Seven worthy foes to challenge Pacquiao
May 16th, 2011
By Reni M. Valenzuela: Boxing should have learned its lessons even before history repeated itself. Except for some greedy and carnivorous pockets, what is something good for the sport and fight fans that can come out of a ring brush between a living legend in his prime and a future Hall-of- Famer at the tail-end of his boxing career?
Boxing as a sport must not lose it’s element of competition for competitiveness is one of few things that cannot be compromised in any sport with the worship of King Darius’ bust or even a reverent bow at any alluring altar of the Golden Calf down the hill of senseless revelry in the arena of game or fight mismatches.
Before Manny Paquiao would fully waste away as the emerging best and greatest boxer ever (without questions), let him fight a good fight every time against a deserving opponent who would pose a legitimate threat to his throne, at least in the people’s mind.
The fighter who would challenge the Pacquiao dynamo in the future need not be a perfect goose with a paranoid “perfect” record like the extremely perfect dud Floyd Mayweather Jr who does everything to run amuck in order to avoid the man who would put a blot on his highly cherished and “unblemished” performance or non-performance in boxing.
The Pacman should be pitted against a respectable boxer who may even be actually less competitive than his previous opponents yet can be regarded as an excellent choice to bring suspense, thrill and excitement because of the fighter’s previous impressive wins and outstanding resume sans awful “Sugar Shane-like” performances in his two immediate past outings. One who is among the top and best in the current crop of fearless gallant warriors, budding or veteran, until exposed otherwise as a meek boar after figuring in a true mega battle with the pound-for-pound king animal of the ravenous jungle.
On such measurement, therefore, here qualifies Juan Manuel Marquez who in the past fiercely engaged Pacquiao in two contested and controversial fights and who has been chasing the man whom he thinks robbed him of two important wins in his boxing career. But should they face each other again and tangle for a trilogy match-up, it must be in a weight level somewhere between 137lbs and 142lbs or else the fight would be another “bore one sided show” in favor of Pacman.
The boxing Bruce Lee has virtually outgrown almost every fighter in the welterweight category and down the lighter levels. Thus here lies the wonder and succession of the Pacman phenomenon. It is destiny’s beckoning therefore that Pacquiao has to move on or move up and take some risk to face some real competitive challenges to his greatness. David had no other choice but to fight and slay the giant monster Goliath at a time when he encountered no dare in his lifetime bigger than tending a flock prior to the Goliath match-up.
Sergio Martinez, Mike Jones, Kermit Cintron, Victor Ortiz, Saul Alvarez and Marcos Maidana or the knockout punching-ghost of Edwin Valero may likewise be worthy future opponents for Pacquiao at varying appropriate times and weights.
Some “brave” souls within the circle of Team Pacquiao may shiver at the mention of Martinez, Jones and even Cintron as prospective challengers for Pacman, but I am confident nonetheless as a coward fight fan that Pacquiao would beat them all in spectacular fashions.
Outside of the seven or eight names mentioned above, any Pacquiao fight coming up wouldn’t be any different to deflect from table scrapings to serve the continuation of the sorry saga of a dying sport and cause the demolition of a legend’s underpinning to declare him history’s best.
renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com
42 Responses to “Seven worthy foes to challenge Pacquiao”
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who ever you put in front of PACMAN will be destroyed…
The fight with Margarito in MW is just testing the water he soon found out that it was too much for him and he was hurt.some people are just blinded by hatred that they just refuse to see the size difference.
Manny should decisively beat JMM next Nov and if Floyd still won’t fight Manny early next year, he should retire. No need to fight Martinez or anybody bigger because he may earn another US$50 million but will be a future candidate for Parkinson’s disease. There’s always a limit to everyone’s capability. History showed that to us.
Manny is the best? The best at fighting old guys. People say he retires guys. That is not correct. He fights guys that should be retired or never were any thing already..
um Valero died at least a year ago. RIP a great puncher if troubled guy but what kind of fool doesnt check something like this before putting an article on the net?
