What separates a good fighter from a great one?
Let’s answer the question by looking at the story of Manny Pacquiao, Muhammad Ali, and Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male. What can we learn from them?
Manny Pacquiao Story
After losing his WBC flyweight belt to Medgoen Singsurat, Manny Pacquiao won his next 6 fights all via KO or TKO which then earned him his first big fight in America. Manny Pacquiao was given his biggest test at that point when he substituted to fight the IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba in only two weeks’ notice.
Ledwaba had an outstanding professional record of 33 wins with only 1 defeat and a draw leading up to the fight. He was also unbeaten in his last 23 consecutive fights. Ledwaba was the heavy favorite because the fight was marketed that he would be the next boxing superstar.
In those two weeks, Manny Pacquiao and his team went to America to find better trainers and training partners. They went to the Wild Card Boxing gym where he met the owner/trainer Freddie Roach. In an interview, Roach told that he knew that Pacquiao is going to be a very special fighter when Pacquiao’s first punch landed on his mitts.
On June 23, 2001, Pacquiao defeated Ledwaba via TKO in round 6 which made Pacquiao an instant superstar after that stellar performance. After that win, Pacquiao continued to train under Freddie Roach and both went on winning their next six fights and with two draws.
On March 19, 2005, Pacquiao was given another great opportunity as he was set to fight the Mexican legend, Érik Morales. Pacquiao had already shown that he possesses great athleticism, power, and speed but his main criticism was he was lacking technique and it was proved to be the main problem in his first fight against Morales.
Both Pacquiao and Roach were shocked by how prepared Erik Morales was compared to his past opponents. It was an eye-opening fight for both Pacquiao and Roach because this fight was their first loss together as a team.
When Pacquiao fought Ledwaba, he presents to the world his quickness and relentless power in his left hand. However, his quickness and left hand alone weren’t enough to beat Morales.
After the Morales fight, both Pacquiao and Roach knew they have to develop new tools to defeat a boxing legend. Roach began developing Pacquiao’s right hook which was subsequently called the “Manila Ice”. The “Manila Ice” started to make its scene in Pacquiao’s next fight.
On September 10, 2005, Pacquiao fought Héctor Velázquez where Pacquiao easily TKO’d Velázquez in just 6 rounds. It was apparent that Pacquiao’s right hand developed very well since it was the right hook that first staggered Velázquez that lead to the stoppage.
After fighting Velázquez, Pacquiao fought Morales for the second time. Pacquiao’s right hand created better opportunities for his left hand to land more. His right hook started as his weakness but turned into one of his most dominant weapons. The fight ended inside the 10th round where Pacquiao gave Morales his first TKO loss. (picture above)
After developing his right hand, Roach then helped Pacquiao’s overall defense and counterpunching abilities which made Pacquiao an overall better boxer.
The Manny Pacquiao that fought Ledwaba is a totally different boxer from the Manny Pacquiao that fought Érik Morales in their rematch. It’s like watching one boxer with two different styles.
Muhammad Ali Story
On February 25, 1964, Muhammad Ali (né Cassius Clay) became the youngest heavyweight boxer in history, at that time, by defeating the champion, Sonny Liston, in a one-sided bout that only ended in 6 rounds.
When Muhammad Ali was young and first started entering as boxing superstardom, he was known for his ferocious speed. He and his trainer, Angelo Dundee, developed a very unique style for a heavyweight which Ali describes as “floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee”. Ali was the first-ever heavyweight who utilizes head movement and footwork more than what is expected for a heavyweight which led to his early success.
But, when Ali started to get older, his quickness started to fade away and he knew that he needs to make a transition to cope with it.
On October 29, 1974, ten years after first capturing the heavyweight world title, Ali was a 4-to-1 underdog against the undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman who had a ridiculous professional record of 40 wins with 37 KO’s in a fight that billed as the “Rumble in the Jungle”. As boxing pundits, commentators, and co-boxers pointed out that the only way Ali could win the fight is if he could utilize his movements perfectly to dodge Foreman’s haymakers.
