Pacquiao needs to change his style to beat Mayweather – boxing expert

Boxing champion and Sarangani Rep.Manny Pacquiao trains at the Cotai Arena gym in The Venetian Macao resort and casino with longtime coach Freddie Roach. AP

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran boxing analyst Recah Trinidad said Manny Pacquiao should deviate from his usual “kamikaze” approach when he goes up against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 in Las Vegas.

Trinidad, who is also a sports columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, told Jake Maderazo of Radyo Inquirer that Pacquiao has to be smart and careful to have a chance of beating the unblemished Mayweather.

“Para iwasan niyang matalo, alisin niya yung kamikaze style niya yung damba ng damba (To avoid losing, he has to get rid of his kamikaze style),” Trinidad said during the 10-minute phone interview. “He should learn how to box better rather than throw.”

According to Trinidad, Pacquiao has a bad habit of letting his guard down when he lunges, as evident in his fourth encounter with Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez where he went straight into Marquez’s right hand that knocked him out cold.

“Ang kahirapan naman kay Pacquiao, pag-nag-kamikaze bababa naman yung depensa niya kagaya nung nangyari kay Marquez. Kaya kailangan gumawa na ng bagong style si Pacquiao (The problem with Pacquiao is when he goes into his kamikaze style he drops his defense just like what happened with Marquez that’s why Pacquiao needs to come up with a different style).” he said.

Trinidad said the pound-for-pound king Mayweather is the favorite and gave Pacquiao a “35” percent chance at winning, saying that Mayweather’s defense is tough to crack.

“Ako 65-35 dyan. 35 kay Pacquiao,” he said.

“Ang mahirap kay Mayweather talagang napakagaling sa depensa. Napakagaling sobra (The toughest part in fighting against Mayweather is he has a really good defense),” Trinidad marveled.

Apart from changing his style, Trinidad also said Pacquiao has to move his head and feet more and not be an easy target for Mayweather, like what he did in his 12-round obliteration of Brandon Rios two years ago.

“Napakita naman niya. Gumagalaw siya doon kay Brandon Rios at nakakakilos naman siya (He was able to show that against Brandos Rios. He was able to move a lot).”

Pacquiao however, was “limited” in his movement against Chris Algieri, and the lack of adjustments allowed Algieri to escape a knockout loss.

“Si Mayweather nag-aadjust yan sa isang round hanggang tatlong beses. Between the round nag-a-adjust yan. (Mayweather makes adjustments during rounds). Samantalang si Pacquiao kay Algieri buong laban doon siya sa bandang kaliwa ni Algieri pumupunta kaya nakakawala yung tao. (Unlike Pacquiao during his fight against Algieri until the end he just went at Algieri’s left side that’s why he was able to escape).”

But Trinidad did say he sees no problems with the WBO welterweight champion making the necessary adjustments since Pacquiao is a smart learner.