Home is the hero. Manny Pacquiao arrived to even greater fanfare following his historic feat, and the momentary relief it brought to a burdened people, worldwide, even the most staid boxing authorities cannot deny him accolades.
Now the question is who is next on the menu.
Much of the discussion centers around Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton, who, due to a fortuitous case of timing, is already slated to fight IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi in November. Hatton?s camp has expressed great interest in a Pacquiao fight, ?a fight that can be held in a phone booth,? and a massive moneymaker. Hatton has won 44 fights with 31 knockouts, and has only lost once, to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
In the interim, Pacquiao will probably look to shutting up Edwin Valero, the inflated WBA superfeatherweight champion. Valero, who has repeatedly challenged Pacquiao, has a deceptive record of 24 wins, all by knockout, with 19 in the first round. Valero supposedly set a new world record in February of 2006, winning his first 18 fights by first-round knockout (a record which has since been broken).
The only logistical problem is that in the US, Valero is only cleared to fight in Texas (which gave him permission only in March of this year). On Feb. 5, 2001, Valero (who wasn?t wearing a helmet) was involved in a motorcycle accident, fractured his skull, and needed surgery to remove a blood clot inside his head. That has prevented him from being recognized by sanctioning bodies within the US. Valero claims that his doctor gave him a clean bill of health a mere 11 months after the accident.
He was scheduled to hit the limelight on HBO?s Boxing After Dark in after signing with Golden Boy Promotions. But he failed an MRI in January of 2004 and, as a result, was not allowed to fight.
Valero has been fighting mainly in Japan, Panama and Venezuela, not exactly the meccas of world boxing, and has only gone beyond three rounds three times so far, which gives you an idea of the quality of opposition he has faced. He entered a WBA super featherweight title eliminator in February of 2006. On Aug. 5 of that year, he knocked out Vicente Mosquera for the WBA belt, knocking down his opponent twice in the first round, but himself getting sent to the canvas in the third round.
Top Rank?s Bob Arum has already opened discussions with the Venezuelan?s Japanese manager, Akihiko Honda, who is one of the microscopically small minorities who believe Valero has a snowball?s chance in hell of beating Pacquiao. Nov. 8 has been mentioned as a date, with no final venue having been selected.
But the problem with Valero is that he is a brawler who hasn?t really fought anyone serious. On top of that, he will have to move up in weight against someone who has already beaten naturally heavier fighters. It may be exciting on paper, but it will probably be a very short fight. If Pacquiao fights the way he did against David Diaz, he will knock Valero into tomorrow.
And as for Humberto Soto, including his controversial loss of the interim WBC super featherweight to a great acting job by Francisco Lorenzo, he has lost two of his last three fights, and will also have to move up to face Pacquiao. His fight with Pacman?s brother Bobby back in 2007 was a mismatch. Going into that fight, Soto had won his last 19 fights, 13 by knockout; while the younger Pacquiao had lost his last fight, a WBC Continental Americas title bout, because he was overweight. Was it a script to get Manny to go after Soto?
Unfortunately, Marco Antonio Barrera got in the way.
One name that isn?t really being emphasized as much as Valero or Hatton is Nate Campbell, who owns the WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight belts, the only other acknowledged championships. Wouldn?t it make sense? Why not unify the title?
Imagine the advertising. Four world titles. Four weight divisions. One champion.
So why isn?t it happening?
Campbell (32 wins, 5 losses, a draw) only turned pro in 2000, and is now 36 years old. He has been very active the last few years. After beating Matt Zeagn in an IBF title eliminator in 2006, he was not given a title shot, but instead required to fight Ricky Quiles, whom he beat. The Galaxy Warrior, as he calls himself, then went on to beat the previously undefeated Juan Diaz by split decision for the three titles on March 8 of this year. Judge Joe Garcia scored that fight 115-112 for Campbell, Bill Cloancy gave it to him 116-111, while Ric Bays had it 114-113 for Diaz.
This writer spoke to three well-known boxing personalities who each been covering or have been involved in boxing for at least 20 years. Each of them believes Pacquiao will avoid Campbell. And each requested me not to quote them, fearing the backlash from an angry Filipino public.
The consensus is that Campbell will outbox Pacquiao and beat him on points. They say Pacquiao will not be able to impose himself on Campbell, who is sturdy and supposedly good at defending himself against heavy hitters. It will therefore not be an exciting fight for Filipino fight fans. And it may be an unwarranted risk for Arum, who would want more than anything else to protect his cash cow. Besides, has Pacquiao ever fought an African-American boxer?
Pacquiao has already made history, and the WBC is the most credible among the four boxing organizations at this point. So why not go for fights that will bring in bigger money? Everybody wants to fight him, so he can choose.
Campbell may eventually become enticing if he keeps his belts. But if Pacquiao ever gets around to fighting him, he?ll be that much closer to 40, and an easier target.
