Lewis also rules out a possible return to the ring for himself…
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has given his opinion on Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao, and gives the edge to the unbeaten American.
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Boxing’s biggest fight will take place on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and given the pedigree of the two fighters on show, opinion is split on who will come out victorious.
Mayweather is arguably given the edge overall considering his 47-0 record, but Pacquiao’s power and speed will undoubtedly cause him problems along with his ability to throw combinations from various angles.
However, Lewis believes that Mayweather has mastered the art of dodging and ducking his opponent’s shots and also counter-attacking and so he is slightly leaning towards a win for the 38-year-old.
“Floyd is the best at side-stepping and movement and he’s very quick and hard to hit. Pacquiao is a great guy when it comes to offense and trying to break a person down – he’s trying to knock you out, so it’s a great match-up between styles,” he told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek.
“I think Floyd has so much talent and quickness, that natural ability to win. It really depends on his heart. Pacquiao has a lot of heart. It’s difficult but I think Mayweather has all the advantages, that natural ability and rhythm. Pacquiao, you never really know how he’s going to come out because he’s boxed differently on different occasions with different opponents.”
Pacquiao returned to form with a comprehensive win over Chris Algieri in his last outing as he displayed his quickness and power by flooring his opponent six times in total.
However, his power isn’t the same as it was a few years ago and so many question his ability to stop Mayweather as he will also leave himself open if he looks to continuously stalk his rival around the ring.
In the other corner, Mayweather was much improved against Marcos Maidana in their rematch last year and he will continue to rely on his reactions to counter-punch Pacquiao out of the fight.
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