Arum expains why Pacquiao did so well against Rios

By Boxing News - 12/05/2013 - Comments

By Chris Williams: To many boxing fans they think that the main reason why Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) had such an easy time beating former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-2-1, 23 KO’s) last month was because Rios was never a good fighter to begin with, and was perfect for Pacquiao to get an empty win against.

But Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum sees it differently. To him, he thinks Pacquiao looked do good because he wasn’t staying up late at night talking on the telephone to his family members at home in the Philippines during training camp.

To Arum, Pacquiao’s cramps and his knockout loss wasn’t due to the affects of aging, he sees it as Pacquiao having too little sleep.

Arum said to USA Today “The reason was simple. When he’s in L.A., he trains all day and goes home at night (day in the Philippines). So he stays on the phone all night, talking and texting to his wife and political people. He gets no sleep. Sleep-deprived, and tired, and that’s why the cramping, and all that sort of stuff. He was not getting the proper rest.”

It’s hard to imagine Pacquiao looking bad and getting beaten in 2 out of his last 3 fights simply because he was making too many late night phone calls to family members in the Philippines. That just seems like Arum is trying to white wash the fact that Pacquiao has been struggling against quality fighters lately. Pacquiao may have beaten Rios, but this is the same fighter that Richard Abril totally dominated and was robbed last year of a one-sided win. Abril dominated Rios even more than Pacquiao did, but he wasn’t given the decision. Mike Alvarado also easily beat Rios last March. The reality is Pacquiao looked good against Rios, but it doesn’t say anything because Rios has already been exposed in 2 out of his last 3 fights before the Pacquiao fight.

Pacquiao isn’t looking bad in his fights because he’s making too many phone calls late at night. He’s looking bad because he’s been fighting good opposition. Arum can make him look good by stepping him back a level and matching him against some of his weaker fighters in his Top Rank stable, but it’s silly to assume that Pacquiao wasn’t doing well because of too many phone calls. When a fighter starts to age, that’s when the excuses start for their poor performances. Initially the excuses are bought by the public but at some point they just don’t fly when it becomes clear that they’re struggling because of age.



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