Manny Pacquiao has gone from fighting in squared circles to throwing his hat into the ring, from knockout wins to a Congressional bid. He is a hero and an icon in the Philippines and beyond, a man whose popularity cannot be defined by ballot boxes or exit polls.
All he needs is a show of hands.
First, the left hooks that shook Jorge Solis on Saturday night and sent the undefeated Mexican fighter down for a count of nine. In an awkward fight in which an accidental clash of heads opened a cut near Pacquiao’s left eyebrow, those punches were a welcome change of pace, a sense of urgency similar to that which Wladimir Klitschko showed in his fight against Calvin Brock.
Finally, the uppercuts that finished Solis off and ended the night in the same manner that many of Pacquiao’s bouts conclude – with a bang.
With a bang – and with those hands – the Filipino Firebomber exploded through the featherweight ranks. Since jumping from flyweight to junior featherweight in late 1999, Pacquiao has won 18 times, lost once and drawn twice. That record is impressive enough considering that Pacquiao turned pro at 106 pounds. But by going 3-1-1 against the triumvirate of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao has ascended to the top tier of talent today.
He’s reached his zenith. He merely needs to stay there.
Pacquiao’s trilogy with Morales is done, the Pac-Man having sent “El Terrible” into his retirement lap. He needs to stay sharp. He needs to keep his luster. He needs another foil – and soon.
The good news is that Pacquiao has set himself up through what essentially amounts to political sweet science, a combination of wise planning and winning pugilism.
Pacquiao sits atop the rankings of the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization. The lone holdout – the International Boxing Federation – has him positioned third, somehow thinking him less qualified than Mzonke Fana and Manuel Medina.
Those sanctioning bodies, respectively, leave Pacquiao as the leading contender for Edwin Valero, Juan Manuel Marquez and Joan Guzman. All three fights hold their own intrigue, selling points that make them potential replacements for the long-desired rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.
The Barrera bout went from possible to probable when Pacquiao signed last year with Golden Boy Productions. But then Pacquiao went to Top Rank, reportedly giving up a cash-filled suitcase and thereby prompting lawsuits that are just the latest episode in the enmity between the two companies.
That hostility could have hindered bouts between Pacquiao and either Marquez or Guzman, each of which is promoted by Golden Boy. But Pacquiao is their mandatory – the only questions now are which fighter the Pac-Man picks and which company wins the purse bid.
Five of Pacquiao’s last six appearances have been on pay-per-view. He fills seats – and coffers, too. The money Pacquiao brings and the stardom he has achieved virtually guarantee that there are numerous opponents out there who are willing to throw their hats in the ring for the chance to stand across from him in the squared circle.
All Pacquiao needs is a show of hands.
The 10 Count
1. On the undercard of Pacquiao-Solis, junior bantamweight Cristian Mijares retained his title with a surprisingly one-sided defeat of former 108-pound champion Jorge Arce.
For much of the fight, Arce was either off-balance, off-target or both. He lunged with single shots from the outside. He missed with multiples on the inside. Mijares, meanwhile, would respond with accurate combinations, his fast hands alighting nearly half the time upon an opponent who couldn’t adjust or turn the tide.
Mijares’ victory throws the proverbial wrench into what is, for the moment, the squandered stardom of Jorge Arce. But while any momentum for a potential megafight against flyweight beltholder Vic Darchinyan is gone, one imagines that Arce will come back soon, once more full of energy and personality.
As for Mijares, he should seek to return with another televised appearance against a high profile, name opponent. Perhaps Arce’s loss will be Mijares’ gain, as the former’s promoter, Bob Arum, could substitute Mijares in for what probably would have been Arce’s next fight, a clash with former 115-pound titlist Martin Castillo.
2. I don’t know where there was more blood – on Mijares’ trunks or on Sunday’s episode of “The Sopranos.”
3. The pay-per-view opened with another favored fighter coming up short, as former junior flyweight titlist Brian Viloria dropped a majority decision to Edgar Sosa.
Sosa picks up the WBC belt that Viloria lost in August to Omar Nino, a strap stripped from Nino following his November rematch with Viloria. That contest, which the judges ruled a majority draw, became a no contest when Nino tested positive for methamphetamine use.
Viloria looked much better than he had in his two bouts against Nino. The defeat is yet another setback, but Viloria should hold his head up because he lost a close, competitive fight. Sosa, interestingly enough, must face Nino next, because the WBC ruled two months ago that Nino “did not voluntarily” take methamphetamines.
4. Also on Saturday, Ruslan Chagaev lifted the WBA heavyweight title from the lofty reaches of Nicolay Valuev, outpointing the seven-footer via majority decision.
Chagaev fought a measured fight based off of measurements. The undefeated Uzbek built a lead by staying disciplined, keeping his distance from the taller (by nearly a foot), heavier (by nearly 100 pounds) Valuev until an opportunity opened for the occasional left cross. Chagaev rarely tried to get inside of his opponent’s reach advantage, a strategy that forced the slower Valuev to find him and kept Chagaev away from clinches in which Valuev could lean down with his considerable heft.
5. Sticking with the heavyweights, Joe Mesi easily disposed of designated opponent Ron Johnson on Saturday, the first-round knockout giving Mesi his sixth victory since he returned 12 months ago from two subdural hematomas and a forced two-year layoff.
Johnson, a 21-20 fighter who turned pro as a welterweight and who was a super middleweight as recently as 2004, came to the ring as a last-minute replacement. Mesi was originally slated to face Marvin Hill, whose 20-10 ledger includes a first-round stoppage loss to preceding Mesi victim George Linberger.
6. From Mesi to Mess-issippi: Zab Judah’s bout against Ruben Galvan was supposed to be a formality, a tune-up fight in Tunica, Miss., prior to Judah’s June meeting with welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto. Judah had been off for a year, suspended for the melee that broke out during his April 2006 bout with Floyd Mayweather, and he needed a win to qualify as a legitimate WBA title challenger.
What was designed to be an easy win for Judah became a mess when a cut opened up high on Galvan’s scalp and, with the wound’s cause unknown, the doctor halted the match. Indecision only became confusion as the ring filled with people, including the card’s promoter, and everyone had a vested interest in influencing the outcome.
Even with the cameras that were broadcasting ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, it was extremely difficult to tell if, as this scribe suspects, the cut came accidentally from Judah’s left elbow. After much time and discussion, the state athletic commission ruled the fight a no contest, at least for a moment.
A no contest doesn’t equal a win, no matter how likely the latter would have been. There’s been no official word as to whether the Galvan result will impact Judah’s fight with Cotto.
7. Poor ESPN2. Between a rain delay and the no contest, last week’s Friday Night Fights was a two-hour broadcast with less than one round of live boxing.
8. Enjoyed the first episode of De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7. Excellent stuff, as is the norm for HBO-produced boxing documentaries.
9. My personal highlight: Floyd Mayweather eating spray cheese. Who knew?
10. Dancing with the Stars Update: In week four, Laila Ali and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced a paso doble to a tune from the George Bizet opera Carmen – the same song, coincidentally, that Don Flamenco came out to in classic boxing video game “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.”
The judges, however, were not blown away, awarding the pair a total of 21 points. That score landed Ali and Chmerkovskiy in a tie for fifth place, and the audience vote helped keep them safe for another week.
