As Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao inch closer to their May 2 super fight, casual fans will be catching up on the strengths and weaknesses of these two living legends. One way to help size up a matchup would be to compare how they've both fared against common opponents.
Mayweather and Pacquiao each share quite a few notable shared foes. Here they will be listed, with a comparison of how the fights went.
Oscar De La Hoya
Mayweather def. De La Hoya by split decision (2007)
Pacquiao def. De La Hoya by RTD in Round 8 (2008)
Mayweather's victory over De La Hoya launched him into boxing superstardom. The fight itself was classic Mayweather. His fans viewed it as a master class of a superior fighter taking apart an overrated fan favorite, while De La Hoya backers saw their guy pushing the action and making the fight.
De La Hoya did have success against Mayweather when he utilized his famed jab, but he didn't consistently deploy it, and Mayweather capitalized. Meanwhile, Mayweather's counter punching was brilliant and his accuracy won the day.
When Pacquiao took on De La Hoya, he was a revelation. He couldn't miss De La Hoya's face, and his speed was completely overwhelming to the point that De La Hoya flat out stopped throwing punches. De La Hoya was favored to win this bout because of his size advantage, but during the course of the bout he clearly was faded from his prime. Nonetheless, the advantage goes to Pacquiao for this shared opponent.
Juan Manuel Marquez
Mayweather def. Marquez by unanimous decision (2009)
Pacquiao draws Marquez (2004), Pacquiao def. Marquez by split decision (2008), Pacquiao def. Marquez by majority decision (2011), Marquez def. Pacquiao by KO in Round 6 (2013)
So yeah, Pacquiao fought Marquez a lot. This comparison may be the most important of them all when comparing common opponents, because Marquez is the closest Pacquiao has seen to Mayweather's defensive ability and countering skills. And that's not really good, because here are the scorecards from Mayweather's 2009 boxing clinic against "Dinamita."
120-107, 119-108, 118-109.
Mayweather was dogged for fighting the "smaller" Marquez, but it's been proven time and again that talent usually overrides size. Pacquiao himself has proven that multiple times, and Marquez's knockout came at 147 pounds. Marquez was able to time Pacquiao in all of their fights, and a convincing argument can be made that he should have won all four bouts.
This is a clear victory for Mayweather, and a frightening prospect for the Filipino.
Miguel Cotto
Mayweather def. Cotto by unanimous decision (2012)
Pacquiao def. Cotto by TKO in Round 12 (2009)
When Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto, the Puerto Rican was on a two-fight winning streak but still hadn't proven he was all the way back from a savage pounding at the hands of Antonio Margarito, who is widely suspected of having fought him with plaster-loaded gloves. Cotto's skills were intact as he had success in many spots vs. Pacquiao, but overall he was demolished. Of all Pacquiao's phenomenal wins, the victory vs. Cotto stood out because of Cotto's warrior stature and power.
When Mayweather got to him, Cotto was still a respected veteran but he was coming off a disheartening loss to Austin Trout and looked close to the end. He battled well against Mayweather, and even bloodied his nose, but Mayweather handled him clearly and won easily.
The advantage goes to Pacquiao, but both men defeated Cotto soundly.
Shane Mosley
Mayweather def. Mosley by unanimous decision (2010)
Pacquiao def. Mosley by unanimous decision (2011)
"Sugar" Shane Mosley is one of few fighters to ever actually wobble the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mosley clocked him with a hard right hand and boxing fans worldwide had to pick their jaws up off the floor when his knee buckled. After that, Mayweather was able to recover and give Mosley a harsh boxing lesson. Mayweather's accuracy was at the forefront, and at certain points the normally defensive Mayweather pushed forward and backed Mosley up even though he's a natural aggressor.
Pacquiao manhandled Mosley as well, but in that fight he seemed closer to the end of his rope. His energy level wasn't anywhere near his prime, and he seemed to mail in his Pacquiao fight. Despite that, Pacquiao wasn't able to put him down.
Edge Mayweather.
Ricky Hatton
Mayweather def. Hatton by TKO in Round 10 (2007)
Pacquiao def. Hatton by KO in Round 2 (2009)
While Mayweather shredded Ricky Hatton, who at the time was 43-0-0, and earned his last knockout victory (unless the Victor Ortiz debacle counts in your view), Pacquiao's knockout of Hatton is one of the most iconic Kos in boxing history.
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao were far out of Hatton's class despite his glossy record, but Pacquiao gets the edge here.
So with five common opponents to consider, Pacquiao earned a slight 3-2 edge. However, the most important comparison, with Marquez, clearly favored Mayweather. This is why May 2 will be a fantastic night, even if the bout is five years late.
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