To watch Manny Pacquiao move around the ring and deliver fast, powerful punches from all angles is reminiscent of the fighting style of the Centipede from The Five (Deadly) Venoms, one of the most influential kung fu films ever made.
Introducing The Five Deadly Venoms
The Centipede is so fast with his strikes that he looks as if he has a "Thousand Hands". Surely, no fighter in recent years, with the arguable exception of Juan Manuel Marquez, has been able to stand up to the Thousand Hands of Manny Pacquiao.
To have a chance against the lighting quick invisible strikes of the Centipede, his opponent needs an impenetrable armor, impervious to swords and spears - much like the Toad's.
Centipede vs. Toad
Certainly, it'll be interesting to see how the airtight guard, iron chin and clubbing hook-uppercut combinations of Joshua Clottey will stand up to the .50 caliber machine gun fire of Manny Pacquiao.
How hard (or easy) will it be for Pacman to find the weak spots in Clottey's armor?
How much will Clottey be able to muscle Pacquiao around?
We'll see on fight night (March 13, 9 PM ET - HBO PPV).
P.S. As mentioned at the top of this post, the MMA version of this piece is titled "The Poison Clan Reborn in UFC 111".
It's the piece to read to get ready for UFC 111, specifically Georges St. Pierre-Dan Hardy and Frank Mir-Shane Carwin.
Manny has a thousand hands...that explains a lot.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I'd like to see Manny matched up against Money Mayweather, another fast-handed boxer.
ReplyDeleteWho do you like in the event of a fight between the two?
This thought may change upon a closer look, but off the top of my head, I like Pacquiao : more movement, more pressure, more power.