Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather haven’t actually fought one another, and aren’t scheduled to do so, which means that fight fans are left with conjecture, analysis and comparison. Now that Pacquiao has vanquished Shane Mosley via wide Unanimous Decision, following Mayweather’s previous wide UD win over Mosley last year, there is another direct comparison to be made between the two fighters.
Who was more dominant against Mosley- Pacquiao or Mayweather? Moreover, what does that tell us, if anything, about the two pound for pound best boxers on the planet?
Pacquiao and Mayweather are worlds apart in terms of how they approach a fight and go about their business. It’s therefore not always fair or easy to compare the exact outcomes of fights that they have against equal or similar opposition.
By the nature of the way each fights, it’s more likely that Pacquiao will supply added thrill along the way, do more damage and score more resounding stoppage wins. Mayweather is a defensive fighter that relies on pure boxing to win the day, and that might not get the masses lathered up, but it does produce an equal level of control and preeminence.
Luckily for purposes of direct comparison, they shared an equal opponent in Mosley at a similar time, and the outcome was the same in each instance, a near shutout decision win, creating a perfect opportunity to examine how they performed.
Pacquiao was all aggression, work rate and power, and accordingly busted up Mosley a little bit more, and even knocked him down. Mayweather, as the sport’s premiere defensive wizard and technician, worked behind his jab and counter punched.
Mayweather got caught and rocked early, but interestingly, each man all but ended Mosley’s chances of success in the third round. Mayweather came back from being hurt in the previous round, walked Shane down and took command, while Pacquiao began to find his rhythm and quickness and scored his knockdown.
Each man rendered Mosley equally ineffective and left the reading of the judges’ decision as an exercise in inevitability. In fact, by my scoring both Pacquiao and Mayweather lost just one round out of 12 to Mosley (view the Pacquiao-Mosley round by round and Mayweather-Mosley round by round).
Comparing Pacquiao’s & Mayweather’s Performance by the Official Compubox Numbers
The official Compubox numbers for both fights allow for further comparisons about the performance of each man against Sugar Shane. The conclusions drawn reinforce the differences between Pacquiao and Mayweather as fighters, while highlighting the similarities in their dominance over Mosley.
Pacquiao vs. Mosley (Official Stats Report)
| Mayweather vs. Mosley (Official Stats Report)
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Pacquiao threw 250 more punches than Mayweather did – about 21 more per round – and he landed his punches with 31 percent accuracy.
Though less active, Mayweather was more precise, landing 44 percent of the time. While the bulk of Pacquiao’s success came via power punching, Mayweather deployed his jab with better results.
Interestingly, activity and accuracy compensated for one another, with Pacquiao landing 224 punches and Mayweather landing a very similar 208 punches.
Mosley actually landed with the same imprecision against both men, 20 percent. However, he was far more active against Mayweather, throwing 452 punches compared to the 330 punches he threw against Pacquiao, which equals about 10 more punches thrown per round.
Mayweather’s own casual pace allowed Mosley to open up more, and in turn offered Mayweather opportunities to counter punch. Pacquiao of course likes to dictate the action, and he gave Mosley fewer chances to let his hands go as a result.
So Who Was More Dominant?
Watching both fights and contrasting the numbers and statistics shows a tale of two very different fighters who produced very similar results. Both Pacquiao and Maywether dominated Mosley, yet each accomplished the task with his own style and unique approach.
As Frank Sinatra sang, “the record shows I took the blows and did it my way.” Pacquiao and Mayweather each did it his own way against Mosley, and the comparison between the two merely shows how incomparable they are to everyone else.
