Manny Pacquiao is a devout Christian in the overwhelmingly Catholic Philippines but will have to deal with a rhythm method of a different kind if he wants to retain his WBO welterweight crown against Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
While one of Pacquiao's first moves in Australia was to seek out a Brisbane church on Sunday morning, Horn was pouring through a secret 10-point manifesto sent by his trainer Glenn Rushton, at the heart of which lies the "broken rhythm pressure" fighting style developed within the walls of their Stretton gym.
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Pacquiao not underestimating Horn
Manny Pacquiao insists he won't be taking his fight with Jeff Horn lightly when the two meet at Suncorp Stadium.
It centres on being adaptable, attacking in waves and providing a certain awkwardness that takes opponents out of their comfort zone. While Horn has most certainly never been in with anyone like Pacquiao, the Brisbane fighter's camp hopes Freddie Roach will be saying the same about their challenger.
The document will stay in lockdown until after the fight and only then if Horn completes an upset victory in front of a crowd likely to be around 50,000. The 29-year-old, who faced a gaggle of local and travelling media in the normally sleepy suburban gym, said it was a summary of months of work ahead of the dream bout.
"It's a plan I've heard him speak to me about 1000 times. It's perfectly worded," Horn said. "Reading over it is just like listening to him talk to me in the ring.
"What he's written down is spot on and I can get the job done if I follow it 100 per cent. He only sent it to me on the weekend and just said to read it over a few times and make sure I've got it clarified, what I need to do."
Rushton has watched, rewatched and watched again every Pacquiao fight that counts and believes he has isolated the mistakes of those who failed to make the grade. With names such as Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, it's some sort of list.
He said he has schooled Horn as much in what not to do against Pacquiao as much as what he must achieve should he complete his audacious heist of the WBO belt. Central to their study has been the knockout win over Pacquiao by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
"I've studied Manny's fights, an awful lot of them, I can assure you, hundreds of hours of video analysis. I can see all of the mistakes people have made and how Manny has handled different styles of fighters," Rushton said.
"It's very, very important not to fall into the traps that other fights have when they've fought Manny Pacquiao - fighters like Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, [Jessie] Vargas, [Tim] Bradley, I can analyse and tell you exactly why they lost and what they did wrong and what they should have done better.
"No boxer is mistake-free. Since the Marquez KO he's been a little more measured, he's mindful, he knows he's human. When you suffer a knockout of that significance - out cold - something changes slightly in the chemistry of your brain. You know what can happen. He's just managed his risk a little bit better."
Roach, Pacquiao's long-time trainer, believes the champion's punching power has returned even though there hasn't been a stoppage on Pacquiao's record since he halted Miguel Cotto in 2009.
Rushton welcomed that news and believes there's at least an 80 per cent chance the fight won't go the distance. He's backed his man to be the one standing when the referee waves the arms to signal it's all over.
"I think that's wonderful. I want Manny to bring his A-game. I've said the same thing to [sparring partner] Czar Amonsot for the last three weeks - you go your darndest out there, you do your very, very best, don't pussyfoot around and try and mollycoddle Jeff at all.
"The same with Manny on Sunday. We want this to be a real serious contest between two perfectly-prepared athletes.
"I know, in this fight, that their spirits will be tested. I have no doubt this is going to be a much better fight than we've seen against Mayweather, even Vargas and Bradley. I think we've eliminated all of the problems that a lot of these fighters have had.
"I've got a 10-point plan and Jeff is the only person who has that 10-point plan. I said to him 'follow the plan and we win the fight'. Simple as that."
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