WHAT?S IN STORE FOR THE PAC-MAN??
Rumors circulating around the Philippines are all saying Manny Pacquiao wants out of his contract with Murad Muhammad, his current promoter. Pacquiao?s main beef is that Murad is earning more money for his fight with Erik Morales than himself! This was just the icing of the cake when it came to Murad short changing Pacquiao, as many writers like Pedro Fernandez have clearly shown Murad taking much more than giving. It?s going to be a long and hard battle between these two sides because the last thing Murad Muhammad wants to do is let Manny go for nothing.
RECOMMENDATION FOR FINANCIAL BETTERMENT EASY!
For Pacquiao, he needs a promoter willing to protect him and get him good paydays in his own shows before taking on the big fights against the three Mexican greats: Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez. A proposed re-match in the fall between Morales and Pacquiao may be a mistake if the money isn?t right. Pacquiao should start cashing in on good money for lesser risk fights and capitalize on his enormous popularity.
WHO SHOULD MANNY FACE NEXT?
If whoever is in charge of Pacquiao?s career at the end of the day doesn?t want Manny to jump into a huge fight so soon, yet not give him such a easy fight in the Philippines, here we have a bunch of good names in which he can be well paid.
5. Johnny Tapia- This may be a mismatch, but Tapia has never been knocked out and is a big name for Pacquiao. A fight between these two warriors can sell out a decent sized arena in either Las Vegas, New Mexico, or even California.
4. Oscar Larios- Larios has been red hot as of late, and fight with Pacquiao will revive the war between Philippines and Mexico. Not the easiest fight for Pacquiao, but a win against such a tough champion, will restore confidence to the Filipino.
3. In Jin Chi- Imagine an all-Asian battle in the Cow Palace of San Francisco between these two fighters. These two will collide and neither will back up. Chi will face Rocky Juarez, which is no easy task. However, should that fight cancel for any reason, it would be a great fight for Pacquiao to have
2. Winner of Jesus Chavez-Carlos Hernandez- A fight with either of these two fighters would be a fight of the year candidate. Both Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez can take a punch and will be a true test for Pacquiao at 130 lbs.
1. Robbie Peden- Australian Peden has built up some momentum since beating Nate Campbell for the second time. This would be the top pick for Pacquiao because Peden doesn?t run, and is easy to hit. Also, it would be a entertaining fight and it?ll give Pacquiao a chance to win a fourth title in as many weight divisions.
WIN/WORK FIGHTS FOR GOOD MONEY
Each of the five brings something to the table in terms of popularity and skill. Pacquiao would be a favorite in all those bouts. These wouldn?t be such huge fights with a lot of pressure like his past three outings in the United States, but it?ll give Pacquiao the chance to headline a show where he wants with his crowd. If HBO would televise Fernando Vargas vs. Raymond Joval, I?m sure they?d love to put Pacquiao against a Larios or Peden.
CALLING OUT THE ?MISSING IN ACTION? PRINCE
Personally, a dream match-up that could still be made is Pacquiao against Prince Naseem Hamed. Wow, haven?t heard that name in almost four years. Remember him? Hamed was the first fighter in the lower weights to earn big money and have huge popularity around the world. That wasn?t such a long time ago, and the boxing world is ready for the return of the Prince. Hamed?s popularity would benefit Pacquiao because a match-up with Hamed would be bigger than Pacquiao-Morales. Filipinos have been begging for a fight with Hamed since 1998. So for the good of boxing Naz, please come out of retirement and bring in another huge payday for everybody involved!
HAMED-PACQUIAO OUT SELLS PACQUIAO-MORALES
HBO dubbed Pacquiao as the second Prince to hit the featherweight scene because of his punching power and his media-friendly personality. Hamed started the popularity for featherweights and big money he brought in big money. Not to mention Hamed has tremendous power hitter himself and a match-up between the pair will yield fireworks. It?s easy to out-box Hamed, just ask Marco Antonio Barrera. But can he be KO?d? It maybe a long shot, but Hamed is still young and if the money is right in both parts, Filipinos will finally get their wish and face the Prince of the featherweights.
LAST COMMENT ON THE GLOVE ISSUE
HBO analyst and Hall of Fame Trainer Emmanuel Steward explained the differences between Reyes and Winning glove Saturday during the replay. He pointed out that it?s harder to make a closed fist with Winning and that Reyes is mostly horse-hair and it easy to wear out.
STEWARD ALWAYS HAS INTERESTING POINT OR THREE!
However, he went on to say that if Pacquiao get his way, Morales would?ve been the one to KO Pacquiao because of the hard shots he was landing during the fight. That was not the issue. As Freddie Roach clearly pointed out, The Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled that fighter can each wear different brands of gloves in the fight. So we had a situation where Morales could protect his hands from breaking and wear Winning gloves, and at the same time Pacquiao can wear his puncher?s gloves, Cleto Reyes. Obviously, that is the big mistake Murad Muhammad made in negotiating this fight.
GAVE THE OTHER SIDE THE UNDESERVED!
He gave an advantage to the Morales camp when he didn?t have to. Did he consider what Pacquiao felt or preferred? No, he was ready to cash in and Pacquiao was ready to fight, so he slipped the glove clause along with the rights to all the PPV revenue. A promoter?s is supposed to have the fighter?s best interest at heart. I don?t see any other reason — besides Top Rank pulling out of the fight if Manny doesn?t wear Winning, which is unreasonable ? of how Murad would justify that clause without talking it over with Pacquiao or Roach.
