Dear Sir Michael:
Greetings coming all the way from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a hope for you to be always in the best of health that you may keep successfully doing your daily personal & professional duties and responsibilities. Count me as one of your millions of avid & ardent readers in your Boxing Confidentials? columns. My name is Eddie H. Moreno, a 38 years old Filipino Civil Engineer, presently working out of my country and currently employed here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Boxing has been one of my favorite sports ever since, with Manny Pacman? Pacquiao as one of my most admired boxers of the present generations not just because he is a Filipino but because of his great boxing abilities.
Of course, the great Sugar Ray Leonard still remains my personal all time best up to now. In the few times that I come across reading your articles, whether it was Pacmans? related story or not, I can?t really help but to admire you a lot for your unique way or style of writing. For whatever reasons, I?m sure you know you can?t please everyone especially my fellow fans of the Pacman. Some will hate you; others may curse you and unfortunately even calls you by names, yet for me, you?re still doing your profession better than any others in your chosen field of endeavors.
I feel as well that behind those powerful yet sincere words of Michael Marley are a real nice, good & a wonderful person. I do respect you as a writer but more so as a person. Your write ups with the MegaManny were not always perfect, at least in the eyes of the Pacmans? adoring fans, yet for me you?re just serving as a challenge that helps Manny become better as a boxer in particular and as a person in general.
Before I?ll end up my simple message, could you give me sir an honest to goodness answer to a few questions as follows:
Who is your choice as the Pacmans? next possible opponents for the year 2008 after March 15, in your point of views as his (a) adviser/trainer, (b) promoter & (c) fans? If Pacquiao will be given the chance for one mega-fight, either with Pretty Boy or the Golden Boy in a catch weight, who do you think will be the best choice & why? At this point of the Pacmans? boxing career, if you were to give him one or a couple of important bits of advice, what would it be? How can I keep in touch with my all time favorite boxer, the great Sugar Ray Leonard? As a neutral boxing writer or expert, with out being bias, how you foresee the outcome of a possible Pacquiao ? Guzman fight? Lastly, could you send me sir, a photo or pictures of you (solo) and the other staff (group) behind the Boxing Confidential organization?
Thank you for finding the time to read and response to this simple message. Hope you?ll keep on writing sir as your write ups means so much to me and your millions of dear readers spread around and across the four corners of the globe. If you can send me a response direct to my email, it will be very highly & deeply appreciated. Convey my best regards to your family. Wish you all the best and take care!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best regards;
Eddie
DEAR EDDIE: You surprised me with his well-written letter and then with a Christmas Day call all the way from Saudi Arabia. And it wasn?t even a collect call?now that is why I call a real Boxingconfidential hard-core fan. We do appreciate it.
1) I would like to see Pacman handle JM Marquez in March, come back in September to fight either Joan Guzman or Edwin Valero (subject to Valero?s USA licensing issues) and maybe finish up a sizzling 2008 with a step up to the lightweight division to see if he can be the matador who gets the best of Baby Bull Juan Diaz. Note that I do not assume Pacman to be the winner over Guzman although I do think Megammanny is too versatile for windmilling Valero. As far as Juan Diaz-Pacquiao, I can see either guy winning, both guys getting floored and perhaps a two or even three-fight series comparable to the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez trilogy. Re Pacman?s team, why break up the Red Sox after they won another World Series meaning that Manny has a winning team in place now. If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it.
2) As far as a megafight, that is an intriguing question and I think my answer will surprise you. I think Megammany-Baby Bull is mega, mega, mega but perhaps that can wait and get hotter on the grill. Maybe Pacman can wind up 2008 by going to either Vegas or to the UK to fight popular Ricky Hatton at 140 pounds. It says here in Marleyville that Hatton gets stopped by Manny but it would be a marvelous bout and they would easily draw 50,000 in England. Oscar vs. Manny just seems too far-fetched to become a reality but never say never!
3) Only advice I could give Manny at this point is to watch his savings and investments like a hawk and I don?t mean like Aaaron ?The Hawk? Pryor. I am sure No Joke Coach Roach and others around Manny tell him the same thing. Pac should have three sets of accountants so that they all keep each other straight. Also Pacquiao must not let outside distractions diminish the period he?s going into now, the real prime-time period of his ring career. Politics, law degrees, etc, variety shows and other acting gigs?they all need to be deferred.
4) I will find out from Jeff Wald how you can write to the great Sugar Ray Leonard. Get back to you on that one.
5) Neutral I am not. Switzerland is neutral, not Boxingconfidential where myself, Ricardo Lois, John Chavez and the rest of the usual gang of idiots all show their pride and prejudice. It?s our job to dish out opinions, be they simply wrong or wildly wrong. Either Guzman gives Manny a boxing lesson over 12 rounds and frustrates him or else Pacman does what no one else has done and that is dent the Dominican?s chin for a KO victory. That?s the reason we all want to see this one because we don?t know the outcome. This is not a mismatch on paper like Hatton-Mayweather was. In fact, Hatton-Mayweather was also a mistmatch in the ring.
6) Pictures of the staff? Check the news, please, because the San Francisco police have shut down the zoo. So we can?t run in and get any shots of John Chavez. I do think we will all have new column pics this coming year and I promise to get a group shot and post it when we all meet up at ringside in Vegas on March 15.
Eddie, your email and phone call capped off a sensational first year for Boxingconfidential. Tell all your friends in the Middle East, in the RPI and anywhere else.
We don?t want to keep the site confidential?if you know what I mean. Btw, for scribbling the best email of 2007, you?ve won TWO free BC teeshirts. We only have XXL size right now but send me a snail mail address and I will ship them out.
Please send me a jpeg of you and pal wearing the BC teeshirts on the burning sands of Saudi Arabia. Which reminds me, Lawrence Of Arabia, Peter O?Toole, marvelous movie.
Coming soon: a movie entitled Manny Of GenSan, starring?I don?t know, starring Josh Brolin??
