Emanuel Steward’s Keys To The Fight

By Eric Raskin

Photo Credit: Will HartHall of Fame trainer and manager Emanuel Steward, who will provide analysis of Pacquiao-Marquez III as part of the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast team on Saturday night, breaks down his three keys to victory for each fighter:

Manny Pacquiao

1. Maintain balance when he punches: With his style of moving in and punching aggressively, Pacquiao risks leaving himself out of position and off balance when he gets done punching. Marquez is a great counterpuncher. Manny has to know that punches are coming back, so he can’t leave himself off balance and exposed after he finishes up his combinations.

2. Punch with full power: Pacquiao has probably about eight pounds of natural weight in his favor. Since the last time he fought Marquez, in 2008, he’s grown into a much bigger fighter. He has to take advantage of that and punch with full power. Remember those three knockdowns in the first round of the first fight? That’s what allowed him to come away with a draw. And Pacquiao’s power edge is going to be very important again in this fight. He cannot just be throwing a volume of punches. He must punch with authority.

3. Utilize his excellent footwork: Marquez is not especially gifted in terms of footwork. Pacquiao is. He has to get in and out and change directions, and really use his foot speed to make it a long night for Marquez.

Juan Manuel Marquez

1. Stay calm and patient: Some fighters have one dream fight that they spend years thinking about. For example, for Floyd Mayweather, that dream fight was against Oscar De La Hoya. This is the dream fight for Marquez. He told me since 2008 that he wanted a third fight with Pacquiao, but he thought he would never get it. Now it’s here. So the key is for him not to get too excited. He has to fight in a patient manner; otherwise he could open himself up for disaster.

2. Use defense to get Pacquiao off balance: We’ve established that Pacquiao wants to maintain his balance. It follows that Marquez wants to take that balance away from him. Sometimes Pacquiao rushes in recklessly, and most of the guys he fights are just blocking the punches, so he gets away with it. But if Marquez just takes a little step back when Manny comes in, he can make him lose his balance and then he can counterpunch when Manny gets out of position. Marquez proved in the first two fights that he’s capable of doing this.

3. Be prepared for Pacquiao’s left hand: Marquez was better prepared for the left hand in the second fight as compared to the first, and he needs to prepare like that again this time. That straight left hand was the punch that knocked Marquez down three times in the first fight. Marquez knows that, of course—you don’t forget something like that. He just can’t lose focus and take his eye off Pacquiao’s left hand. As we all know, Pacquiao can change the direction of a fight with one punch.

The Mayweather-Ortiz Fight Week Flurry

By Eric Raskin

Photo: Will HartAs a wild week of commotion, promotion and emotion gives way to Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz showdown, let’s take a look through what everyone’s been buzzing about—from the HBO.com insiders to the fight fans following along:

Mayweather and Ortiz didn’t arrive at this mega-event by accident. They each scored significant wins on the road to “Star Power,” and now find themselves jockeying for position in the upper reaches of the talent-loaded welterweight division. With his sublime skills, Mayweather is the consensus favorite in the fight. But not everyone sees it that way. HBO expert analyst Emanuel Steward broke down the strategic intricacies of the fight and gives Ortiz an excellent chance, and not surprisingly, Ortiz’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya feels the same way—and has the first-hand experience fighting Mayweather to validate his viewpoints.

But there are countless different ways to analyze a fight beyond just what the industry insiders have to say. You can explore the finer points of the matchup. You can crunch the CompuBox numbers. You can even try to figure out who won the verbal joust at the final press conference.

And when it’s all said and done, you make your predictions. The experts had their say, and unanimously went with the chalk and tabbed Mayweather to win. The fans were a little more divided. On Twitter, @rcollick and @crucifixio picked Mayweather via varying margins, but @odogg33 went with the underdog Ortiz. Meanwhile, on the comment boards on the HBO Inside Boxing blog, Elvin T. took the Ortiz side as well, predicting “Floyd is gonna be looking up at the lights thinking, WTF happened?” But commenter Ish A. envisions a knockout win for Mayweather, claiming “Victor Ortiz is nervous, has no defense, and come Saturday will receive a boxing lesson of a lifetime!”

