Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2015: Dissecting Boxing Styles of Money and Pac-Man

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will put it all on the line when they step in the ring Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for what is being called "the fight of the century."  

That promotion is probably accurate, but it really doesn't mean all that much since the century is only 15-plus years old.

The fight of the last century was the first encounter between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and at least that took place on March 8, 1971, when the 20th century was more than 70 percent over.

This fight is about hype and money, but it's also about a lot more. Some see it as a fight pitting good vs. evil, as American vs. Filipino and as right-handed fighter vs. lefty.

One thing that is clear is that these two men are superior boxers with distinctly different styles. Mayweather, 38, may not be at his physical peak, but he is in brilliant shape and has put in more time training for this fight than has been his custom.

John Locher/Associated Press

Pacquiao, 36, also has been training longer and more diligently than is his norm. Both men want this fight badly, and it could result in a brilliant exhibition of boxing that lives up to the hype.

The style of the two fighters could give paying customers everything they want to see in a boxing match, but only if Pacquiao finds a way to penetrate Mayweather's defense early in the fight. If that happens, he will force Mayweather to use his full arsenal of weapons to earn the victory.

But Mayweather is a remarkable defensive fighter, and many have tried to get through that defense. Most have fallen woefully short.

Shane Mosley was successful early in their 2010 fight, and he hit Mayweather hard with a couple of huge right hands. But Money eventually figured out Mosley well before that fight reached the halfway point and dominated the rest of the way.

Mayweather has been a superior athlete whenever he has stepped in the ring, and while he may no longer be at the peak of his powers, he will still depend on those gifts to get the better of Pacquiao.

Mayweather moves with speed and quickness around the ring, and he has excellent boxing instincts. So, instead of being a target that is easy to hit, he forces his opponent to figure out his movement and then unleash punches with near-perfect timing.

Mayweather is still very quick inside the ring, but he is not quite as speedy as he was three or four years ago. His footwork in his recent fights has not been as impressive in some of his recent fights. He will still dart in and out, but he has also been very effective at holding and clinching to blunt an opponent's momentum.

Mayweather's defense also includes his shoulder-roll technique. When he employs this style, it is very hard to hit him with an effective shot. He will hold his left hand a little lower as he faces his opponent, and he tucks the left side of his chin next to the inside portion of his left shoulder. He tends to roll away from right-hand punches with this style, and it has been quite beneficial.

Offensively, Mayweather tends to be a bit underrated because his defensive abilities are so great; however, he has remarkable hand speed and a very solid right-hand punch that can cause a lot of damage. When he is moving well in a fight, he will go in and out and deliver combinations when he gets close to his opponent, and then, he moves out of trouble.

Pacquiao also has eye-catching quickness, but he is more dependent on courage and punching power than Money.

Pacquiao is a straight-ahead fighter who likes to get after his man and stalk him so he can find the range to deliver hard shots that knock his opponents down or hurt them.

If he has to take one or two punches in order to deliver a combination of his own, he has always been willing to do that. That philosophy is unlikely to change in this fight, because fighters become set in their ways the longer they have been in the ring. 

There may be some slight strategic alteration from fight to fight, but a fighter has to be true to himself. Pacquiao takes on the warrior's personality in the ring, and he wants to dictate the pace of any fight with his right jab, right hook and left-handed power punches.

While many fighters have employed this philosophy, he is more dangerous than most because he throws so many of his punches from unpredictable angles.

John Locher/Associated Press

Pacquiao may find himself vulnerable to Mayweather's cracking right hand. Money delivers that punch with alarming quickness, and while he may not have the power of some of the sport's hardest hitters, he hits hard enough and can deliver the punch with great frequency.

In the past, Pacquiao has been vulnerable to that right-hand punch. He saw it coming in his December 2012 meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez, and that punch knocked him down in the third round of that fight.

Pacquiao will try to dictate the pace of this fight with his aggression, punching power and boxing skills. Mayweather will counter with his movement, defensive talent and unparalleled boxing instincts.

It's a fascinating matchup between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters of this generation, and the superior strategist should have the best chance of winning.