Salvador Sanchez vs. Manny Pacquiao (at 126 lbs.)

[walshb]

I'm a big fa of both and have a sneaky suspicion that Pac is too fast and busy for Sal over 12 rds. Could Sal really up the pace and TKO Pac.

Pac is a lovely mover and boxer who throws so many shots, is as fit as a fiddle and
hits hard. Sal is a consummate pro with great stamina, variety and focus. Is his 'nonchalant' style going to allow Pac to get the win?

I think this would be a fascinating match and will pick Pac by decision

[Julian Jackson]

Are you talking about Salvador Sanchez? Wow, you are really giving Manny a lot of credit. I pick Salvador over Manny any day, and probably by late round stoppage. Manny has improved quite a bit, but by no means is he a completely rounded boxer. And his early K.O. losses at lighter weights cannot be overlooked. After round 1 of his first fight with Juan Manuel Marqez, Manny had all he could handle. And clearly Marquez is no Salvador Sanchez. Skills (coupled with endurance) beat out simple speed and aggression every time.

[walshb]

Are you talking about Salvador Sanchez? Wow, you are really giving Manny a lot of credit. I pick Salvador over Manny any day, and probably by late round stoppage. Manny has improved quite a bit, but by no means is he a completely rounded boxer. And his early K.O. losses at lighter weights cannot be overlooked. After round 1 of his first fight with Juan Manuel Marqez, Manny had all he could handle. And clearly Marquez is no Salvador Sanchez. Skills (coupled with endurance) beat out simple speed and aggression every time.

Yes, Sanchez.

I rate Sanchez very highly; but he was a tad, and I mean a tad, slow. He met and 'bet' the best; but Manny is a ferocious little fighter with greasy speed and endurance. Sal hits hard, but one punch KO power, I would say not. I can see Sal coming on late to earn a TKO, but Pac will be a very hard fight and a win by Pac is quite a possibility.

[starlingstomp]

pac doesn't have the offensive variety or defence.

I doubt he would be able to hurt sal and his why throw one straight left when i can throw ten offensive style might work initially, but it ends up seeing him figured out and countered often.

If he gets backed up it could get nasty.

sanchez by around five points or possibly a stoppage somewhere after the midway point.

[Julian Jackson]

Hey Walsh, I never said beating Manny would be easy. I completely agree that as long as Manny is in the fight he will always be dangerous. But I see Salvador's skills busting Manny up over the long haul much worse than Morales did in their first fight. I feel that Morales has always been vastly overrated, and not in Sal's league. Furthermore, I don't think Manny is as complete of a fighter as Wilfredo Gomez, or hits any harder than Azumah Nelson, and Salvador ended up stopping both of them in the end. But, All that being said, I have to admit, I would gladly shell out my $50 to watch Manny and Sal go at it!

[walshb]

Hey Walsh, I never said beating Manny would be easy. I completely agree that as long as Manny is in the fight he will always be dangerous. But I see Salvador's skills busting Manny up over the long haul much worse than Morales did in their first fight. I feel that Morales has always been vastly overrated, and not in Sal's league. Furthermore, I don't think Manny is as complete of a fighter as Wilfredo Gomez, or hits any harder than Azumah Nelson, and Salvador ended up stopping both of them in the end. But, All that being said, I have to admit, I would gladly shell out my $50 to watch Manny and Sal go at it!

JJ, I am not sold on a Manny win and I think it's a near toss up. A Manny win wouldn't IMO be a shock. I think Manny presents a far more dangerous bout than an up and coming Nelson or even Gomez. Sal's chin is steel, so that was Gomez done for!

Pac has more variety and speed and tenacity than Gomez I feel.

He is a more complete fighter than the young Nelson that Sal beat.

Great bout I envision!

[hawk5ins]

The Frustration setting in on Manny, when he can't discourage the unflappable Sanchez.

Sal's faced the Power before (Nelson, Gomez, Lopez, Laporte) so it's not as if Sal is going to see something new.

He's certainly faced equivalently and IMO superior skilled fighters before as well.

I think the energy Manny brings is going to push Sal, but after say, 6 or 7 rounds, I see the spark and energy draining out of a growingly frustrated and discouraged Pac. I think the comparison with the first Marquez bout is a sound one and Sal simply is a bit more diverse and skilled than Juan Manuel IMO.

If this is 15, I'll take Sal by stoppage after 12. If it's 12, give me Sal by a 4 or 5 point decision. It'll be a good fight (Sanchez can't simply show up as he has himself been known to do. I'm talking Sanchez at his Best.), but Sal takes over in the second half and wins comfortably IMO.

Hawk

[walshb]

Guys, can't argue with those points. Am I being swayed here?

[Sharkey]

I like JMM better against Sal, actually. Call me nuts. Worse fight, but still.

[hawk5ins]

Sal's the better fighter IMO, But JMM would give him fits.

And it would indeed be dreadful.

Sal by thismuch.

Hawk

[Elwill7847]

I'd pick Sanchez by late stoppage if the fights was scheduled for 15 rounds, probably between the 13th and 15th round. In a 12 round fight Manny likely lasts the distance and loses a decision. Wouldnt be one side though...would be a good fight though.

[Olympic Auditorium]

Sanchez by K.O.

[GorDoom]

This isn't even a competetive fight. You younger guys seem to think that's what's new is always better ...

