Let’s face it, boxing is and always will be a star driven sport. So when news broke of a possible clash between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner at the end of Thurman vs. Porter last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it had a ripple effect on the assembled press corps in attendance.
The move was brilliant on the part of Bob Arum and Top Rank, which leaked an October 15th reservation at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It gave them immediate buzz and a chance to gauge public interest in such a bout. The response has been strong, and its one that makes sense.
For starters, its a great fight, as Pacquiao vs. Broner would mix it up for a guaranteed action fight. While there are similarities in style between Broner and Floyd Mayweather, Broner is a much more offensive fighter in possession of a vastly inferior defense to the all-time great.
He would be available for Pacquiao to strike with abandon and offer fierce resistance in the process. We know what kind of theater and comic relief he’d provide during the promotion, and that between the two of them, they’d have absolutely no problem selling out the 11,000 seat arena. The notorious Al Haymon and Arum have ironed out selfish differences for the benefit of a sport they’ve been killing, and this could actually be billed as a cross promotion between HBO and Premier Boxing Champions that lands on free TV.
Whoa.
But here’s the problem: “Pac-Man” is a former eight-division world champion in the business of gobbling world titles, and the WBC welterweight title he unsuccessfully tried to snatch from Mayweather in last year’s stinker now belongs to Danny “Swift” Garcia. Forget the ridiculous title that was essentially created for his third bout with Timothy Bradley- that doesn’t count.
Based on what I think I know about Manny, he would seem to need something more real to be lured out of a senatorial seat that hasn’t even had a chance to get hot. As Pac is scheduled to begin his Senate session on Friday in Manila, Arum has already booked a flight to the Philippines to have a little chat with Senator Pacquiao after July 4th to discuss his schedule and options.
Arum has known for weeks that Pac definitely wants to fight again, as his first move upon being officially elected to the senate was asking the Philippine people if they were cool with the idea of his competing in the upcoming Rio Olympic Games.
They were- but his fellow fight peers weren’t.
More than likely, “Don Bob”is thinking about how to get attention for the July 23 HBO pay-per-view, unification clash between WBO super lightweight champion Terence Crawford and WBC lineal champ Viktor Postol at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Since HBO has slashed its boxing budget and refused to pick up that fight, one of the best fights that boxing can make will probably do less than 100,000 buys without something dramatic.
Enter Pac vs. Swift.
As good as a match-up Pacquiao vs. Broner is, Pacquiao vs. Garcia is an even better one. It would feature two very bold and confident action fighters of great (but contrasting) ability who would go for broke. Can you imagine the verbal exchanges between Freddie Roach and Angel Garcia in the build-up?
Not only that, but if Arum comes back with a commitment from Pacquiao, it saves Crawford vs. Postol and opens up the possibility for the winner to face either Pacquiao or Garcia, pending the outcome on October 15. This is heavy speculation of course, but if you’re Haymon, getting a potential Manny Pacquiao fight on free TV would be an absolute coup for his PBC brand.
He could build off the momentum for Thurman vs. Porter, which was the highest rated fight of the year. Plus, it would be huge for the hardcore and casual fan of boxing – opening up any number of bouts – as both Arum and Haymon have controlling interests of the most dominant fighters in the sports’ most glamorous division.
Whatever they do, they’d better do it now– as Crawford vs. Postol is fast approaching. There would be no better time than within the next two weeks or so to make an announcement on that platform in Las Vegas, as the media will already be in town for the best fight nobody knows about.
You have to figure Pac and Swift would need their own press tour, and pretty much all of August and September to train. I’m just saying. For more on this fight and all news in the world of boxing, please be sure to visit Real Combat Media.