1. Floyd (just to shut his mouth)
2. Martinez @ 154 (this would be a war)
3. Marquez (mismatch @ 144)
4. Bradley (inexperienced)
5. Maidana (tough but one dimensional)
6. Ortiz (lost to Maidana)
7. Cintron (got power, thats bout it)
8. Cotto (would be similar to first fight only @ 154)
9. Berto (lost his chance)
10. Judah (REALLY!!!)
Basically, PAC should fight the top two guys and then retire, no more challenges for him after that.
Martinez
Paul Williams
Floyd
Ortiz
Bradley
Before Manny Paquiao would fully waste away as the emerging best and greatest boxer ever (without questions), let him fight a good fight every time against a deserving opponent who would pose a legitimate threat to his throne, at least in the people’s mind.
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Are you high or something? SRR, Ali, DLH, SRL, Julio Ceasar Chavez, Roberto Duran, Hagler, Hearns, even Trinidad are way ahead of Manny as far as “The Greatest of all time” goes you need to put the bottle and the needle down buddy.
1. Mayweather
2. Ortiz
3. Martinez
4. Bradley
5. Coto (re-match)
6. Judah
7. Marquez
it sounded like Manny is about to end his boxing career, happy with what he’d done and start his political career after the last fight. Maybe after Marquez, he felt he didn’t need Floyd to appreciate his career. In every career it’s about self satisfaction and Manny seemed content, So it would be up to Floyd to make the fight, first time he tried to make demands as he had done to previous fighters and Paquiao did not want to be his B*tch. Second time it was about cut off dates. third no negotiation from Floyd.I know we’ll all be disappointed that it won’t be a fire fight that everyone thinks it’ll because styles make fights and it’ll resemble the first 2 rounds of Paquiao/Mosely.lastly its not 7/8 fighter it’s more like 2/3 fighters. i say who ever wants the fight more will just come to a consensus and make the fight on Blood tests, catch weights, whatever instead of pointing a finger
Sorry ment to say wouldn’t agree with Martinez coming down in weight!
First thing is I don’t agree with catchweights so I’m on the side of anyone who has a go at any fighter who fights at a catchweight and I think they should be stopped. Second I never thought he should have fought Oscar but because ODLH agreed to fight at Welter and because there was so much money in it then you can see why both fighters took that fight. Third, I thought that Margarito v Manny at 147 would have made sense because Margarito had been fighting at 147 previous to that but at the time Tony was a 154 champion and Manny fought him and beat him. I don’t think Manny has any business fighting at 154 because he isn’t big enough even if he did beat Margo. I also would agree on Martinez coming down to fight at a catchweight because it would put him at a disadvantage. I’m not a Pac lover, I don’t agree with the fights with ODLH at 147 or 154 but like those fights it wouldn’t be a fair fight at either weight if Pacquiao fought Martinez!
It seems like everyone forgot about the two week deadline arum gave mayweather. They even had a countdown clock named ‘money time’. At that time (the second negotiaton) pacquiao agreed to rbt with a 14 day cutoff which mayweather agreed to in the first negotiation. The blood testing was cut 18 days before the mayweather-moslet fight so wut was the problem the second time. Mayweather didnt want to fight. Thats why they said there were no negotiations. Even thought de la hoya and ross greenberg were reporting about negotiations, stating that the fight was close to being made. And now mayweather wants to try and make people believe he signed! Why say it now? Last year He even stated that he wasnt thinking about boxing. Wut is wrong wit dude! Mayweathers a pancake… Keep on flipping! I aint no fool. If he wasnt thinking about boxing, why does he keep jumping in the media. Mayweather is an incredible boxer but he’s killing his own legacy actin like a jealous female.
All Manny had to do was take blood test first time, he didn’t! He doesn’t fight anyone young undefeated or on winning streak
search n watch (youtube):
EXCLUSIVE! Manny Pacquiao AGREES to Floyds Demands On Blood Testing!
search n watch:
EXCLUSIVE! Manny Pacquiao AGREES to Floyds Demands On Blood Testing!
