Antonio Tarver believes that Manny Pacquiao’s southpaw stance and overall speed will give Floyd Mayeather Jr. trouble in their super fight. The 46-year-old former champion, who is a southpaw himself like Pacquiao and an American like Mayweather Jr., also thinks that if the fights go the full route of 12 rounds, Mayweather will win via decision but if Pacquiao lands the bombs early and often, then the Filipino has a chance to win via stoppage.

“We’ve seen [Manny] Pacquiao knocked out, but at the same time, he possesses the type of style and from a southpaw stance, we cannot lose sight of that. Pacquiao is a tremendous southpaw, something that Floyd Mayweather hasn’t seen a whole lot of, and Pacquiao is moving at light speed,” Tarver shared to ontheropesboxing.com.

“I don’t think Pacquiao can match Floyd’s speed but I think he’s fast enough. I couldn’t match Roy Jones’ speed but I was fast enough to offset his speed. That being said, I think Pacquiao is gonna have some moments and you know he has a very powerful punch. I think Floyd wins a decision but if this fight doesn’t go the distance, you have to lean toward Pacquiao landing that shot within the distance.”

In the same interview, Tarver emphasised that Pacquiao is a dangerous opponent for Mayweather Jr. but expects the undefeated American to come in the “best condition” as he’s known for in past fights. Mayweather (47-0-0, 26 KOs) is undefeated in his pro boxing career while Pacquiao (57-5-2) is a former eight-division champion. Both are ranked no. 1 and no. 2 in most pound-for-pound rankings in the sport.

Since losing to Chad Dawson twice in 2009 and 2009, Tarver has racked up four straight victories and one no contest. He’s a former World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion with a career win-loss-draw record of 31-6-0 with 22 knockouts. One of the biggest wins in his career came in 2005 when he beat Roy Jones Jr. via unanimous decision, 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 in the judges’ scorecards. Tarver also served as a boxing analyst for Showtime Championship Boxing since 2012.

The Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight is scheduled on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and is widely considered as the “Fight of the Century”. The fight has finally been made after more than five years of negotiations and the hype and anticipation for the huge event is at an all-time high.

To contact author of this article, email j.quizon@IBTimes.com.au

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