Why small Manny could win big

ALL that Manny Pacquiao would be needing to score a big win are there, conditioning coach Justine Fortune affirmed yesterday (Monday).

He’s not yet at 100 percent, but they are in what could be called the tapering or polishing stage.

Pacquiao, allowed to again jog around the Griffith Park near Hollywood, could explode with his original firepower at any moment, Fortune said.

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Trainer Freddie Roach, for his part, said Pacquiao was something like 80 or 85 percent ready for his superfight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

So where does this put Mayweather in his own preparation 25 days to the May 2 megabout in Las Vegas?

Do take note that Mayweather claimed he was ahead [in training] and ready to go as early as 10 days back.

Mayweather, by the way, had also been claiming he no longer had to work hard to gain more power, but would rather train to be sharper, smarter, exciting.

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The thing to ask: Would Mayweather, with superior skills, better craft and competence, not to mention phenomenal elusiveness, also be ready to score a big knockout like Pacquiao?

This had to be asked after what this reporter discovered during the Lenten break when Solar Sports took time out to replay a vital Mayweather bout, his title challenge to world welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir of Brazil.

We repeat here an observation printed in our last column: Mayweather was too superior, he also turned the bout into a total bore. However, Mayweather did not at any moment put Baldomir in trouble, although there were nicks and bruises on the lightless face of the Brazilian. Baldomir was wholly humbled, if not battered, even before the fight could enter the final stage.

In that fight, an exasperated Larry Merchant later scolded and asked Mayweather if he did not mind seeing fans heading for the exits as early as the end of the ninth round.

Did Mr. Merchant also want to know if Mayweather could not turn on the beat, or throw bigger punches?

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Anyway, this reporter had seen something that should prove vital in Pacquiao’s all-out bid to unseat the unbeaten world welterweight king.

Here: Mayweather’s punches, rather small, were definitely not as awesome as his reputation.

This is not to say Mayweather is nothing better than a penny-puncher. But taller as he is than Pacquiao, Mayweather definitely cannot fight and punch as big as Pacquiao always does.

Yes, he may have the heart, but Mayweather definitely does not possess the bones and muscle mass, not to mention the power, required in an unforgiving slugout or a firefight.

What remains to be seen, though, is if Pacquiao would dare wade through the fabled Mayweather shield, shun the patented grab and grapple, shrug off nifty shots, in order to unload his bombs.

Would Mayweather’s small shots be enough to stall Pacquiao in his fiery track?

The fearsome possibility of being overwhelmed and overpowered in a yours-or-mine firefight has obviously been haunting Mr. Mayweather since Day One.