getting hit during exchanges because he usually only engages on his terms when he deems that it’s safe. Another thing Ray and Floyd share is both were physically stronger than they get credit for being, and neither had a shortage of confidence.

Pacquiao, as it was when Duran fought Leonard, is the perceived aggressor and puncher. But that’s where the similarity ends between them. Pacquiao is a southpaw who fights in spurts and is more prone to his feet sometimes being off the canvas when he attacks in spurts and waves. On the other hand, Duran of the lightweight/welterweight vintage, applied non-stop sustained pressure and cut the ring off much better than Pacquiao. Manny has quicker hands and feet than Duran did but he’s easier to hit and is nowhere near the inside fighter or body puncher Roberto was. Duran was a brilliant defensive fighter and his chin was much better than Pacquiao’s. Even though both of their high profile kayo losses were similar, there’s a big difference, and that is Duran got knocked out way over his best weight by one of the hardest one-shot punchers in boxing history, Thomas Hearns, not by a fighter who was chasing him up in weight who never dropped him once in their three previous fights, Juan Manuel Marquez.

There’s also an x-factor that was in play before the first Leonard-Duran bout that I don’t think is in play between Mayweather and Pacquiao, and that was Duran’s intense dislike of Leonard. Call it a hunch, but I don’t believe Manny could conjure up the borderline hatred for Floyd that Roberto harbored for Ray. Duran didn’t want to just beat Leonard, he wanted to humiliate and embarrass him in front of his wife and fans, and I don’t think Pacquiao is built like that. Duran was fiercely driven by his want to take Leonard down, because in his eyes Ray was receiving undue and unearned star treatment over him, on top of being further insulted that Leonard was earning roughly five times more money than he was for their fight. This is opposed to Pacquiao, who is getting a 40/60 split with Mayweather.

I’ve always maintained that I’ve never seen a fighter more prepared mentally, emotionally, physically and strategically who was on more of a mission to beat a particular opponent than “Smokin” Joe Frazier was to beat Muhammad Ali on March 8th, 1971….but if I had to pick a runner-up to Frazier it would be Roberto Duran of the first Leonard fight on June 20th, 1980.

As for the fight, if Mayweather-Pacquiao turns out to be half as good as Leonard-Duran I, it will be talked about for years to come. But that’s a high bar for it to clear. Leonard was awesome during that fight, and that’s because Duran wasn’t to be denied. Roberto’s sustained aggression along with his ability to never really let up for 15 fast paced rounds forced the young Leonard to raise his game, and he did. There were some tremendous exchanges during the bout and every time you started to think one of them was seizing control of the action, the other roared back and turned the tide.

The key to Duran’s unanimous decision victory was his ability to get Leonard to fight his fight. Duran taunting Leonard before the bout, insinuating that he wasn’t tough and how he would be forced to run, made it easier for him to lure Leonard into fighting more and boxing less. In addition to that, Leonard learned as the fight progressed just how versatile and slippery Duran was, something he wasn’t prepared for. It was a great fight and it was very close, but Duran nudged it out and both were the better for it.

If Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach can somehow get Manny to fight with the same non-stop aggression and tenacity that Roberto Duran did during the first Leonard fight, then Floyd Mayweather will be in for the toughest fight of his life and may depart the ring 47-1. But Manny Pacquiao is no Roberto Duran, but then again he won’t have to be because Floyd Mayweather is no Sugar Ray Leonard.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

March 7 was an unusually heavy Friday for professional boxing. The show that warranted the most ink was the all-female card in London, a tour-de-force for the super-talented Lauren Price, but there were important fights on other continents.

Brighton

Michael Conlan, who sat out all of 2024 on the heels of being stopped in three of his previous five, returned to the ring in the British seaside resort city of Brighton in a shake-off-the-rust, 8-rounder against Asad Asif Khan, a 31-year-old Indian from Calcutta making his first appearance in a British ring.

Conlan, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist who famously signed with Top Rank coming out of the amateur ranks, is now 33 years old. Against Khan, he was far from impressive, but did enough to win by a 78-74 score and lock in a match with Spain’s Cristobal Lorente, the European featherweight champion.

