Manny Pacquiao has changed a lot since he first burst into casual fan consciousness with his 11th-round stoppage of Marco Antonio Barrera back in 2003.
The Filipino icon is no longer an impetuous one-dimensional banger who loads up with his straight left. He’s a complete boxer now, a savvy veteran with defensive moves and patience to compliment his explosive athletic ability.
The change is evident in the manner in which Pacquiao analyzed his next opponent, welterweight contender Joshua Clottey, when a small group of boxing writers asked him about his March 13 fight before a workout Thursday at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif.
“He is strong,” Pacquiao said of Clottey. “He’s bigger and maybe stronger than (Miguel) Cotto. He’s never been knocked out and I think his defense is better than Cotto’s. I have to watch out for his jab and his uppercut.
“My advantage is my speed but I have to use it properly. You can have better speed than your opponent but it won’t be an advantage if you don’t use it wisely.”
Ray Beltran, a longtime sparring partner of Pacquiao’s, knows how much the pound-for-pound king has evolved from first-hand experience.
“I remember when he fought (Marco Antonio) Barrera the first time,” Beltran, who began sparring with Pacquiao when the Filipino was still a featherweight, told RingTV.com. “He was aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. Now, he's become a better boxer, he has better technique. And he thinks better now, he uses his brain."
Manny is still Manny, though. He’s added wrinkles to his game, slowed things down a bit, but to borrow a classic line from Paul Simon’s legendary folk ballad “The Boxer,” the fighter still remains.
Witnesses to Pacquiao’s spirited sparring session on Thursday, which included Academy award-winning actor Robert Duvall, were reminded of this.
Beltran (23-4, 15 KOs), a tough but crafty lightwieght who is coming off a recent seventh-round TKO of Washington-area prospect David Torres, was the first leg of Pacquiao’s three-man nine-round session.
The 28-year-old boxer knows Pacquiao better than the other sparing partners, but despite their familiarity they exchanged heavy-handed combinations after a warm-up first round.
Pacquiao alternately maneuvered around and pressured Beltran in the second round, periodically standing and allowing the sparring partner to tee off on him with head and body shots while he covered up against the ropes.
The sparring session heated up even more in the third round when Mike Dallas Jr. (11-0-1, 2 KOs) replaced Beltran. The junior welterweight prospect from Bakersfield, Calif., had the hand speed and busy offense (which included a few accidental low blows) to force Pacquiao to step up his intensity.
Dallas worked behind a constant jab that kept Pacquiao at bay for much of the third round. The 23-year-old boxer looked to counter Pacquiao whenever the dynamic southpaw tried to jump inside his longer reach. Dallas did well with this strategy, which was aided by his high guard and head movement.
Onlookers were impressed with Dallas‘ speed and focus. The young man did not seem intimidated by Pacquiao, who had to apply more pressure and attack from angles to get to his brash sparring partner.
Pacquiao took to stalking Dallas without utilizing his jab in the fourth round, basically walking the prospect down while blocking in-coming punches with his gloves. Pacquiao sought to punch between his Dallas’ combinations and he slipped his straight left in but Dallas took it well and retaliated with a right hand to the body. Pacquiao abandoned his high guard and the two exchanged punches in the center of the ring on even terms until the bell.
Dallas worked his jab overtime in the fifth round, doubling it and sometimes tripling it up. The tactic worked well with Pacquiao and even backed the superstar up occasionally. When Pacquiao went on the offensive, Dallas’ quick reflexes, head movement and footwork made pound-for-pound king miss more than gym regulars are used to seeing during a sparring session.
However, Pacquiao kept the pressure on Dallas, eventually forcing the kid to let both hands go and the two exchanged some hard leather in quick multi-punch bursts until the end of the round.
The gym action intensified in the sixth round when Abdullai Amidu, a strong and athletic welterweight prospect from Ghana, replaced Dallas.
It was during these final rounds of sparring with the power-punching African that onlookers were reminded of Pacquiao’s warrior temperament.
Amidu confidently stepped toward Pacquiao with a hard jab and a competitive glare at the start of the round. Pacquiao slipped and ducked under most of Amidu’s heavy left jabs and it was clear that he could avoid most of undefeated (18-0, 17 KOs) banger’s punches with his upper-body movement. But the impish welterweight titleholder couldn’t help but stand and block a few shots with his gloves.
Amidu exhibited some decent head and upper-body movement of his own in the seventh round, which spared him from Pacquiao’s sharp jab, but he had trouble dealing with the Filipino’s lateral movement.
Pacquiao effectively neutralized Amidu’s offense with his footwork and head movement, but he settled down to test the prospect’s power shots in the final minute of the round. It seemed like a dangerous thing to do because Amidu loaded up with every shot, grunting loudly as he leaned into each punch. Pacquiao blocked most of these hard hooks and crosses, but he ate a head-snapping uppercut, one of the key punches he told writers he would have to avoid against Clottey.
With seconds left in the round, Pacquiao shot a nice right to Amidu’s body and then landed a straight left to the face in order to get his respect.
The boxing portion of the sparring session ended with the seventh round. The eighth round was all about getting respect.
Pacquiao completely abandoned his footwork and stood his ground in the center of the ring, where some serious machismo ensued for the duration of the round. Amidu launched into the stationary Pacquiao with damaging-sounding punches.
“Come on, man, let’s go!” Pacquiao yelled at Amidu as the sparring partner dug to the body. “Got to feel that power. Bring it!”
Amidu, who is shy and quiet outside of the ring, banged his gloves together and, well, brought it as Pacquiao requested.
Pacquiao put it right back on him, and so it went. The two stood in front of each other, punching, blocking and absorbing the occasional hard shot that got through their gloves and forearms. Both landed stunning right hands before the bell. They posed in their fighting stances, arms extended and chins defiantly exposed, for the final seconds of the round to let the other know that they could take more.
More is what they gave each other in the ninth and final round of the session. Pacquiao ducked under some of Amidu’s shots and stepped around the Ghanaian where he could have attacked from the side but he didn’t let his hands go or continue to evade punches.
He wanted Amidu’s respect on a very basic level. He wanted to show the younger man that he could take his best shot and he wanted to see if Amidu could take his.
Pacquiao will no doubt have the same intensity in his March 13 showdown with Clottey, but if he brings the same mentality -- and why wouldn’t he? -- fans will be treated to a very entertaining fight.
Source: ringtv.com
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