#ring iq

Mirror, mirror, on the wall

Come May 2, who’s gonna fall?

My magic mirror, Moira, fidgets. ‘Been programmed to figure out who’s the fairest, not who’s the better banger, boss!’ (courtesy of cartoonstock.com)

My magic mirror, Moira, she with the gift of grave discernment. She hemmed and she hawed, she fiddled and diddled. Then, like the ominous Nostradamus of old, she quatrained her vision with her spittles and riddles.

I see two noble warriors of a different breed. In a huge Roman arena, so festive, so cruel. One is an archer, raining deadly fire from afar. The other is a swordsman; he will close in, to bludgeon and jar.

The sharp-shooting archer, he will ‘hit-and-hide’. With moves like a panther, he shall ‘strike-and-slide’. But the brave little swordsman, with his trusty shield at hand; he will ‘hide-then-hit’, he will ‘block-and-rock’.

Whosoever exacts his trade on the other, with speed and guile and stamina put together, in this dance of death, he shall be rewarded; honor and glory shall be his forever.

Thus spake the mirror, Moira. As you can see, Moira can also be deft and diplomatic at times.

Indeed, in this epic duel featuring the best of the boxing’s best, we see a study of contrasts. On one hand, we see Floyd with an impeccable defense that has never been solved before. Manny has never encountered a defensive boxer as immaculate as Floyd.

Floyd, the defense specialist. (courtesy of morgancampbell.com)

On the other, we see Manny, whose unmatched offense is like a stacatto burst in a carpet-bombing mission. Floyd has never seen an offensive machine as destructive as Manny.

Manny, the offensive machine. (courtesy of scmp.com)

Floyd is righty. His ring IQ is flawless. He always outwits his foes. He is a cautious and cunning counterpuncher, masterful in setting up traps in the ring.

Manny is a lefty. His work-rate doesn’t allow his foes much time to think. He is fast and furious, comes in from the weirdest of angles, and is known to take risks just to get his shots in.

Floyd is the finesse boxer. Like a deadly sniper, he will use his longer reach to give him more space and time to protect himself from Manny’s marauding fists.

Floyd, the master sniper. (courtesy of dirtiestpicks.com)

Manny is the fearsome slugger. He’s like a ranger, crawling stealthily to close in on the enemy; to destroy, to obliterate, to administer to him the  fatal blow.

Manny, the stealthy ranger. (courtesy of hbo.com)

Floyd has the great boxing pedigree, having come from a family of vaunted pugilists who gifted him early with his ring smarts.

Floyd, with the boxing pedigree. (courtesy of craveonline.com)

Manny comes from the school of hard knocks, learning the ropes from sandlots and streetfights.

Manny, from the ghettoes. (courtesy ofimgarcade.com)

Outside the ring, the schism further widens. Floyd is flamboyant, and loves to flaunt his material wealth.

Manny has only recently become a spiritual person, preaching Godliness and love for his fellowmen.

Floyd has been known to do battle early, trash-talking and employing psywar tactics to unnerve his opponents. Manny has never been known to disrespect his opponent, content to let his fists do the talking. Surprisingly though, today’s version of Floyd has been relatively silent, while it has been coach Freddie Roach who has been doing most of the trash-talking.

Recently, Floyd acquired the services of Alex Ariza to be his strength and conditioning coach. Years ago, Manny had expelled the same Ariza from his camp. Was Ariza truly hired to condition Floyd? Or was it plain and simple gamesmanship? There are speculations he was hired because Floyd wanted some info on Manny’s training preparations. And that Floyd’s camp wanted to ensure he didn’t give Manny any magic potion of sorts.

Alex Ariza, switching sides. (courtesy of philboxing.com)

The recent developments in the Mayweather camp however convince me that Floyd is ready for the taking. Consider: Floyd stated recently that he no longer enjoys boxing and is looking forward to retiring.  Manny, on the other hand, has shown nothing but confidence and eagerness to ‘bring it on’ this May. Consider: the distraction caused by Alex Ariza recently exposed by Floyd Sr. Consider: the uncharacteristic lack of trash-talk from Floyd, a clear deviation from the persona of brash confidence he used to exude. Consider: Floyd has added more training in power punches.With the passage of time, and lesser foot movement, Floyd now must rely on more artillery to counter Manny’s superior firepower.

That said, it’s time for me to make my choice now. And Boxing being a game of hits and not of misses, I say that Manny’s going to come home victorious in this fight. And not by a mere decision, but by a big knockout. In the middle rounds. And I’m betting everything including the kitchen sink here. Let’s get it on!!!

(Photos courtesy of nypost.com, betboxing.org, hbo.com, dailymail.co.uk, latinpost.com, theguardian.com, philboxing)

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Floyd, the untouchable.

Manny, the machine gun.

Floyd, the sniper.

Manny, the ranger.

Floyd counters.

Manny murders.

Floyd: The Best Ever.

Manny: I am nothing without you, Lord.

Money, the only thing.

Manny, the philatrophist.

Who gets to laugh last?

Whose will shall prevail?

Andre Ward Teaches Technical Boxing And Ring Strategy

Olympic Gold Medallist of 2004 and Unified Super-Middleweight Champion Andre Ward has boxing basics down to a tee. He relies on his boxing IQ and exceptional defense to win his fights, rather than punching power or pure athletic ability.

His style may not translate well with crowds who just want to see a real tear up, but one cannot deny that his skill level his superior to most. In this segment…