Conlan, who improved to 19-3 (9), absorbed a lot of punishment in those three matches that he lost. With his deep amateur background, Michael has a lot of mileage on him and he would have been smart to call it quits after his embarrassingly one-sided defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez. His frayed reflexes speak to something more than ring rust. Heading in, Khan brought a 19-5-1 record but had scored only five wins inside the distance.

Conlan vs Khan was the co-feature. In the main event, Brighton welterweight Harlem Eubank, the cousin of Chris Eubank Jr, improved to 21-0 (9 KOs) with a dominant performance over Conlan’s Belfast homie Tyrone McKenna. Eubank was credited with three knockdowns, all the result of body punches, before referee John Latham had seen enough and pulled the plug at the 2:09 mark of round 10. It was the fourth loss in his last six outings for the 35-year-old McKenna (24-6-1).

Harlem Eubank wants to fight Conor Benn next and says he is willing to wait until after his cousin “wipes Benn out.” Chris Eubank Jr vs Benn is slated for April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The North London facility, which has a retractable roof, is the third-largest soccer stadium in England.

Toronto

Local fan favorite Lucas Bahdi and his stablemate Sara Bailey were the headliners on last night’s card at the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto. The event marked the first incursion of Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions into Canada.

Bahdi, who is from Niagara Falls but trains in Toronto, burst out of obscurity in July of last year in Tampa, Florida, with a spectacular one-punch knockout of heavily-hyped Ashton “H2O” Sylva. His next fight, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s match with Mike Tyson, was less “noisy” and the same could be said of his homecoming fight with Ryan James Racaza, an undefeated (15-0) but obscure southpaw from the Philippines who was making his North American debut.

Bahdi vs Racaza was a technical fight that didn’t warm up until Bahdi produced a knockdown in round seven with a sweeping left hook, a glancing blow that appeared to land behind Racaza’s ear. The Filipino was up in a jiff, looking at the referee as if to say, “this dude just hit me with a rabbit punch.”

The judges had it 99-90, 97-92, and 96-93 for the victorious Bahdi (19-0) who was the subject of a recent profile on these pages.

Sara Bailey, a decorated amateur who competed around the world under her maiden name Sara Haghighat Joo and now holds the WBA light flyweight title, successfully defended that trinket with a lopsided decision over Cristina Navarro (6-3), a 35-year-old Spaniard who “earned” this assignment by winning a 6-round decision over an opponent with a 1-4-3 record. The judges scored the monotonous fight 99-91 across the board for Bailey who improved to 6-0 and then returned to the ring to assist her husband in Lucas Bahdi’s corner.

Also

Twenty-two-year-old super bantamweight Angel Barrientes, a Las Vegas-based Hawaii native, delivered the best performance of the night with a one-sided beatdown of Alexander Castellano whose corner mercifully stopped the contest after the seventh round as the ring doctor stood in a neutral corner chatting with the referee.

The gritty Castellano, who hails from Tonawanda, New York, brought an 11-1-2 record and hadn’t previously been stopped. A glutton for punishment, he appeared to suffer a broken orbital bone. Barrientes improved to 13-1 (8 KOs).

The show was marred by an excessive amount of fluffy gobbledygook by the TV talking heads which slowed down the action and made the promotion almost unwatchable.

Cartago, Costa Rica

Fighting in his hometown, super flyweight David Jimenez scored a lopsided 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Keyvin Lara. The judges had it 120-108, 119-109, and 116-112.

Jimenez, now 17-1, came to the fore in July of 2022 when he upset Ricardo Sandoval in Los Angeles, winning a well-earned majority decision over a 20/1 favorite riding a 16-fight winning streak. That boosted him into a title fight with the formidable Artem Dalakian who saddled him with his lone defeat.

Jimenez’s victory over Lara was his fifth since that setback. It sets up the Costa Rican for another title fight, this time against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez who acquired the WBA 115-pound title in July with an upset of Kazuto Ioka in Japan. Lara, who unsuccessfully challenged Ioka for a belt in 2016, falls to 32-7-1.

