By Mark Havey: The world seemed to be watching when the fighter of the decade crumbled to the canvas. One brutal punch from arch rival Jaun Manuel Marquez, and Manny Pacquiao was made to look human. If anyone was going to do it, it would be Marquez. A 5th fight between the pair seemed inevitable.
Not only was there talk of a rematch, but there was also talk of a tune up fight, possibly in April. This week Bob Arum made it clear that there would not be a warm up fight. Clearly his plans are to get Pacquiao straight back into the ring with Marquez. I don’t always agree with Arum, but I do in this case. You can call it a warm up fight or a confidence fight, Pacquiao doesn’t need either.
There isn’t a boxer out there right now that has won more awards than Manny Pacquiao. His legacy is more than anyone would dare to even wish for. He has beaten so many legends and been on top for so long. Why would be need to build up his confidence? I think he has a lot of reasons to have faith in his abilities. He was knocked out by a legend. A veteran who he has always found awkward to fight. But Pacquiao has already beaten Marquez. isn’t that enough reason to be confident in a return?
Like I said, it could just be seen as a tune up fight. Not necessarily pointless, but possibly detrimental. Firstly Pacman isn’t a young fighter anymore. Maybe he has a few fights left in him. They should be making the most out of those fights. No one wants to see Pacquiao fight someone that he will easily destroy. The only other fight worth making is against Timothy Bradley. But then it becomes a challenge, not a tune up.
I think they are doing the right thing. Pacquiao sustained the kind of knockout that ends careers, and sometimes ends lives. Pacquiao has done enough for his fans and boxing to deserve a break. September seems like good timing in my opinion. It’s long enough for him to rest but not long enough to course ring rust. It also gives him the option of starting an early camp, which could be a good idea.
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