PEÑALOSA: "SPENCE IS TAILOR MADE FOR PACQUIAO"
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 27 Mar 2019
CEBU ? Former two-time world champion Gerry Pe?alosa said that top welterweight Errol Spence Jnr's fighting style is tailor made for Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and should the two clash in the ring in what would be a blockbuster event, his bet will be on his bosom friend.
?He [Spence] is pretty basic in his fighting style. Good fundamentals but predictable,? Pe?alosa who was a classic boxer-puncher and one of the finest pugilists produced in the modern era of Philippine boxing, said.
?During Manny's peak, Spence would not be able to touch him. But now, even at 40 years old, Manny's speed and power would still be enough to frustrate Spence,? Pe?alosa, who is in Cebu to jumpstart his grassroot project to find the next Filipino boxing star, added.
Pe?alosa however said that if Pacquiao-Spence cannot be made next, the Filipino eight-division world champion will most likely face WBA super welterweight champion Keith Thurman. ?That will be a 60-40 fight in favor of Manny,? Pe?alosa said who added that Thurman has a propensity to run which could make the fight a little boring.
Former two time world champion Gerry Pe?alosa (C) poses with aspiring boxers at the Abellana Sports Complex as he launched his search for the next Filipino boxing star in Cebu Tuesday.
Answering to Pacquiao's critics who said that the Filipino future hall-of-famer has no business to be in the same ring with Spence, Pe?alosa said that Pacquiao had not really lost a fight where he was dominated or clearly lost. ?Even that knockout loss to [Juan Manuel] Marquez, Manny was dominating the Mexican who already sustained a broken nose before a Marquez right took him out. Until Manny has been dominated in a fight, no one has the right to say that Manny can no longer compete.?
Prior to the Marquez loss, Pacquiao suffered a highly controversial split decision loss to Timothy Bradley who sadly faced the media after the fight on a wheelchair. In the biggest money fight in the history of boxing, Pacquiao lost to Mayweather. Although Floyd outpointed Manny to earn the decision, it was far from a dominating win wherein Pacquiao was punished, in danger of going down or getting stopped as it was Floyd who ran all night to avoid Manny's attack, injured or not. Pacquiao's last loss was again a controversial one in a foul-infested wrestling match against the heftier and dirty of a fighter Jeff Horn.
Pe?alosa however cautioned that it is how much time Pacquiao, who is also a senator in the Philippines, will give into his preparation that will decide the outcome of Pacquiao's next fight, whether it is against Spence, Thurman or anyone else. ?You know Manny is a very busy person, he's got a lot of other activities. So the question is how he is going to take care of himself and how much time he can devote to his training. If he trains like he did against [Lucas] Matthysse, I'm confident he will win,? Pe?alosa said.
Many Filipino boxing observers opined that Pacquiao's bad performance against Horn was due to his cutting corners during training which showed later in the fight wherein he ran out of gas and failed to stop Horn who was on the brink of getting knocked out in the 9th round.
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