Hungry challengers are already licking their chops at the possibility of feasting on the remains of an old, injured, and mentally beaten Manny Pacquiao. Even Pacquiao?s own promoter seems to be more involved in picking a successor to Manny on April 9 than an opponent. But killing off a legend is hard work and it becomes even harder when it involves someone like Manny Pacquiao.
Boxing logic dictates that the veteran star must eventually pass the torch to one of the eager younger fighters, but there?s no real reason to believe that Pacquiao, even at 37 years of age, coming off a shoulder injury and the highest-profile defeat of his Hall of Fame career, is ready to be pushed from the top of the hill.
It should be pointed out that even with a shoulder injury hampering his efforts, Pacquiao performed fairly well against Mayweather and the bout was a lot closer than many would care to admit. It was far from a blow-out and one has to wonder what things would?ve looked like if the Filipino icon had entered the bout at 100% and on a completely level playing field.
Prior to the Mayweather bout, Pacquiao hadn?t really shown himself to be winding down or getting old. In his three bouts prior to the mega-fight, Manny defeated Chris Algieri, Brandon Rios, and Timothy Bradley (who looked absolutely awesome in stopping Rios last Saturday night) in one-sided affairs. Even his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in December of 2012 was mitigated, somewhat, by the fact that he was definitely starting to turn the the tide of the bout and grind down the Mexican legend right up until he got caught by the final punch.
Having no knockouts since stopping Miguel Cotto in 2009 is a knock against a veteran Pacquiao, but one which can be explained by pointing out that every opponent faced since Cotto has been either a defensive expert or one famous for having a very sturdy chin.
So, all the hubbub about Terence Crawford being promoter Bob Arum?s go to torch-taker and next big thing is very premature, just like Amir Khan?s babbling about taking Pacquiao?s place on the world stage.
Manny hasn?t looked the least bit shot in any recent fight and is now going to be free of a nagging injury that has bothered him since the De la Hoya fight in 2008.
The strength of a man with Manny?s past, willing to accept the responsibilities that come with being the pride of an entire nation can never be underestimated. If April 9 is, indeed, Manny Pacquiao?s last fight, he will be burning with desire to leave the sport with arms raised in victory– and whoever is lined up against him will be in for a long, tough battle.
