Manila ruled out for Pacquiao’s April fight

By Boxing News - 01/13/2013 - Comments

pac32By Allan Fox: The idea of putting Manny Pacquiao’s next fight in April in Manila has been rejected, according to Philboxing.com. Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz says the venue will still likely one of the following countries: Singapore, Macau and Abu Dhabi.

There are 9 potential opponents being looked at for the fight, but the leading candidates is former WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko and Top Rank welterweight Jessie Vargas. Senchenko is said to be the #1 guy they’re looking at right now. He recently stopped Ricky Hatton in the 9th round last November, sending the British fighter back into retirement.

Humberto Soto and Top Rank fighter Brandon Rios are also being considered for Pacquiao’s April fight. You would have to think that Rios would be a long shot because he’s good power and the last thing Pacquiao needs right now is to be in with another puncher.

Pacquiao was knocked out in the 6th round last December by Juan Manuel Marquez, who normally isn’t considered a big puncher, but he was able to catch Pacquiao off guard on a couple of occasions with big shots that he didn’t seem coming until it was too late.

Pacquiao hit the deck in the 3rd and the 6th rounds from crushing right hands thrown from the counter-punching Marquez. Some boxing fans believe that Marquez’s dedication to strength training increased his punching power enough for this fight for him to KO Pacquiao, but if you look at the fight it just seemed more of a case that Marquez caught Pacquiao with shots that he didn’t see coming.

It’s hard to imagine Pacquiao being able to take those kinds of punches even if Marquez didn’t have as much muscle. Pacquiao simply wasn’t ready for those shots and the outcome was pretty devastating. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach wanted him to be more aggressive for this fight, and that could be one of the reasons why Pacquiao was hurt in the 6th because he rushed forward in a reckless manner and got caught. In the past fights, Pacquiao was usually more cautious when attacking Marquez because he didn’t want to get caught with his counter shots.



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