Why Speed Doesn’t Always Kill In Boxing

You might have heard the saying speed kills in boxing and in other places and it is a catchy slogan.

However, like magic, it doesn’t exist in reality.

Sure, speed in boxing does help, no doubt about it. Fast hands and fast feet can land big dazzling combinations on an opponent and get a fighter quickly out of harms way from returning fire.

However, accuracy and precision often negate speed and defeat it.

Why Speed Doesn’t Always Kill In Boxing

With all the talk lately of a possible Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao rematch this year, which could very well happen in 2026, this is an important point to note.

Ahead of the possible rematch between the two if you go back to the first fight between the boxers some years ago now, Pacquiao was lighting fast at the time, but Mayweather’s precision and accurate boxing shut all that down.

Completely.

Pacquiao’s speed was never given a chance to get going in the fight as Mayweather outboxed him comprehensively and negated Pacquiao’s speedy hands completely in the bout, though Pacquiao cited injury after, Mayweather was still too good a boxer for him on the night.

Precision and accuracy often beat speed and Juan Manuel Marquez’ perfect right hand over the top counter nuclear bomb on an unsuspecting Pacquiao whom he walked onto it in one of their fights another example of this.

Of course, Pacquiao is a clever boxer himself when he wants to be and knows how to use angles when he wants to himself. You don’t become an eight-weight division, boxing’s only one ever, and an all-time great and active Hall of Famer fighter by not being a bloody good boxer like Manny Pacquiao.

This is something for the Filipino legend to think about maybe himself in terms of using accuracy and angels to negate Floyd Mayweather’s hand speed even in his advanced years if the two fight in a big rematch in 2026.