How about Manny (PACMAN) Pacquiao vs. Poris Hailton?
Why is it ok that Pac can fight Margarito but Martinez it too big?
First of all, yes in the states our boxing PPV cost $54.99.
Second, Manny has two real challenging fights that would make me shell out another $54.99. Mayweather and Martinez. The two fights that would lend themsleves to Manny’s legacy are Mayweather and Martinez. Mayweather is Mayweather we want we know why etc
A lot of people have a problem with a Martinez fight. I understand that Martinez has a size advantage but a middleweight will. Still its risk vs reward. And style wise Sergio can be managed. Sergio is a boxer, so its not like Manny would running into a windmill destroyer. Sergio is not a huge Middleweight so if Manny wants to make a run at a middleweight title Sergio is as good a chance as he is going to get.
If Manny loses then his rep is not damaged, hell he fought a Middleweight the size was too much. But if he wins, (and he very well could), Then Manny is legitimately the greatest of all time.
Why should Manny take any fight right now thats not a legacy maker. Nobody at 140 or 147 offers that. At least not that i’m willing to pay for. if I can see it for free on HBO or Showtime then fine I’ll watch him fight anybody. But FLoyd or Sergio is needed for me to fork over the cash.
@ evil scotsman- yea we dont know anything about boxing becos we want a fight between a welter weight and a guy who fights between middle and light middle…pac fought margarito who comes in as a middleweight on fight night and is taller than martinez.
there not afraid of martinez size there afraid that hes slick and accurate and intelligent…i thot its pretty obvious that there goin for shot fighters,catchweights,or no defence fighters..or all 3 if its possible like margarito.
fights between welters and middles isnt unheard of!!
and dnt tell me manny isnt welter hes built and fast and hurts all these bigger guys..if hes big enough for de la hoya n margarito then hes big enough for martinez
fight wont happen anyway cos martinez is in his prime and is slick…no ortiz cos young powerful and with goldenboy. no mayweather without random blood tests..only marquez is left becos hes old enoough and will fight manny at the weight people dissed mayweather for fighting him at…
double standard ofcourse
Anyone who says Pacquiao should fight Martinez is a complete fool who doesn’t know anything about boxing! The weight difference and size difference is far too much! Let’s not forget people that 147 isn’t even Pacquiao’s natural weight. He started at light Flyweight and won his first world title at Flyweight (112lbs). Now although natural growth leads to fighters getting bigger with age I believe even now his natural weight would probably be about Super Featherweight – Lightweight and he has needed to pack on muscle to be a Welterweight. He is naturally too small to fight Martinez, being much lighter, shorter and with a severe reach disadvantage. Haters will be haters. If he beat Martinez these haters would want him in the ring with both the Klitschko brothers at the same time next!
All you pactards down there saying Marquez will get knocked out need to shut up. You said Mosley would be a good fight and that Pac would be the first one to ko Shane too. How did that work out for you? Can you hear the boos?
Pac needs to prove that he can beat Juan Marquez. Juan Manual Marquez schooled Pacquiao twice and has nothing to prove. It should still be a good fight.
every fights for pacman will be mismatched….no one can match the greatest of all time!
Martinez at 155 but SAME DAY weigh in. For the Middleweight Title. This can be Pac’s 9th Divisional Crown. Martinez can NOT SAY HE CAN NOT MAKE THE WEIGHT! That pretty much evens the odds.
personally i dont see anyone other than mayweather that can compete with pacquiao at welterweight thers also sergio who would have a good chance of beating pacquiao but dat aint going to happen cuz of the weight difference
i would say that this writer reni is an idiot knows nothing about boxing. you better shift your job to fish vendor you might have bigger income….crazy….of envy….ksp….
