By Juan dela Cruz: No way! Why would the pound for pound king, fighter of the decade, giant-slayer, greatest boxer of all time will get afraid of a slow, defenseless fighter known as Sergio “Lucky Punch” Martinez? Fear? Manny Pacquiao had been to several wars, had bruises all over his body, got hit by bigger and stronger fighters, but still emerged victorious in all those outings, dealing his opponents the beatings they never had before, rearranging their faces, and after the fight, there were only two destinations for them, either at the hospital, or to retirement. Fear is not in Manny’s vocabulary.

After Manny manhandled Antonio Margarito, speculations begin to circle as to who the next opponent will be. Several names cropped up, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Andre Berto, Martinez and others. Pacman already made statement with regards to his next opponent, “Anyone will do!” He had said before that he is just doing his job and that he will always be ready whoever promoter Bob Arum puts him in the ring with. It was Arum calling the shots and we can’t blame him for that. He wants someone who can sell tickets or pay-per-views and he’s the one in-charge of the business side of the sport while Manny takes care of the fight. And Martinez, among all the names mentioned, is at the bottom of the list.

Martinez’s lucky punch against Paul Williamsl catapulted him to pound for pound rankings, I just don’t get the logic. He was always wide open and in that fight, Williams is way ahead in the judges’ scorecards. It was that lucky punch that sent Paul to canvass. Sergio was not even looking at Paul when he threw that punch. Luckily, it hit Williams. Can he do that against Pacquiao? No way! Before he could hit Pac, he will be very busy trying to figure out where Pacquiao’s punches are coming from, and before he knows it, he’ll be dead kissing the canvass. Remember, Margarito beat Martinez and Pacquiao beat Margarito, therefore there’s no way Martinez will beat Pacquiao (with due respect to Floyd fan’s logic).

Manny will be too fast and too strong for Martinez. Pacquiao just ate those punches that all the big men threw against him, and Sergio is no different from them. He is slow, defenseless fighter and not as big as Margarito. He will just be an easy prey for Pacquiao. Once they met, Pacquiao will KO him inside 6 rounds. And after the fight, Pacquiao will not get the credit because Pacquiao haters will say Martinez was already beaten up by Margarito, or that Sergio was slow, not a counter puncher, and everything they can say just to discredit the pound for pound king. In speed, stamina, skills and strength, Pacman is way above Martinez. The only fear that Arum had (not Manny), is if Martinez can sell PPVs knowing people are not going to watch a fight which they already know the outcome, Pacman manhandling Martinez.