By Vitali Shaposhnikov: When looking at most athletes in terms of performance over time, it is safe to say that if graphed, the line representing the argument is a regular bell curve. Athletes usually start off being inexperienced and raw, having suboptimal attributes and knowledge.
With time and proper help, they improve to the point where they are at the very peak of their possible physiologic performance. From there on, with the help of time, biology and physiology do what they do best: age and diminish. Of course at some point in time, the athlete ends up back where they started as far as the physical attributes go: the skill and the knowledge are still present, but they are no longer able to display it due to the limitation set by nature.
Injuries, psychological confines, and inability to keep up, are some of the main symptoms an athlete can observe when this process starts to progress. A few ways to slow this progression down have been presented to people in the past couple decades. One way is a proper diet: eating right has been proven to protect certain parts of the body, and provide the sufficient energy for a most advantageous performance. Another way, the most popular and accepted one, is to stay active throughout life/career.
World sensation Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2) has stayed consistently active in the sport of boxing since the day one. Fighting at least twice a year as a professional, he seems to be in top shape every time his picture or video hits the eye. Even while in-between fights, Pacquiao manages to exercise and keep his body and metabolism going strong. Despite going up in weight multiple times, Pacquiao never slowed down and adjusted his workout to his weight: his confidence and effort levels are unsurpassed. In May of this year, he will be facing yet another bigger and stronger ring legend Shane Mosley (46-6-1), just seven months after winning a dangerous fight against Antonio Margarito (38-6-0).
As the world impatiently awaits the much sought after mega fight between Manny Pacquio and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0-0), a barrage of questions and speculations show up on a daily basis. One of the main questions that boxing fans are wondering about is whether Mayweather’s inactivity over time will have diminished his attributes too much by the time he faces Pacquiao.
Before answering the question with a one line response, let’s look at Mayweather’s past and present boxing activity. From 2006 to 2007, he fought a total of four times. In 2009 he fought only once, beating smaller and lighter Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1). And in 2010, Mayweather stepped inside the ring only once as well, against Shane Mosley, beating Mosley via a 12 round UD. So that’s six fights in four years, compared to Pacquiao’s twelve fights during same time period.
They shared three opponents during that time window: Ricky Hatton (45-2-0), Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1), and Oscar De La Hoya (39-6-0). Both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. were victorious against the mentioned boxers, but comparing and contrasting who did better, is a waste of time. Every night is diverse, thus every opponent can feel and fight in a different fashion at any given time.
A lot of people would say that Mayweather Jr. is a natural, with a god given talent in boxing and physical attributes. I would undoubtedly agree. When those who dislike Mayweather Jr. talk bad of Roger Mayweather as a coach, ultimately they are giving Mayweather Jr. more praise for his natural abilities. Mayweather Jr. just like Pacquiao is always in shape, always in training, and never unprepared. We have all heard that Jr. hits the gym almost every night, fight or no fight.
If both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. are taken away from home and thrown inside a ring at a random time, I feel Pacquiao would not be as ready for a full fledged fight compared to Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao needs Freddie Roach to come up with a strategy and pick his next most fitting opposition, while Mayweather Jr. stays on top, bringing in Roger for the run of the mill mitt-work.
If we take a look at genetics, Mayweather should be just fine. Mayweather Sr. as well as Roger, are both in superb shape for their age, and undeniably passed some of that along to little Floyd.
I don’t feel that Pacquiao fighting more often makes him more ready than a much less ring active Mayweather Jr. Staying in shape is a simple concept for athletes that have been born into sports and fitness. Both men are physically active, and both have teams that know what they are doing.
Over the years, I haven’t seen any decline in Pacquiao or Mayweather Jr., thus am confident that both will be in top shape when facing each other in the ring.
Will Mayweather’s Skills Have Declined Too Much by the Time He Faces Pacquiao? I wouldn’t bet on it.
This is only my own opinion, and does not represent what other people may think. As a matter of fact, Freddie Roach thinks otherwise (http://www.liverpuncher.com/articles/freddie-roach-says-mayweather-s-skills-are-deteriorating.html)