Who is the next great fighter of our era? A fighter who is like Muhammad Ali and Julio Cesar Chavez or Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson? Who is the next Manny Pacquiao?
According to Freddie Roach, when anyone tries to give another upcoming fighter the honorary title as the next “Manny Pacquiao”, Roach just simply labels it as nonsense. This kind of labeling happens often, especially with young fighters. A fighter who may have a couple of good fights against so-so opponents, with a story behind them and they show an opportunity to quick, easy, money and then the world wants to crown them as the next this and the next that.
Anyone who knows of Victor Ortiz, a prime example, should know what I’m talking about. Ortiz, is now promoted by Golden Boy and is also under tutelage by the former Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya. Ortiz was automatically labeled as the next superstar in the U.S. boxing scene. He was Mexican-American, attractive, great personality, and then boom. This past June, an unknown Argentinean fighter comes along and a defeat takes place. Reality then makes its presence known and we all open our eyes a little wider now.
To label someone as the next anything, is a bit premature at any time. What I’ve learned is that a great fighter only appears on rare occasion in a single lifetime. The way I see it, it’s like Halley’s comet, the comet that is only seen every 76 years. Do I think it will take that long for another legend to come our way? I don’t think so, but then again I haven’t been around for 76 years so what do I know?
A lot of fighters tend to come from an unpromising past, or a rag to riches story. Most of them, resorted to boxing as a way to get out of the life they were living in, or just a way to support themselves and their families. Those fighters are the ones who refuse to believe in “I can’t” and don’t see any other way but to the top.
So if right now the “next” whoever is someone in the fields of some country far away, overworking in the sun for hours that guarantee very little pay, or is forced to steal everyday for the sake of their family. It could be someone who sleeps in the back of his or her car and lives out of their trunk because they have no other way. Maybe it is someone who has to witness a family member struggle and constantly deal with life’s trials and tribulations. Then again, maybe this all just about someone who has a dream.
Regardless, these kind of scenarios happen everyday, whether we like it or want to believe in it or not. Everyone who will make a difference in this world in some way, has and will have a story to tell. As far as being a boxer is concerned, a 10-0-0 record or even a 40-0-0 record is a story incomplete. The amount of money you have or tickets you can sell should not portray you as a person. Martin Luther King Jr. said people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This shows that the number of wins, losses or draws you obtain should not make you, but how you achieved, possibly failed, and then achieved again does. That is the story of a legend.
Whether or not you will have one to tell is surely up to you.
