Manuel Flores vs. Jorge Chavez II Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

Manuel Flores and Jorge Chavez reprise their rivalry Friday night with an anticipated rematch at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, and live on DAZN.

The demand for the sequel has been high since Flores and Chavez fought to a heated majority draw in July. After that 10-round bout, judges scored it 97-93 for Chavez, 95-95 and 95-95.

Will Chavez’s nimble footwork and quick hand speed once again provide fits for Flores? Or will Flores make the adjustments necessary to get his hand raised? DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory between Flores and Chavez heading into Friday night’s super bantamweight rematch.

Manuel Flores’ Keys to Victory

Make use of reach advantage

Flores owns 3½ inches of reach advantage, and he ought to use it more in this rematch than he did in his original fight with Jorge Chavez.

The initial bout had Flores stalking his way inside instead. He can still opt to do that during the rematch. However, he should also try to rack up points from the outside, using that reach with his jab.

Do not neglect the body

Home-run hitting is not the only way to do damage. By banging to the body, Flores can perhaps stifle some of Chavez’s movement, slowing him down just enough for the former to possibly land something more damaging.

In order to facilitate his chances, Flores must make regular, hard deposits to Chavez’s body, instead of relying solely on attacks upstairs and getting carried away with headhunting.

Catch Chavez in traffic

Chavez is light on his feet and is going to move nimbly around the ring as he did roughly six months ago in their initial fight.

The onus is on Flores to download intel in real time and catch Chavez in traffic. He times Chavez aptly, and the southpaw should look to uncork just the right shot to alter the rematch. A left hook to the body might just be it.

Jorge Chavez’ Keys to Victory

Switch stances when it makes sense to

Jorge Chavez went from orthodox to southpaw and back to orthodox to mixed results against Manny Flores.

Very much a rhythm fighter, Chavez should only switch stances when he senses an advantage to do so in order to throw Flores for a loop and freeze his movement up a bit.

Switching stances at the right time could create offensive opportunities that Chavez capitalizes on.

Stay nimble on the feet

Many watching Flores-Chavez I felt like the latter did more than enough to win. At least one judge had him even winning comfortably.

Chavez, the rhythm fighter he is, can work wonders by consistently being himself without getting out of sorts.

His advantage is on the feet with the quicker hands, as he is able to get to his spots smoothly and pick Flores apart with pointed punches.

Until Flores shows he has learned from that first fight, Chavez must stay bouncy on his feet and put his punches together swiftly to stay a step ahead of his rival.

Catch Flores in traffic

If Flores is going to be dogged about bulldozing his way inside, Chavez should make it a point to catch him in traffic with a timed counter.

Enough of these counters could spell the difference toward a victory for Chavez.