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Manny and the Pacnatics By Pete Escobar PhilBoxing.com Mon, 28 May 2007  The elections are finally over! Manny Pacquiao has graciously conceded defeat in his run for congress in South Cotobato to Darlene Custodio. The issues that have divided Pacland has now died down and a peaceful ceasefire hovers over the battlefront. Is it safe to come out yet? The raging debate continues on! Several threads have been made asking the same basic question. Who would be Pacquiao’s next challenge in the ring? Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Joan Guzman, Edwin Valero, Humberto Soto are the list of names being tossed around with Marquez leading the pack as the most logical opponent by virtue of his win against Barrera. Some have argued that Marco Antonio Barrera is done as a prize fighter and he should retire before he gets hurt in the ring permanently. But legends are made by going against popular perceptions. Despite his recent loss to Marquez, and actually because of his determined performance in that intense battle, Barrera proved that he could still be a live competitor for Pacquiao. The fight with Juan Manuel was close and there were a few at ringside who scored the match for Marco. He will not go retire quietly and although it is apparent that he has lost a step or two, his boxing skills are still at a level where he would be the betting favorite against most boxers not mentioned above. Manny cannot have a training camp like the one he had against Solis and expect to run over Barrera. The element of surprise that favored the unknown Pacman in their first fight will not be there. Excuse or not, the distractions in the Barrera training camp leading up to the fight may have been legitimate specially when Pacquiao made the future hall of famer look completely out of his league. Look for a more focused Barrera in the rematch. Is Juan Manuel Marquez really pricing himself out of a rematch again? Or is Arum lying today, but will tell the truth tomorrow? I find it hard to believe that Marquez would allow another opportunity of this magnitude to pass him by yet again. What I don’t understand is how can Marquez turn down another offer to fight Pacquiao for possibly several millions of dollars in a PPV event after he traveled all the way to Indonesia last year to tangle with Chris John in a parking lot for thirty thousand dollars? Something doesn’t add up. If the reports are all true, he’s an excellent boxer, but a very bad businessman. Pacquiao vs. Marquez is one of the most compelling fights in boxing today. It has to made. Someone please make it happen. Whenever Joan Guzman’s name comes up as a possible opponent for Manny, the most common response is that this will be a difficult challenge due to Pac’s ability or inability to handle boxers. I somewhat disagree. Although it is true that Manny’s losses to Marquez and Morales were largely in part due to a game plan devised to box him from the outside and strategically move to counter his straight lefts, there are other legitimate reasons that led to his defeat. After blitzing Marquez in the first round, Pacquiao lost his edge by head hunting looking for that punch to end the fight that never came. Nevertheless, the one dimensional Pacquiao still managed a draw in a disputed decision. In the first Morales encounter, a nasty cut above Manny’s right eye gave Erik an advantage to move and deliver counter right hands. Most importantly, he was not allowed to use his favorite Reyes gloves. Name a major sport where equipment preference is not key? Pacquiao clearly lost a close decision but I can’t say that he was clearly outclassed. Ledwaba was top ten pound for pound in Dan Rafael’s list and was described by most boxing critics as a master boxer. Barrera turned in his masterpiece against Hamed by successfully converting from a slugger to a boxer. Pacquiao ran over both of these two with relative ease. I’m not saying that Guzman will meet the same fate, but if he doesn’t have anything in his punches to get Manny off his back for twelve rounds, or if his chin is comparable to Spinks, then the possibility of Guzman hearing the referee say the word “ten” while he lays on his back is pretty good. Pacquiao does have more difficulties with boxers, the ones with power and a solid chin. Outboxing Manny is easier said than done. ESPN’s recent record of the fifty greatest boxers of all time didn’t include Manny Pacquiao and rightfully so. Numerous posters in threads discussing the list were day to day hoping against hope for Pacman’s inclusion as it counted down to number one. When Bernard Hopkins came in at 47, and Pernell Whitaker popped up at 44 on the very first day, Pacquiao’s chances of getting in the top fifty dropped to zero. More surprisingly, in a recent poll of local boxing writers and commentators on Filipino boxing greats, Manny Pacquiao came in sixth place with Gabriel “Flash” Elorde getting the most votes. Pacho Villa didn’t trail far behind in the number of votes capturing second place. Paclanders responded in kind. Most disagreed with the list. One poster thought that Dodie Boy Penalosa also came in too low and questioned Ceferino Garcia’s exclusion. In an obvious sarcastic post, another Paclander thought that Suico’s non appearance made the list “bogus”. For evidence of Pacquiao fans getting antsy for his next fight, there are several threads where members argue passionately whether or not Floyd Mayweather Jr. could KO Manny at super featherweight. One self proclaimed lurker made an appearance saying nothing makes his blood boil like when he hears someone can KO Pacquiao in three rounds. In one of the more comical threads in recent memory, check out the one where Manny Pacquiao takes on Jermain Taylor, complete with illustrations on how Taylor can be beat. Must be something in the air. All eyes are on Arum on who’s next for Pacquiao. I think I can speak for all paclanders…. Welcome back Manny! Editor's Note: PhilBoxing.com would like to welcome its newest contributor, Pete Escobar aka Tsubtsatagilid of the Pacland forum. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Pete Escobar.  |
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