HE HAS seen both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. batter his fighters from close range.
He’d studied their contrasting ring styles.
Trainer Robert Garcia knows the pound for pound rivals enough to predict who’ll emerge winner in their megabuck bout on May 2 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Though he didn’t make a pick, Garcia, the 2012 Trainer of the Year, told Thaboxingvoice.com that Pacquiao is a much harder fighter to prepare for.
“It’s his style, the way he fights, he throws a lot of punches, he moves from side to side, he jumps from one side to the other, throws punches from all angles,” said Garcia.
He should know as he worked the corner of both Antonio Margarito in 2010 and Brandon Rios in 2013 when they were battered by Pacquiao in 12 rounds.
In contrast, Garcia cited Mayweather’s last two fights with his ward, Marcos Maidana, as proof that Mayweather isn’t too tough a riddle to solve.
“Inside the ring, Mayweather has been very difficult, the way he fights, very defensive but Maidana being a one-dimensional fighter … gave Mayweather a really good fight,” said Garcia, who also trains younger brother Miguel Angel, the unbeaten World Boxing Organization featherweight champion, and once trained Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire and Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria.
While Pacquiao’s activity offers complications, Garcia said fighting Mayweather is “very basic” and “very defensive.”