Manny Pacquiao, 44-3, 35 KO’s, is considered one of the top two boxers in the game today. While some place him as the very best in the world, others point to Floyd Mayweather, JR., as the Pound for Pound Champion. On the basis of skills alone, the comparison is nearly impossible to fully digest. Pacquiao has the ability to overwhelm opponents in a way that the boxing populous has not seen from Mayweather since his fight with super action hero Arturo Gatti. Even then, Gatti was a mismatched opponent, far out of his league. He also throws fists in a style that comes straight forward, mostly offensive by nature. The “Pretty Boy” sticks to a defensive style that includes good offensive tools, maintaining lateral movement and juking the body and head in between quick, snapping punches.
Pacman has all the makings of the king of his sport. He is exciting, dominant, well known, prime, young and hungry. Pacquiao is right where he wants to be, having dismantled Erik Morales and ready to take care of business with Marco Antonio Barrera.
The bout against Barrera is a set up and a bookend more than it is set for excitement. Pacquiao is a fighter on top of the world. Barrera used to be that but he is now headed toward the familiar path of an older fighter: Perhaps still great, but hardly lightning. Barrera’s chance in the fight is to brawl and break his way through Pacquiao’s chamber of swinging tornado fist super action, surviving long enough to get in body work and wrestle for a larger part of 12 rounds. In all likelihood, he would look like Erik Morales in doing so.
Barrera had trouble sticking and moving than the slower Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter that was nearly destroyed against Pacquiao in 2004. While Marquez arose from three knockdowns in the first round of that fight to pull out a draw, the fight nearly ended early. An even slower man than Marquez that night would have been utterly obliterated by Pacquiao and Barrera looks to be that slower man.
Supposing he wins, a rematch with Marquez is certainly on the table. The ratings for the fight would be off the charts, a Pay Per View of the two biggest names in the smaller divisions. The skill level and legendary status of Pacquiao and Marquez would make for one super crowded, rabid, angry, boisterous, noisy night at Mandalay Bay. Drunken characters railing cigarettes every two minutes prior to entering the hotel and casino, yelling, singing national anthems and trading dirty looks. Gazing at ring cards girls amidst the most professional and explosive versions of legally organized impersonal violence. Will power, motor skill and physical tools clashing in a format unseen since their first fight, this is the way for Pacquiao to go from an occupational angle.
If he can defeat Marquez, Pacquiao will have taken care of past business and beaten all of the big names. The quest, however, would be far from over. There are multitudes of contenders within weight range to step to Pacquiao. He would become, like Mayweather, the marked man of the smaller division and a prime target for a young gun. While he is busy taking out fellow veterans of the fight game, the youngsters will be climbing the fight ladder.
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, WBO/WBA Lightweight Champion Juan Diaz will likely be taking on IBF Lightweight Champion Julio Diaz in a title unifier between two young and hungry fighters that can smell blood in the air. At 23 and 27 years old, Juan is an undefeated fighter coming off of a fantastic victory of Acelino Freitas while Julio’s only career losses came at the hands of Jose Luis Castillo, Juan Valenzuela and Angel Manfredy. The loss to Manfredy was by split decision after Diaz had several points subtracted for low blows.
The aftermath of that bout would leave the four lightweight belts in two hands, that of David Diaz and the winner of the original Diaz vs. Diaz fight (getting confused yet?). David Diaz has only one loss on his ledger, by way of an eighth round technical knockout to Kendall Holt in 2005. Assuming there was no shady activity or foul play enacted to disturb the march toward one unified lightweight champion from that point forward, there would be one more showdown, yet another Diaz vs. Diaz fight, to decide the champion.
Left out of the dance in that scenario is the reigning Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion and WBC Interim Title Holder (whatever that means) Joel Casamayor. Casamayor is accepted by much of the boxing public as the best natural linear lightweight in the world. He made public statements calling out everyone with whom he could think of making a big name, big dollar fight while simultaneously poking fun at those that held lightweight belts.
“I respect (Ricky) Hatton, I respect Mayweather… I believe they are men, that they will fight. These other boys, these phony champions, they hide behind their managers and promoters and duck me. Since when does a true world champion have to chase his challengers? These other lightweights who have belts, they should be ashamed to call themselves champions.”
Casamayor’s outburst was likely a business move, as he is afraid of being left out of a million dollar fray at a point in his career when, at 35 years old, he is on the declining side of his prime. Hatton and Mayweather are most likely erasing each other from the table by agreeing to a fight some time later this year or early next year. Casamayor’s next fight is a mandated match against the winner of an August 4th bout between David Diaz and the legendary Erik Morales, who lost the third and rubber fight against Pacquiao November of last year. Morales is at the end of a long and illustrious career and this will be a classical boxing challenge of a young champion vs. an old veteran dog who is ready to rumble.
One strange aspect of the Casamayor statement is that he chose not to call out Pacquiao himself, a fighter who is still close enough in weight, effective enough in style and established enough in name to make a fight fan’s fight out of it. The Pacman still has plenty of fights to make and time to make them, to the extent that perhaps Casamayor realized he was just not capable of putting himself in that picture.
In any event, Casamayor is favored to wind up with the belt of either Diaz or Morales and would face the remaining Diaz for unification of the lightweight division. When all is said and done and the dust cleared, it would be a glorious for boxing to see a unified champion and the array of bouts that are left on the table between the remaining super names. Every name inside the borders of this very article will likely be climbing toward a climax of less and less fighters for more and more supremacy. Pacquiao himself will be, at that point, making a name for himself in the larger view of history. By punishing the fighters that are on top deep into his career, he will prove to the world that there is no antidote for him.
As for who those fighters might be, the only the future knows. Boxing is a game of ups, downs, splashes and fades. The fighters on this list could incur any of those career movements by the time Pacquiao is using the rubber stamp. Either way, his career promises the boxing community some hellacious fights against the most top notch competition.
