Former world champion turned commentator Paulie Malignaggi has given an insightful technical breakdown of what he thinks happens in Manny Pacquiao vs Adrien Broner.

The fight has not been formally announced yet but it is widely expected to take place this coming January in the United States.

Speaking to Fight Hype on the fight Malignaggi said:

“I think it’s a good fight, depending on what Pacquiao has left. Broner has an issue with closing the gap without punching. He likes to come in and then punch and Pacquiao has these long punches that he likes to throw that can prevent you from ever finding your range – (good) for Broner a guy who has that style. But Pacquiao you know, his legs may not be as good anymore so Broner may be able to close that gap and if he’s able to close that gap Broner is very good on the inside. He throws creative combinations.”

He added:

“My common sense tells me Pacquiao fights at range and he does well but is his age catching up to him? I think if Pacquiao has his old legs (the legs he used to have in his prime) Broner never gets near him. But if Pacquiao has old (literally old) legs than Broner closes the gap and probably wins.”

On the Pacquiao’s recent TKO of Lucas Matthysse, Malignaggi concluded:

“It’s tough to gauge that. It was kind of an perfect opponent for him.”

It’s certainly an intriguing battle with early opinion leaning towards a Pacquiao win at this point but Malignaggi makes a good point above in terms of age.