By Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum recently said that Manny Pacquiao will be fighting outside of the United States now because of the high taxes inside the country, and they want to avoid those taxes by having his fights staged in Asia and Mexico.
The sudden decision by Pacquiao and Arum to take his Manny’s fights outside of the country leaves fans wondering what’s really at the heart of this decision. It gives the sense that Pacquiao doesn’t have much time left, and that he wants to make sure he can get of the sport with as much money as possible before the ride is over.
It’s understandable if that’s what Pacquiao is doing because the way he was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez last December might leave him susceptible to suffering future knockouts. Pacquiao’s brawling style of fighting certainly won’t help him avoid those knockouts if he can’t take a punch like he used to.
I don’t know how Arum is feeling about this, but I imagine he’s probably worried about the thought of Pacquiao getting knocked cold each time he fights. It would mean that Arum won’t be able to keep matching Pacquiao tough to maximize revenue if he gets getting knocked out. Arum would have to sign up a lesser puncher for his Top Rank stable or put Pacquiao back in with Tim Bradley, and get less money on pay per view.
It’s strange to see Pacquiao retreating from the United States to potentially fight in Asia or Mexico. I don’t care that taxes is the excuse Arum is making for Pacquiao doing this. It just seems so unlike Pacquiao and Arum. It reminds me of how celebrities retreat once they start to lose their status as top celebrities and begin to age.
Things have changed for Pacquiao. He’s now trying to get a fight against Marquez instead of the other way around. It’s as if Pacquiao’s KO loss to Marquez has reversed roles.
The whole idea of Pacquiao fighting Marquez for a fifth fight without a tune-up fight to see if Pacquiao is still cogent seems like a risky maneuver by Arum.
Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Marquez was incredibly brutal, and the last thing you want to do is throw Pacquiao back in the ring with Marquez for a fifth fight. I don’t care if Arum is going to let Pacquiao rest until September, it’s still a risky thing because Marquez has Pacquiao’s number, and he’s proven that again and again and again. Now that Marquez has more power, the chances of him flattening Pacquiao are high, especially if his ability to take a hard shot has been compromised.
Comments are closed.