Unrelenting pressure only way to beat Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines - The trainer of the fighter who came close to defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr. says pressure is the key to overcoming the undefeated American.

And Robert Garcia, who trained Marcos Maidana in his two fights with Mayweather, pointed out that Manny Pacquiao is capable of applying that pressure.

In an interview with ESNEWS, the soft-spoken Garcia said the only way to defeat Mayweather would be to throw a lot of punches.

“I think, just like Maidana did the first time, put all that pressure. Stay on him, don’t give him any time to breathe, that’s the only way. We were close, we almost pulled it off,” the cornerman said.

That’s exactly what Maidana did in his first meeting with Mayweather in May last year, throwing everything but the kitchen sink on the Las Vegas-based boxer. The Argentine slugger set the record for the number of punches thrown and landed on Mayweather, according to CompuBox.

But the scorecards didn’t go in Maidana’s favor, and he lost to Mayweather by majority decision.

Mayweather and Maidana would again clash in a rematch four months later, but Maidana could no longer replicate what he did in their first clash. Mayweather went on to dominate him en route to a unanimous decision win.

Nevertheless, Maidana is regarded as one of the few fighters who have had success against the elusive Mayweather. And Garcia credits this to Maidana’s pressuring style.

“That’s [pressure] the only way [to beat Mayweather], what else? Or somebody smarter than him [Mayweather], but there’s nobody out there smarter than him right now,” said Garcia, who also worked the corner of Brandon Rios when he and Pacquiao fought in Macau in 2013.

Garcia said if there’s someone who can pull off what Maidana did against Mayweather, it’s Pacquiao. He’s giving the Filipino icon a good shot at dealing Mayweather his first loss when they tangle in boxing’s richest bout on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Manny has the style because he throws a lot of punches. He’s just going to throw hundreds of punches compared to Mayweather one or two here and there. I think Manny being aggressive, throwing a lot of punches, he could do it,” the trainer said. – Stories by Dino Maragay/Contributor