The first round was as the people expected, Ali circling around and trying his best to evade Foreman’s power punches while Foreman chases him.
During the second round of the fight, Ali stopped his using his amazing footwork and let Foreman come to him. Ali began changing his own strategy during the middle of the fight without any supervision of his trainer. Foreman began throwing the most powerful punches he could throw to Ali’s body and head. Muhammad Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, was shocked by what he’s seeing because it wasn’t part of their strategy at all.
During the corner break after the second round, Ali told Dundee that he has secret plans. In an interview leading up to the fight, Ali said on multiple occasions that “fighters know when fighters are in condition” which is interesting. Maybe, Ali knew that Foreman wasn’t going to fight with his best shape which I think Ali knew for sure.
During the third to the seventh round, Ali let Foreman tire himself out by letting him spend his energy by forcefully punching him on his arms, body, and a bit on his head. Ali tried his best to out grapple Foreman in every clinch, took every advantage by countering and deflecting Foreman’s power punches whenever Foreman is taking sudden breaks between combinations.
Each round was evident that Foreman was getting tired heavily. People watching it cannot believe what they’re seeing because they expected that Foreman wasn’t going to burn out easily because he was six years younger than Ali.
When Foreman come to the brink of exhaustion, Ali then threw his own power punches that resulted in a flash KO win at the end of the eighth round. Ali’s condition was so good, he ate most of the power punches of one of the best heavyweight KO artists in history without ever being wobbled. (picture above)
Again, Ali “shook up the world” as he proved that he is more than a one-dimensional fighter. He created a technique that he later called the “rope-a-dope” that made him win that fight and made the latter half of his career.
Ali looked like he had two different careers in boxing. A career where he utilizes his swift movements and a career where he just stood along the ropes as he let his opponents tire themselves out then knocks them out.
Team Alpha Male Story
On March 24, 2007, Urijah Faber defended his WEC Featherweight belt and handed Dominick Cruz his first loss. It started a feud between Cruz and Urijah Faber’s Team, the Team Alpha Male Fighters. From that point, Cruz went on tearing the elite bantamweight fighters of Team Alpha Male.
On August 9, 2009, he defeated Joseph Benavidez in a non-title bout. On August 18, 2010, he defended his WEC Bantamweight belt as he defeats Joseph Benavidez again in their rematch. On July 2, 2011, Cruz defended his UFC Bantamweight belt by defeating Faber in their rematch. On January 17, 2016, he regain his belt by defeating the champion TJ Dillashaw, making him a 2x UFC Bantamweight Champion. It was regarded as the greatest comeback story in MMA after Cruz suffered injuries leading up to the fight. On June 4, 2016, he defended his UFC Bantamweight belt again and finishing the trilogy against Urijah Faber.
After losing in 2007, he went on winning the next 5 fights against the Team Alpha Male fighters. What made Dominick Cruz great was his unpredictable movement and his unorthodox ways of striking his opponents followed by his superior wrestling until… another Team Alpha Male fighter comes along.
On December 30, 2016, Cody Garbrandt of Team Alpha Male finally cracked the code, beating Dominick Cruz which ended Team Alpha Male’s losing streak after a decade. (picture above)
Cruz also lost his next fight against Henry Cejudo which also proved that Cruz’s style has been decoded.
What separates a good fighter from a great one?
What separates a good fighter from a great one is not just continuously improving but continuously improving tremendously.
It’s hard winning a championship belt but it’s harder to defend it because all eyes are on the new champion now. Upcoming fighters are watching and learning what the current champions are doing and eventually take their crown. If champions kept doing the same thing they did the last time, it surely won’t surprise their opponents anymore.
There are lots of factors of what separates a good fighter from a great one but this one takes the spot most of the time.