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The Enduring Influence of Flash Elorde and Manny Pacquiao (Part 5 of 5) By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Sun, 31 May 2020  The World Needs Manny Pacquiao. To Help Revive Boxing Under Covid Esteemed boxing columnist from the other side of the Pacific, Paul Magno put very succinctly what I have been saying all along in face of the onslaught of the covid pandemic on sports, particularly professional boxing: That the world needs Manny Pacquiao to help revive boxing under a new normal regime. More than ever, I must say. With Floyd Mayweather Jr. still holding out or playing hard to get despite the uncertainty of how the boxing fans would react and respond to his comeback, Manny remains the only viable, certified active superstar who can draw global attention back to the fight sport notwithstanding the viral pandemic. No other. Not Canelo Alvarez. Not yet at least at this point. He has to strut his stuff beyond his usual predominantly Mexican and American audiences to develop a truly global crossover appeal, I think. Sugar Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon and Marvelous Marvin Hagler did that in their time at the top of boxing stratosphere. Not Tyson Fury who is not as known and popular in fans-rich Asia. He definitely ain't a Muhammad Ali albeit his antics and gift of gab. He does not even have the charisma of Manny Pacquiao. Not even by a long shot Naoya Inoue whose own US championship debut still hangs in the balance. Not only because of scheduling uncertainty but also of his odds against an opponent as Johnriel Casimero who is known as a giant killer. Aside from that, the bantamweight is not that hot among American fans regardless of Inoue's growing popularity. And definitely not the already fifty something former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson whose comeback is already raising collective eyebrows as it is viewed as some kind of a burlesque or worst freak, show. Not even if it is against his namesake, the aforementioned Tyson Fury. Manny Pacquiao still maintains a lasting impression as well as influence with a wider segment of the global fan population with his impressive accomplishments and impeccable track record as the only man to win eight weight division world championships built around two decades of fierce fighting and fine sportsmanship in and out of the ring. He is now on his fourth term as world welterweight champion after winning the WBA welterweight super title. He won that quite recently in impressive fashion from erstwhile undefeated American defending titlist Keith Thurman who had been largely avoided by other top 147 pounders for years. In the wake of such signal victory which made Pacquiao the oldest to win a world title in the division, the other top welterweights around have been prompted to queue for a fight versus the Filipino icon. They included two pound for pound top listers namely WBO champion Terrence Crawford and IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence. The others are former WBC champion Shawn Porter, a former long time sparring partner of prime best Pacquiao, former champion Danny Garcia and former multi division titleholder Mikey Garcia. As Paul Magno observed, even before the covid pandemic, these top name fighters have been lining up for a fight with Pacquiao. Even more so now. Magno wrote in his article, "Leaning on Pacquiao: Why Boxing Needs Manny Pacquiao": "Along with the money, of course, comes the attention. Merely facing Pacquiao elevates a fighter to the next level in terms of marketability." "For the boxing world in general, having Pacquiao back means having a verifiable superstar back. And we all know that verifiable superstars are rare breeds these days in boxing. It should come as no surprise that fighters want to piggyback off his fame and the sport, as a whole, is looking to do the same." Such is the lasting influence of Manny Pacquiao to the boxing world. He could yet be boxing's lead savior in this time as the sport tries to survive from the socio-economic impact of the covid pandemic. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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