Former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston once said, ?A boxing match is like a cowboy movie. There?s got to be good guys and there?s got to be bad guys. And that?s what people pay for ? to see the bad guys get beat.?
Saturday, November 13, 2010, the state of Texas put a live-action, modern day cowboy movie on display in the center of Cowboys Stadium. Sheriff Manny Pacquiao beat Antonio Margarito, the villain (in the eyes of most), from pillar to post over the course of twelve rounds. Due to the inability of Margarito?s corner to make the decision to pull the plug on the fight when it was clear that victory was out of reach, Margarito was rushed to a nearby hospital for observation. It has now been reported that Margarito will need facial surgery to repair a crack on the orbital bone of his right eye.
Now that Pacquiao has dominated his last six opponents, dating back to a grueling split decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in March 2008, he is left with the decision to defend his WBC jr. middleweight title, or go back to welterweight and defend his WBO title. The biggest question coming from (seemingly) everyone that watches boxing, is will Floyd Mayweather Jr. be the next opponent?
The prospective fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been negotiated on one occasion, starting in December 2009 and going into January 2010. Those negotiations fell apart after the two sides could not come to an agreement regarding Olympic-style blood testing. The second round of negotiations that allegedly took place in the summer may or may not have actually taken place, according to which camp you speak to.
I spoke to Bob Arum at an April 2010 press conference to announce Margarito?s May 8 return to the ring. He informed me that Margarito would be the first choice as a replacement as Pacquiao?s next opponent, in the event that the fight with Mayweather could not be made. When the alleged summer negotiations failed to lure Mayweather into the ring, Margarito was quickly announced as Pacquiao?s opponent.
A short list of possible opponents has already been named for Pacquiao?s next fight. The list includes: Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Miguel Cotto. No such list exists for Mayweather.
When going through the short list of opponents that Top Rank is considering for Pacquiao, it doesn?t take very much critical analysis to see that each would be overmatched. Shane Mosley, 39, is coming off a September draw with Sergio Mora. In his May 1, 2010 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., he was dominated in a unanimous decision loss. Juan Manuel Marquez, 37, has begun to show signs of slowing down, and is facing another certain war with Michael Katsidis on November 27. In Marquez?s first stint at welterweight last September, he was slow, looked unsuited for the weight gain, and was outclassed by Mayweather. Miguel Cotto was already destroyed by Pacquiao, and a rematch, unless it comes in the jr. middleweight division, would be unappealing to most.
For Pacquiao, the fight that matters most is with Mayweather. For Mayweather, who has not yet stated whether he can or will fight again in 2011, the fight that matters most is with Pacquiao. Each man has gone up against overmatched opposition in recent years, and the time to truly fight the best is now.
Pacquiao?s last three opponents were coming off career-altering losses, or were recently-removed from those losses. Miguel Cotto was wrecked in his 2008 loss to Antonio Margarito, and showed vulnerability in his grueling June 2009 split decision win over Joshua Clottey, who covered up and cruised through twelve uneventful rounds with Pacquiao in March 2010. Margarito, who was shellacked by Shane Mosley in January 2009, showed the wear-and-tear of so many past wars in his May 2010 return to the ring against journeyman Roberto Garcia. Margarito?s loss of speed and defense was more apparent than ever, and his shortcomings reared their ugly heads again on November 13.
Mayweather returned from a brief retirement to outclass Marquez in September 2009, a career featherweight and jr. lightweight (who currently rules over the lightweight division). Mayweather?s last victory was in May, against the aforementioned Mosley. Mosley spent almost seventeen months out of action before the Mayweather bout, and age and ring rust were apparent in the bout.
If Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. can?t agree to meet in the ring in 2010, the winner of this Saturday?s bout between Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams would make a suitable replacement, if a weight class could be agreed upon. The proposed mega-fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been left to build up, and if the fight is not made soon, it might as well go away altogether. The time is 2011, and it?s Mayweather vs. Pacquiao or bust.