In some cases you are right, but in the majority of cases you are sadly mistaken.

Manny Pac, a fighter I predicted would waste Barrera back in the day - & almost unanimously on this board everybody thought I was crazy.

Well, we all know what happened...

Salvador-Pac? Oh man, Sanchez might have been arrested for manslaughter. As I pointed out, I saw Pac's attributes before many of you. But I also have always seen his deficiency's...

We're talking a 15 round title fight at featherweight. Salvador was more than just a slugger. He was also an excellent boxer. FIRST: Anybody remember his fight against Wilfredo Gomez?

Gomez was a killer, even more so than Pac. But like Pac, you backed him up & he didn't know what to do. Sanchez's excellent power jab would have done the same thing to Pac that it did to Gomez...

Make him back up & put him in a space he didn't know how to handle.

Salvador Sanchez would have destroyed Pac just like he did Gomez.

& for the record, Gomez & Pac is a REALLY hard call. But Sanchez wastes them both.

GorDoom

[TheSentinel]

I think that Sal wins a clear decision over 12 rounds, and stops Manny in the 13th or 14th if it's scheduled for 15 However, if Sal fights with the agression and urgency that he did against Gomez it could end inside 10. One thing for sure, Manny isn't going to dent Sal's chin.

[walshb]

Actually Gor, I was envisioning this bout over 12 rds and not 15 rds

Pac never fought 15, so it would be unfair to have it over 15.

Over 12, I think his speed and variety will cause Sal trouble.

[JLP 6]

I have been dragging my feet on this one because I was not brave enough to go against the grain. I am brave now.

I see this a bad matchup for Sanchez. I think he will win but it is not a slam dunk. Pacquiao is faster than Sanchez. I remember thinking that Barerra with that beautiful jab, great footwork, and awesome power would outbox, and KO Pacquiao. Boy, was I wrong!

Coming into that fight I had Barerra as the best fighter p4p. Manny's speed and timing were something I had not calucated. Being a southpaw with that kind of speed, timing, and power is something that I don't think even the best version of Sal can just outbox. Plus that is the only version Pac that I have seen go to the body with Duran-like tenacity. He simply punished Marco, who was in his prime.

Sanchez from the first Lopez bout is the best version of Sachez I have seen. He countered everything, with hard shots. Slipping, but not moving away, instead standing there and delievering hard counter punches, and when there was distance, creating favorable enchanges off the jab. I think that version of Sanchez give Pacquiao a beating. The backpedaling Sanchez from the Gomez bout puts himself in dire straits against Pacquiao of Barerra fame.

Pacquiao must be hit hard and often to be discourage. He will not be discourage by chasing someone around the ring, and trading with them. Pacquaio has to be hit in the face and pressed. Morales showed executed the proper way to beat Pacquaio. Sanchez can and will.

The speed again will be a problem, but Sanchez's own timing and versitility will see him through this one. I see it playing out much like the first JMM bout, only with Sanchez not going down, but trading rounds.

[Husker]

My two cents: I saw Manny fight a guy not long after he walked through Ledwaba(sp?), I believe it may have been Agapito Sanchez but I can't recall with any clarity. Anyway, the other fighter was dq'd if memory serves but judging by Manny's expression and body language, he wanted absolutely no more of what he was getting. I have always taken that as his iron will can be shaken.

On the other hand, as Hawk pointed out, Super Sal had numerous occasions where he just showed up, (usually just for the first half of even some of his notable victories). As evidence I point out Cowdell and Castillo as two glaring examples. THAT Sal isn't beating many stand-out fighters and I'd bet the farm on Pac if it was THAT Sal he was facing.

I believe Manny thinks his best attribute is his power (I think it's the combination of his hand speed and shocking punch angles but what do I know) and we all know what happens to power-driven fighters when it has no effect. Plan B? Just to dredge a name up from the recent past, what's David Reid's second plan of attack? Of course Manny does have other skills to fall back on but, for example, although I thought Marquez won the 1st fight as far as rounds, he didn't exactly blow Manny outta the ring and JMM is a very, very, very good technician.

Everything I'm about to say goes with the disclaimer I stole from the freakishly observant Sharkey: Just because a fighter hasn't been or never was knocked out doesn't mean it's impossible.

Sal circles and circles, doing just enough punching to let everyone know his arms actually do move while Manny chases relentlessly. Getting little in the way of return fire, the Phillipino living legend gets closer and closer. After five rounds it's 4-1 Manny as Sal shows three or four sudden bursts of indignence in round three to steal one. Manny takes exactly one round the rest of the fight unless he gets TKO'd. Frustrated and needing to take the occasional breather now, Sanchez simply won't let him and by this point, the hand speed is negligible. The power didn't work, the slight speed advantage is now gone, what's left?

I have never seen a Sanchez fight (I own 17 of them) other than Gomez where he wasn't behind and I'm positive Manny is good enough to put him in the same hole. I just don't think he is good enough to deal with the guy who suddenly appears and takes over fights slowly then suddenly. Sanchez will be rattling off five punch combos incessantly and landing three or more at an alarming rate. And all of us watching will thank the Big Kahuna that he didn't give Sanchez crippling power...not even close.

And we'll also wonder how Sal's expression never changed -AT ALL, EVER-except to break into a knowing smirk as he's hoisted on to his cornerman's shoulders.