In addition to the 12 rounds (or less) of Mayweather vs. Ortiz, there’s plenty of before and after to consider. Prior to the main event, we’ll see an intriguing undercard, featuring a plethora of popular Mexican and Mexican-American fighters—many of whom, like Mayweather, come from boxing families. And after the main event is over, attention will inevitably turn to what’s next. No matter the outcome, Manny Pacquiao’s name will be on fight fans’ minds. Two HBO.com contributors explored this in detail on different corners of the web, with Chris Mannix tackling the Pacquiao factor on SI.com and Kieran Mulvaney experiencing Floyd’s many personalities on ESPN.com.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The opening bell of Mayweather vs. Ortiz is almost here, and there’s nothing more thrilling than that moment when fight week gives way to the fight itself.

Emanuel’s Manual: Steward’s Keys To The Fight

By Eric Raskin

Photo: Will HartHall of Fame trainer and manager and HBO expert analyst Emanuel Steward, who will call the Mayweather-Ortiz fight on Saturday for HBO Pay-Per-View, offers his three keys to victory for each combatant:

Floyd Mayweather

1. Be prepared mentally for a challenge: Facing a young, aggressive, high-intensity fighter unlike anyone that he’s fought in a long time, Floyd has to be mentally ready for the reality of the situation. Probably the last opponent Floyd fought who was this aggressive was Jose Luis Castillo. But Castillo didn’t have the energy and the fire and the explosiveness that this man has. Floyd may have to dig down a little bit deeper than he’s had to recently, when he’s been able to stay in his comfort zone. If he’s not ready for a tough fight, if he’s gotten away from reality with so many people telling him how great he is all the time, then he might not be able to deal with adversity.

2. Place his punches accurately: Floyd can’t let himself get into an output contest, where he’s throwing just to keep pace with Ortiz. Instead, he needs to place his punches and try to slow the pace. He can’t let himself worry about out-hustling Ortiz. He should be doing it with quality instead of quantity.

3. Punch with power: If he’s going to discourage this kid, Floyd is going to have to punch with authority. He has to have full power on his punches. He can’t do that thing he sometimes does where he pulls back as he punches. Even Floyd himself said, “If I had really opened up all the way on Shane Mosley, I would probably have knocked him out.”

Victor Ortiz

1. Force a faster pace: Ortiz isn’t going to be able to let loose quite like he did against Andre Berto, because of Floyd’s style. He’s going to see a guy feinting him and trying to counterpunch, so Ortiz is going to start a little slower, a little more cautious. And that’s okay. But I think as the fight goes on, he’s going to have to pick up his momentum. He’s got to try to make Floyd fight faster than he wants to. I think he’s going to have to get inside on him and push him, rough him up a lot. That’s what messes up a lot of veteran fighters; they’re used to fighting at a certain pace, and when you make them fight faster, they get more exhausted.

2. Don’t be in awe of Mayweather: I really think Ortiz is different than most of Mayweather’s opponents. This boy doesn’t give a damn about Floyd. When they were together, doing press conferences and TV appearances, Mayweather didn’t intimidate this guy like he does other guys. Victor has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Floyd has the superior skills, but Ortiz has the arrogance to match him.

3. Don’t get caught with the counter right hand: When Ortiz fights aggressively, he leaves his head a little high, which means he’s there to be caught with a counter right hand. Floyd has not knocked anybody out with that punch in a long time, but it’s still one of his best punches. Ortiz is physically strong enough to win, but he’s got to be careful not to walk into right hands.

Prefight Interview: Trainer Emanuel Steward

By Peter Owen Nelson (Photo by Will Hart)

HBO caught up with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward on the eve of his charge Wladimir Klitschko’s showdown with David Haye for the unified heavyweight championship. 

Wladimir came in at 242 at the weigh-in, but that was after eating, so he’s probably closer to 238. Wladimir stays in excellent shape, so from the beginning of camp that’s never a concern. The first time we weigh him is at the weigh-in. I have to check my weight more than him. Right now, I’m about 172. 

I’ll be 67 next week [July 7], and I know now that if I ever take a break from working mitts, I’ll never be able to do it again. At the end of the day, I get a lot of throbbing in my shoulder and hands. That’s why I wrap hands. I’ve never seen another trainer do it, but my hands feel better when I do it. In 1992, I began wrapping my hands for mitt work. But it wasn’t until this camp that Wladimir suggested I start taping my hands, too.

Read the rest of the prefight interview with Emanuel Steward at HBO.com.