for the sake of boxing fights should be legimet competiteve fights not rip off like mosley fights was, fights been advatised so well nowadays that public start to belive the buisness men and buys them. in britain there was a fight between hay and harrison last year what was total rip off,but it was so brilliantly sold for the public that people stareted to belive all the hype and bougft the fight on ppv,fight itself was embarrisment for the boxing and as a boxingfan I was really sad because I love this sport, lets save the boxing and lets stop beliving business man hype
as i have said on my previous comments, BIG NOSE is a Filipino and he hate a lot about Manny b’c he love Jenky. but Jenky choice Manny and his not deserve to be train in ALA-Boxing stable in Cebu because of a PORE performance like GUY (BAKLA). instead, Mr. Aldeger choice Manny to his Stable. that’s the Story of BIG NOSE.
very nice article. ordinary boxing fans wont understand this point of view. but for me i would choose from light welterweight as best opponent for pacman. same height, natural weight. no more catch weight!
some Pac hater try to lures Pacman to fight Martinez common will you fight bigger person or you already knows you will fight bigger or heavy person than you are.
even myself If I going to fight with bigger person I will run and go home and hide.
Mayweathers is okey he is not that BIG .LET DO IT !!!!! time date location will be there.
@ Doc
dude, sergio is bigger than margarito FACT! in boxing, when we say bigger or smaller, we are referring to WEIGHT and not HEIGHT. following your logic, tyson will qualify as pac’s opponent because he stands 5’11″, only an inch taller than margarito.
sergio-pac should be at 150lbs.
Pac will fight them all, one at a time at 144lbs. This is not catchweight but Pac’s normal weight as a WW. Pac is the ultimate WW champion therefore those who wants to fight him should do up or down to the WW div weight limits. No ifs and buts..
1st Valero is dead, which makes me question this writers boxing iq
2nd, Martinez is no bigger than Margarito so that could happen. Let us not forget that Manny fought Margarito for a title that Sergio had to give up when he beat Pavlik. So really on that night Manny should have been fighting Sergio. And since Sergio is as small as a middleweight will get why not catch weight say 156 or 155 and go for a tenth title at middleweight(which would be against the legit Middleweight champ). If Manny loses its a lose that wont be held against him b’c he went up to far in weight and if he wins the legacy is secure and mayweather be damned. Other than that
ortiz has earned a shot but he needs to show more than one good night against berto(which should be a rematch) Maidana would be good but PacMan is too big for the 140 punders Khan is fight that might work but really Manny would tear him apart. And I have no interest in a JMM rematch
Outside of Sergio or Floyd I dont see a legit PPV fight for manny out there. And I wont be shelling out another 54.99 for anything less
yeah, sergio martinez, bring it on! At 150-152 catch weight, i think the fight will be amazing.
After Maravilla, then the Klitchs? who do you think Pacquiao is? Boxing is a sport, sports have rules and catagories. There are amatures and divisions, we don’t want local basketball players match with NBA. Even at MMA there is a division. Would Pacquiao accept a 2Billion contract match with Haye? what will he do with the money if his brain will be damage. Don’t let hate cloud your mind.
Pacquiao could fight Marquez – Bradley or even another rematch with Cotto
There will be more lame excuses…even until the Pacman loses a match to the Klotchkos.
Sergio Martinez at a catchweight? The critics would continue howling in disagreement if Pacman wins. If Sergio beats Pacman at 154 lbs, the critics will celebrate and shout into the high heavens that Pacman is indeed a fraud, overated, cherry picker, old man mauler, one dimensional, no defense, PEDs user, avoiding Floyd …the litany of excuses follows.
only mayweather is left for manny. all of the list above is one way or another a walk in the park. after manny beats ‘em, you’ll say they don’t deserve the shot, or is not in manny’s level. truth is, manny destroys his opponents in the ring, simply destroys them and some you will never get to see fight again. if it’s not mayweather, manny should call it a career. no regrets!
Manny will fight who ever fighter he his at weight not more than 150 below!!!
sergio martinez?toink