Ex-WBC exec says it?ll go 12 rounds
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 29 Apr 2015
TV Azteca boxing commentator Eduardo Lamazon, who served as WBC secretary-general for over 20 years, said the other day the WBC/WBA/WBO welterweight unification fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will go the distance with the decision likely to favor the man who calls himself The Best Ever.
Lamazon, 59, said ?it?s a crime? that the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn?t assign neutral officials for the fight. Referee Kenny Bayless and judges Dave Moretti, Burt Clements and Glenn Feldman are American like Mayweather. Bayless, Moretti and Clements are from Nevada while Feldman is from Connecticut.
?I do not believe in predictions but two comments: First, the fight will go to a decision and in that field, there is a logical result----Mayweather on points,? Lamazon told The Star in an email. ?Even if Manny wins seven rounds, they will not give the decision to him.? Lamazon said he has repeatedly said on TV and in newspapers in Mexico that a fight of this magnitude should use neutral officials.
Lamazon said Pacquiao?s advantage is his footspeed. ?Mayweather has resources, he?s a great defensive boxer and counterpuncher,? he said. ?Manny?s edge is his legs. With leg movement, he can reach Mayweather like nobody in the past. That is his opportunity. To win, Manny must fight and fight from the start. Manny throws an average of 55 punches a round. He must apply constant pressure. I don?t see Manny winning by knockout because he hasn?t done it in his last nine fights.?
For Mayweather to win, Lamazon said he has to bag rounds for the decision. ?He will go round by round to earn points,? said Lamazon, an Argentinian who moved to Mexico when he was 23. ?He?ll do it in his usual style which is very well known.?
Lamazon.
Asked if the fight could turn out to be a yawner as Mayweather isn?t expected to engage, Lamazon said he?s confident it will be exciting. ?It won?t be a bloody fight because we know for sure, Mayweather will do the same thing he does every time,? he said. ?Great events push fighters to do it better.?
Although there is a no-rematch clause in the fight contract, the speculation is it will be inevitable especially if Pacquiao wins by a close decision. Mayweather will want his revenge and besides, a close fight will mean more interest, more money in a return bout. The possibility of a trilogy has also been raised. Lamazon said everything will depend on the outcome of the May 2 showdown. ?Maybe a rematch, maybe a trilogy, I don?t know,? he said. ?The result will determine that. But I think a draw would confirm an immediate rematch.?
Lamazon said Pacquiao?s southpaw stance will be an advantage against Mayweather who appears to be allergic to lefthanders. When Mayweather was an amateur, he lost to a southpaw Carlos Navarro. As a pro, he has figured in 47 fights but only eight were against southpaws four of whom gave him a lot of trouble including Zab Judah. Mayweather was bloodied by Reggie Sanders, Jesus Chavez and DeMarcus Corley and decked by Judah although the knockdown wasn?t called. Sanders, Chavez, Corley and Judah are all lefthanders.
As for Mayweather?s shoulder-roll defense, Lamazon said that?s a problem for Pacquiao. The shoulder-roll defense is tough to break down and Mayweather uses it like a shield to protect his chin. Mayweather is hard to hit and his opponents? landing rate often drops to 20 percent because he is such an elusive target. The only official knockdown he has suffered was when his right glove touched the canvas in a fight against Carlos Hernandez in 2001. Mayweather said he hurt his hand and momentarily, laid it down. He was far from groggy or staggered.
Lamazon was a boxing reporter in Argentina at the age of 16 and began compiling fighters? records way before the data became available on-line. He has now authored three books, one of which is a 400-page collector?s item ?Boxing In Numbers: 150 Years of History.? Lamazon was the late WBC president Jose Sulaiman?s right hand man for over two decades and left the governing body after he was not elected president.
Aside from a passion for boxing, Lamazon is involved in protecting animal rights and campaigning against bullfighting. ?For me, boxing is not a job, it?s a game, real fun,? said Lamazon. ?After years of working at an intense pace for the WBC, I wanted to turn around my life. At first, I accepted to be a writer with the House of Box Azteca but later, it was a total change to do TV analysis. Today, boxing could not exist without TV. Anywhere in the world, boxing has a presence because of TV. Never has TV played a more crucial role in promoting boxing than today.?
Lamazon usually partners with Mexican anchor Carlos Alberto Aguilar and former world champions Julio Cesar Chavez and Marco Antonio Barrera to work fights for TV Azteca. A handsome and charming gentleman, Lamazon has been romantically linked with Mexican journalist Lolita Ayala and actress Leticia Perdigon. He will be at ringside providing TV analysis for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in Las Vegas.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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