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Price Conquers Jonas on an All-Female Card at Royal Albert Hall

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Price-Conquers-Jonas-on-an-All-Female-Card-at-Royal-Albert-Hall

Ben Shalom’s BOXXER Promotions was at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall tonight with an all-female card topped by a welterweight unification fight between WBC/IBF belt-holder Natasha Jonas and WBA champion Lauren Price.

Liverpool’s Jonas, who turns 41 in June, has had a sterling career, but Father Time has caught up with her. The 30-year-old Price, an Olympic gold medalist, had faster hands, faster feet, and hit harder. The classy Jonas (16-3-1) acknowledged as much in her post-fight interview: “She beat me to the punch every time.”

The scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 98-93.

In advancing her record to 9-0 (2), Price built a strong case that she is the best fighter to come down the pike from Wales since Joe Calzaghe. As for her next bout, she hopes to fight the winner of the March 29 rematch in Las Vegas between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan. That match, with all of the meaningful welterweight hardware at stake, would be a hot ticket item if potted in Cardiff.

Semi-wind-up

Caroline Dubois staved off a late rally to successfully defend her WBC lightweight title with a majority decision over South Korea’s spunky Bo Mi Re Shin. The judges had it 98-92, 98-93, and 95-95. Although the 95-95 tally by the Korean judge was quite a stretch, Shin performed far better than the odds – Dubois was a consensus 35/1 favorite — portended.

Dubois, a 24-year-old Londoner trained by Shane McGuigan, is the sister of IBF heavyweight title-holder Daniel Dubois. Reportedly 36-3 as an amateur, she advanced her pro record to 11-0-1 (5). Heading in, Shin (18-3-3) had won nine of her previous 10 with the lone setback coming via split decision in a robust fight with Belgium’s Delfine Persoon in Belgium.

Other Bouts of Note

Kariss Artingstall returned to the ring after a 14-month absence and scored a unanimous decision over former amateur rival Raven Chapman. The scores were 98-91, 97-92, 96-93.

The prize for Artingstall, who happens to be Lauren Price’s partner, was the inaugural British female featherweight title and a potential rematch with Skye Nicolson who would relish the chance to avenge her last defeat, a loss by split decision to Attingstall in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Nicolson, who was part of tonight’s broadcast team, defends her title later this month in Sydney against Florida’s Tiara Brown.

It was the first 10-rounder for Artingstall (7-0). Chapman (9-2) had an uphill battle after Artingstall decked her in the second round with a straight left hand.

In a mild upset, Jasmina Zopotoczna, a UK-based Pole, won a split decision over Chloe Watson, adding Watson’s European flyweight title to her own regional trinket. One of the judges favored Watson 97-93, but each of his colleagues had it 96-95 for the Pole. Although there was no great furor, the verdict was unpopular.

Zapotoczna, who fought off her back foot, improved to 9-1. It was the first pro loss for Watson who is trained by Ricky Hatton.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 316: Art of the Deal in Boxing and More

Published

3 days ago

March 6, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-316-Art-of-the-Deal-in-Boxing-and-More

So, they want to save boxing?

A group of guys with recent ties to the sport of boxing and bags of money suddenly believe they can save a sport that is older than any other sport since the dawn of mankind.

Boxing is the oldest sport.

When cavemen roamed the planet, you can believe one tribe bet another tribe their guy could whip the other guy. Thus began the sport of boxing. There was no baseball, soccer or horse racing.

Even the invention of the wheel was still a few generations away when men were duking it out with other men for sport.

Throughout history mentions of one man fighting another man without arms are written in the Tales of Ulysses and other literary references.

Boxing will never die. Period.

Here is the reason why.

Boxing requires only two men in their underwear with no weapons and no requirement of classes in jujitsu, kickboxing, wrestling or advance training facilities. You can prepare in your backyard with one heavy bag and a pair of boxing gloves. It’s simple.

MMA, on the other hand, requires money.

Boxing is for the poor. Any kid can walk into a gym and begin training. When they become adults, then they start paying to use the gym.

Don’t let people fool you and tell you “boxing is dying.”

People have been saying those same words since John L. Sullivan in the late 1800s. You can look it up.

The phrase “boxing is dying,” is said by people who want you to pay them money to save it. Kind of sounds like the guy currently sitting in the White House who is going to save America by firing Americans from their jobs and allowing Russia to take over Ukraine.

