Manny Pacquiao’s former manager Shelly Finkel sent a brief e-mail yesterday as he assessed the impact of Juan Manuel Marquez’ recent win over Marco Antonio Barrera on the Filipino boxing icon.
“I guess what I predicted is exactly what is happening,” wrote Finkel. “Guess who is on the outside looking in?” Finkel meant that with Pacquiao out of the Golden Boy loop, he’s not able to land big money contracts fighting the likes of Marquez and Barrera who are both controlled by Oscar de la Hoya.
Pacquiao, not Marquez, would’ve faced Barrera last weekend if not for a contractual snag where the General Santos City star opted to renounce a signed deal with Golden Boy to lock arms with rival Top Rank. According to Top Rank, Pacquiao didn’t turn his back on Golden Boy because the grass was greener on the other side although that notion helped. Top Rank claimed it was because Pacquiao was legally constrained from signing with Golden Boy or any other promoter until after his fight against Erik Morales last November. Pacquiao inked the Golden Boy contract two months before the Morales encounter.
Which entity – Top Rank or Golden Boy – has legal rights to Pacquiao as promoter will be decided by a court of law. But nobody’s holding his breath as to when the verdict will be made. As it is, both parties are still contesting where the trial will be heard – in Los Angeles (where Golden Boy is based) or Las Vegas (where Top Rank rules).
Meanwhile, Pacquiao has to be content fighting opponents not linked to Golden Boy. Luckily, Top Rank found a highly-qualified foe in unbeaten WBC No. 2 contender Jorge Solis for a April 14 appointment with Pacquiao in San Antonio.
Judging from what Barrera showed against Marquez last Saturday, Solis could even prove to be a more formidable opponent for Pacquiao. The Barrera who lost to Marquez would’ve been no match and blown out by Pacquiao inside five rounds. The difference is Pacquiao would’ve earned a lot more facing Barrera than what he’ll take to the bank fighting Solis in what could be a more dangerous bout.
Golden Boy’s announcement of a Barrera-Marquez rematch puts Pacquiao further on hold. That’s the predicament not only Finkel, but also trainer Freddie Roach, warned Pacquiao of. Roach anticipated a Marquez win over Barrera, quashing a huge potential easy payday for Pacquiao in a rematch against the Baby-faced Assassin.
Despite the squabbling and backbiting, the expectation is Golden Boy and Top Rank will eventually come to terms because boxing is business and neither party stands to gain by staying estranged.
Pacquiao is the fight game’s most marketable commodity today. Golden Boy knows it and so does Top Rank. In the end, Golden Boy will realize that a Barrera-Marquez II just won’t titillate the public as much as either a Pacquiao-Barrera II or a Pacquiao-Marquez II. Besides, what thrill is there for Golden Boy in pitting two de la Hoya prot?g?s against each other. The thrill is in pitting Golden Boy’s best against Top Rank’s best and let the chips fall as they may.
For the moment, Pacquiao may be on the outside looking in, as Finkel suggested. But that won’t be for long. His priority is to score a convincing and impressive win over Solis – in the same charismatic way he disposed of Morales not once but twice. After that, expect Golden Boy and Top Rank to get together, work out a modus vivendi and announce a big co-promotion featuring Pacquiao against either Marquez or Barrera before the year ends. That would make the most business sense for all concerned.
As for Pacquiao, the pressure is on to remain the darling of the boxing cognoscenti. He’s got to take care of Solis in decisive fashion then focus on his other fight – to win the congressional seat of the first district of South Cotabato in the May polls.
