By Juan dela Cruz: After demolishing bigger and taller Antonio Margarito in a brutal way last November 13, 2010 at the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium in Dallas, Texas, speculations started to circle among boxing fans as to who will be the next opponent for the pound for pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.
People curiously waited for the statement to be made either by Pacman or Arum immediately after the fight regarding who will win the lottery and have a big payday in fighting Manny. As it turned out, Bob Arum did not gave the specific name of Pac’s next challenger although in some interviews, different names cropped up, Berto, Mosley, Marquez, and Martinez. Of course Floyd Mayweather Jr is the top priority but he might not be available until next year due to legal problems confronting Money May.
Let’s take a look at each one of them and see who really deserves to face Pacquiao by early part of 2011.
Sugar Shane Mosley
Among the names mentioned, as others sees it, Shane is the nearest to Floyd Mayweather when it comes to talent and skills and it would be interesting once they meet. He has also the largest fan base compared to other fighters mentioned, therefore, business-wise, Mosley is the best choice for Arum. But for most of the boxing fans, Mosley is on the downside of his career and his age is quickly catching up with the once most dreaded fighter in the planet. His lackluster performance in his last two fights showed Mosley is no longer a threat to Manny Pacquiao. Shane might end up brutally beaten black and blue by the Pacman but surely, the fight will generate interest among many boxing fans.
Juan Manuel Marquez
Juan Manuel Marquez’s 9th round trashing of Michael Katsidis proved once and for all that he is still a force to reckon with despite coming to age. He was more popular than Margarito in the US and therefore can generate larger PPVs than Pac vs Margarito fight once he faces Pacquiao again in the ring. Many boxing fans believed that Marquez is Pacquiao’s unfinished business as some, especially Marquez, believed that JMM won both fights. The fact is that Manny Pacquiao has one win and one draw over Marquez. The draw was due to the fact that Judge Burt Clements sealed it with a 113-113 score, but admitted making a mistake. He should have had the first round 10-6 for Pacquiao instead of 10-7 because Pacquiao had knocked Marquez down 3 times in the first round. Pacquiao would have won, had Clements added the third knockdown to the scorecard for round 1. It only means that Pacquiao has really beat Marquez twice. So why would he fight him again? Marquez fans that say Pacquiao is ducking Marquez are really just kidding themselves. They refuse to accept the fact that Marquez is past his prime and Pacquiao is peaking in his. Marquez has less of a chance this time because Pac has not only improved tremendously but is bigger and stronger since they last fought. So why would he think he can win? Maybe he just wants one last huge payday. Pacquiao fans want to see him face Marquez, not to see a competitive fight, but simply to see their idol shut up Marquez once and for all. Marquez is a real threat, in lightweight division, but not to Manny.
Sergio Martinez
Sergio Martinez just recently avenged his loss to Paul Williams dealing Paul with a devastating left hook that sent him down in the canvass, face-first, in the second round. In skills and talent, he have a good chance against Pacquiao but the problems is, Sergio is a middle weight and Pacquiao had a hard time trying at junior middle and according to Arum, he will go back to welter where he’s at ease, weight too low for Sergio. Pac can no longer go 150lbs upward while Martinez doesn’t want to go below 152. That means there’s no chance the two warriors will ever meet in the ring, aside from the fact that Arum is worried about their weight difference come fight night which could be over 30 pounds. Inside boxing, his performances in his two fights with Williams and his championship win against Kelly Pavlik in April make him a star. But he is still virtually unknown to the general sports public.
Berto
Berto’s KO win over an unknown fighter does not qualify him as Pac’s next opponent. Boxing is also a business and Berto can’t even sell a ticket in his own hometown. As Larry Merchant said; “He’s never proven to be an attraction, largely because he hasn’t fought top opponents so that people have a true measure of who he is.” When it comes to skills and crowd-drawing power, Berto is way below Pacquiao’s capability, and that made him not deserving of a shot against Manny. He has the skills, but it paled in comparison to Pacquiao.
Latest news said that Bob Arum had already narrowed his list into three, Mosley leading, followed by Marquez, and last is Berto. On my opinion, the list is based on the PPV drawing prowess of the three. But whoever goes first or last doesn’t matter. Pacquiao will still be earning millions of dollars from this fight. He still has three years before retirement and he can still fight these three fighters if Floyd will remain unavailable. The only problem I see in these fights is that no matter how or no matter in what way Manny defeats these three, he still will not get the credit just like after he demolished other fighters that come his way. Before his fights, Pacquiao haters predicted his loss against bigger, stronger, and taller opponents. But after dealing them the beatings of their lives, haters would say they were tailored for Pac, coming off a loss, shot, slow and Floyd’s leftovers. But whatever, Manny is just dammed good everybody wants a piece of him.
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