Don’t believe these people.

Boxing does not need saving.

Why would Dana White, who has stated for decades that MMA is bigger than boxing, though no MMA fighter can equal the purses of a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Tyson Fury, why is he involved in boxing?

There is big money to be made in boxing, especially with internet gambling sites being allowed all over the world. And boxing is popular worldwide. MMA is not.

More people know who Canelo is than UFC’s Alex Pereira.

I respect the UFC fighters. They put in hard work and battle injuries throughout their careers. But MMA is simply not as big as boxing. The purses of MMA fighters at the top level don’t come close to boxing’s top money earners.

Why did Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and others quickly switch to boxing when called?

The money in boxing is much bigger.

Follow the money.

NYC

A rumble is planned for Times Square in New York City.

Vatos from Southern California are fighting dudes from Nevada and Brooklyn. Sounds like a script from the Gangs of New York.

Where is Leonardo DiCaprio when you need him?

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will meet Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) in a welterweight match set for May 2, on Times Square in mid-Manhattan. This is one of three marquee bouts planned to be streamed on DAZN.

Others matched will be Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) versus super lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs), and Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) against Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight contest.

This is the proposed match by The Ring magazine backed by Turki Alalshikh who, along with Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, is sponsoring this fight card.

It was also announced that Alalshikh, TKO Group Holdings, and Sela are forming a promotion company.

TKO owns UFC and WWE.

SoCal Fights

Southern California will be busy with boxing cards this weekend.

This Thursday, March 6, is Golden Boy Promotions with a boxing card featuring Manny Flores (19-1, 15 KOs) versus Jorge Leyva (18-3, 13 KOs) in a super bantamweight match at Fantasy Springs Casino. DAZN will stream the boxing card from Indio, California.

On Saturday, March 8, the Fox Theater in Pomona, California hosts a boxing card featuring super middleweights Ruben Cazales (10-0) vs Adam Diu Abdulhamid (18-16). Also, super featherweights Michael Bracamontes (10-2-1) meets Eugene Lagos (16-9-3) at the historic venue promoted by House of Pain Boxing.

On Saturday March 8, Elite Boxing hosts a boxing card at Salesian High in East Los Angeles featuring East L.A. native Merari Vivar (8-0) against Sarah Click (2-8-1) and several other fights.

On Saturday, March 8, an event hosted by House of Champions features top contenders Joet Gonzalez (26-4) vs Arnold Khegai (22-1-1) in a featherweight main event at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif.

A Big All-Female Card in London

On Friday, March 7, the historic Royal Albert Hall in the Kensington borough of London will host an all-female card with two world title fights including a unification fight in the welterweight division.

Natasha Jonas (16-2-1) and Lauren Price (8-0) meet 10 rounds for the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.

Jonas, 40, the current WBC and IBF titlist, recently defeated Ivana Habazin and before that edged past Mikaela Mayer in a win that could have gone the other way very easily. She will be facing Price, an Olympic gold medalist and current WBA and IBO titlist.

Price, 30, hails from Wales and has an aggressive pressure style that saw her win a battle between punchers with a third-round knockout of Colombia’s Bexcy Mateus this past December in Liverpool. Before that she defeated the always tough Jessica McCaskill.

In the co-main event, lightweights Caroline Dubois (10-0-1) and Bo Mi Re Shin (18-2-3) meet for the WBC world title.

Me Re Shin, 30, fights out of South Korea and has knockout power. She was one of only two fighters to stop Venezuela’s Ana Maria Lozano who has 38 pro fights. That says something. She lost a split decision to Delfine Persoon in Belgium. That really says something.

Dubois had two competitive fights, first, against Jessica Camara that ended in a technical draw due to a clash of heads. Before that she defeated Maira Moneo. Dubois has very good talent and is still young at 24. Is she ready for Mi Re Shin?

Times Square photo credit: JP Yim

Fights to watch:

Thurs., March 6: DAZN, Manny Flores (19-1) vs. Jorge Leyva (18-3)

Fri., March 7: free on DAZN, Lucas Bahdi (18-0) vs. Ryan James Racaza (15-0)

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