Manny Pacquiao makes surprise prediction for Floyd Mayweather vs Terence Crawford fantasy fight

A hypothetical welterweight matchup between Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford has been a hot topic of conversation on boxing forums for years.

When it comes to picking a winner, fans are often divided and for good reason.

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At the peak of their powers, both men sat atop the pound-for-pound rankings and retired with unblemished records after snatching belts in five separate weight classes.

The bout would have made for a fascinating chess match, pitting two of the great boxing IQs against one another.

Manny Pacquiao, who was beaten by Mayweather in the biggest fight of the century in 2015, was recently asked to weigh in on the discussion during an appearance on the Inside the Ring podcast.

Considering their history and the fact that they are building towards a high-profile rematch in September, the expectation is that Pacquiao would have picked his rival.

But he didn’t.

“I think Crawford beats Mayweather if they both fought in their prime,” said Pacquiao.

“He has the advantage as a southpaw. I saw Crawford as a southpaw; he mastered it.

“He knows how to handle his advantage, to maximise his advantage, against an orthodox fighter.”

Styles make fights

Crawford is, of course, a switch-hitter who is equally as comfortable in both the southpaw and orthodox stances.

These different angles and looks often disrupt his opponents’ timing and rhythm, and make for another interesting wrinkle in predicting a Mayweather vs Crawford fantasy fight.

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Mayweather only fought one out-and-out switch hitter during his glittering 50-0 professional career, and that was ‘The Drunken Master’ Emanuel Augustus in 2000.

While Mayweather won the fight wide on points, he would later credit Augustus with being his toughest opponent.

“Emanuel Augustus was my toughest opponent,” Mayweather told Fight Hype in 2012.

“His record didn’t show his skill-set, but the guy was unbelievable.”

That being said, switch-hitting was only one part of Augustus’ wildly unorthodox style.

The American journeyman, who retired with an unremarkable 38-34-6 record, proved a nightmare to pin down for almost every opponent he faced as he danced around the ring without any semblance of form.

Boxing schedule

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