You can rarely go wrong in boxing, or in life in general, if you guide your actions by the rule that people almost always do whatever is in their self interest.
What?s in it for me? That?s the key question taught in Boxing Promoter 101. Bob Arum asked himself that question and came up with the Manny Pacquaio-David Diaz fight. He will keep the March 15 Pacman fight almost totally in house, meaning he has his dream matchup, his Top Rank bread and butter fighter challenging his WBC lightweight champion who is virtually unmarketable unless his name is attached to that of a superstar.
Freddie Roach, Manny?s trainer who screamed and shilled for Golden Boy?s Juan Manuel Marquez, took the self-interest approach to the situation as well. Does Coach Roach believe a 77-year-old senior citizen is more important to his boxing trainer future than Oscar De La Hoya and the youthful Golden Boy team? No, Roach?s bread is buttered at Golden Boy, not at Top Rank. Six months ago, Arum was spending his waking hours desperately trying to convince Pacquaio to fire Roach.
Now it is Oscar and pals who are stuck with a fading, 33-year-old ?name? who almost publicly begged Pacquiao to fight him.Marquez even agreed to move up to the lightweight division to make the bout. I think the next GBP press release was going to announce that Juan Ma would permit Manny to thin mittens instead of actual boxing gloves.
Marquez now has no fight so you might think it natural for the Golden Boys to turn to their unbeaten WBO 130-pound champion Joan Guzman and make a Marquez-Guzman bout which would certainly be a big HBO fight if not a PPV attraction. It could be a PPV headliner if you put some meaty bouts underneath but, hey, that would cost money. Besides, Golden Boy seeks to preserve its lone Mexican superstar, not get him knocked off.
This isn?t much more of a test for Megamanny than the Solis fight was really. David D has no pop or power to his punches. He is a skilled boxer but this fight could resemble a sparring session. Let?s not get amnesia and forget how David slipped past shopworn Erik Morales by the slimmest of margins.
The bottom line for Manny? He?s also doing what is his self interest at this time. He will get as much, or maybe more since GBP?s cut is limited, than he would have received to fight Marquez. He also gets an easier assignment and a virtual free pass to the WBC 135-pound title.
Let me be clear that no one should begrudge Diaz this payday which will be in the $1 million range. He deserves it and he could have gone and lost his crown for a lot less moolah against someone else.
Somewhere today, the sun is shining and Jose Sulaiman is smiling.
Swordfish are an endangered species, I hear. But boxing?s Selfish?as named and listed above?continue to jive and thrive.
