WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez believes that the youth of IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr will be the key to his victory over Manny Pacquiao on August 21st.
The 31-year-old unbeaten Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is eleven years younger than the 42-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and is bigger, stronger, and more active with his career.
Although Pacquiao has the speed advantage, both in hands and feet, the youth of Spence will cancel that out.
Experience is a great asset for a fighter up to a point, but when you’re as old as Pacquiao, it works against you.
It means a lot of wear & tear. The Filipino star has been in many wars during his career, particularly in his last fight against Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman in 2019.
That was one of Pacquiao’s most difficult career fights, and he looked beaten up afterward around the face. It’s good that Pacquiao took a lot of time off after that war, but it likely won’t help him against Spence. This guy might be too good for Manny.
“The truth is that Pacquiao is very strong and dedicated, but the youth and willingness Spence Jr. brings, Spence Jr., has to win,” said Julio Cesar Martinez to the DAZN Boxing Show.
Pacquiao has a shot at winning if he can dart around the ring, attack quickly and get away before Spence responds.
Manny will need to duck or pick off Spence’s jabs while he’s coming forward because those shots will prevent him from getting in punching range if they land.
In focusing on next month’s trilogy match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, Martinez doesn’t like the slow speed that ‘The Gypsy King’ has. But on the other hand, Martinez is impressed with Fury’s powerful shots.
“I genuinely believe that Fury is a bit slow on his feet, but he lands very impactful punches,” Martinez said.
Interestingly, Martinez didn’t make a pick for the Fury vs. Wilder III fight, which leaves one to believe that he was riding the fence so that he wouldn’t upset the fans of either fighter or maybe the interviewer.
Obviously, the fighter with the more impactful punches of the two is Deontay. Unfortunately, Fury isn’t in the same galaxy as Wilder, power-wise.
If the fight comes down to speed and power, Fury will be out of luck because he can’t match Deontay (42-1-1, 41 KOs) in either of those departments.
Fury’s best bet to get a victory is to walk Wilder down, get in close and use his size to work him over.
If Fury can bull Wilder to the ropes, lean on him and not let him escape, their third fight will play out similarly to their last one in February 2020.
Julio Cesar Martinez (17-1, 13 KOs) will be making a voluntary defense of his WBC flyweight title this Saturday night against #15 WBC fringe contender Joel Cardova (12-4-2, 3 KOs) live on DAZN at the Arena Alcalde, Guadalajara.