Manny Pacquiao's Style Could Cause Big Problems for Floyd Mayweather

It is up to Manny Pacquiao to stand up for the sport of boxing if his big fight against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to be a success.

Money-Man may be commanding the promotion and he has dictated the terms in this fight, but if he has his way, the majority of fight fans are going to be disappointed with this fight.

Perhaps not disappointed in the outcome, but the likelihood that Mayweather wins a slugfest, brawl or any kind of exciting fight is somewhat remote.

Mayweather is interested in winning the fight, and he doesn't care if it's a defensive fight with a lot of clutching, grabbing and holding. He just wants his 47-0 record to turn into 48-0 by the time Saturday night's fight at the MGM Grand is over.

Boxing trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas believes that it's up to Pacquiao to make the fight an exciting one that lives up to the billing. He told Sports X Radio that Pacquiao brings "aggression" to the ring, and it's that aggressiveness that will give the fight its excitement and make it memorable.

John Locher/Associated Press

It is just that style that could present problems for Mayweather that he is not used to dealing with in the ring. All of his recent opponents have been slowed to a degree by cautiousness or because of Mayweather's superior defensive skills.

Marcos Maidana fought Mayweather twice last year. Mayweather won a majority decision when they met in May, as judge Michael Pernick called the fight even, and Mayweather was able to frustrate Maidana to a degree with his defensive skills and his tendency to grab and hold his opponent.

Maidana had a difficult time breaking free from Mayweather's grip and unleashing his powerful shots. Maidana was a bit more successful at escaping Mayweather's grasp in the second meeting in September, but he had a difficult time stringing combinations together.

The two fights were frustrating for Maidana, because he is a skilled boxer with a powerful punch. However, he never got to dictate the pace in the fight because of Mayweather's talent as a defensive fighter and a brilliant counterpuncher.

In the two fights prior to meeting Maidana, Mayweather's defensive skills, ring generalship and superb hand speed allowed him to get the best of "Canelo" Alvarez and Robert Guerrero. Mayweather did enough in both fights to remain ahead on the scorecards, and frustrate both opponents.

The Maidana, Alvarez and Guerrero fights all had plenty of anticipation, but none of them had overwhelming excitement.That's just the way the 38-year-old Mayweather likes it at this point in his career.

Pacquiao knows what Mayweather is all about at this point in his preparations. Trainer Freddie Roach has described Mayweather as a "boring" fighter at this point in his career, and even if Roach hadn't used that word, it's fairly obvious from looking at Mayweather on film that he is not usually interested in engaging his opponent.

Pacquiao is the opposite kind of fighter. He has been aggressive and exciting since he turned pro in 1995. Pacquiao does not play it safe and that's one of the primary reasons he does not have an undefeated record like Mayweather. Pacquiao brings a 57-5-2 record into the ring and his most famous recent fight saw him end up on the wrong end of a knockout against long-time rival Juan Manuel Marquez.

The two fighters met four times, and Pacquiao owns a 2-1-1 record over the Mexican fighter. The last of their fights ended up with Marquez knocking Pacquiao out with a brilliant left hand that Pac-Man never saw coming.

He never saw it because he was aggressively going after Marquez. After getting knocked down in the third round, Pacquiao came back to register a knockdown of his own in the fifth round. He had put together another impressive round in the sixth, and he charged in for one more offensive foray in the round's final seconds and mistakenly discounted Marquez's strength, power and resolve at that point. That's when Marquez delivered his stunning blow.

Since that fight, Pacquiao has registered three convincing decisions over Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri. Pacquiao has used his aggressiveness and his swarming style to dictate the pace in each of those fights.

That's how Pacquiao fights every time out. He is not the defensive master that Mayweather is and he will get hit and sometimes with hard punches. But, he's not going to back down.

That has not been his game plan at any point in his career. He wants to overwhelm his opponent and throw punches in bunches.

Mayweather has fought aggressive opponents, but he has not fought anyone with the relentlessness of Pacquiao. 

Mayweather is going to get tested by a fighter who is going to push the pace throughout and can throw his shots from an array of angles. Mayweather is so strong defensively, that he may be able to defeat that kind of swarming attack.

However, he's never been in the ring with this kind of fearless opponent, and a fighter who is not going to be intimidated could cause significant issues for an individual who is interested in protecting his pristine legacy.