Not too long ago, Manny Pacquiao was the toast of the sporting world and was even being regarded as one of the top 3 greatest boxers of all time. But after frustrating failed negotiations to make a fight against nemesis Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and a couple of controversial and uninspiring performances against opponents he was expected to dominate, Pacquiao’s boxing stock has been falling like the Madison Square Garden’s since the Knicks allowed Jeremy Lin to join the Houston Rockets.
Though Pacquiao’s last fight against Timothy Bradley still put up respectable numbers at the door (live gate: $8,963,180; 13,229 tickets sold, 2,070 unsold tickets, 925 comps), the Pay-Per-View numbers did less than a million, while the outcome of the fight left millions more in dismay.
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As Pacquiao and his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum who is set to arrive in Manila during the first week of August, prepare to hit the negotiating table for his return fight on November 10, the question lingers as to whom the eight-division world champion is set to face, and whether there is a fighter out there not named Floyd Mayweather, Jr. than can reverse Pacquiao’s falling boxing stock.
On top of Arum’s list for Pacquiao is either an immediate rematch with Bradley, or a fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, with Miguel Cotto being considered as a third option. Arum hopes to finalize a fight and make an announcement before the end of August.
“I will be staying for a few days and once I get everything done, I will schedule the press conference (announcing Pacquiao’s next fight) in late-August,” Arum said as quoted by the Manila Bulletin.
The consensus among boxing insiders is that Pacquiao will end up doing a quadrilogy with Marquez a year after their highly-debated trilogy. Though his trilogy with his rival did really well garnering more than 1.4 million Pay-Per-View buys, it’s questionable whether a fourth fight with Marquez will garner equal success.
Though some say Pacquiao still has a score to settle with Marquez, others beg that another fight will only yield similar results. The argument is that Pacquiao simply can not look good against Marquez, who historically has had his number. Many contend that Marquez won all three fights, despite Pacquiao getting the nod 2 out of 3 times, with the first fight ending in a draw.
But is there any other compelling fight left for Pacquiao?
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Forget about a Bradley and a Cotto rematch. Those two fights were decisive, and unless Pacquiao decides to climb up to 154 to fight Cotto, I don’t see a reason why that one should even be considered. So who else is out there? Brandon Rios? Saul Alvarez has a showdown with Josesito Lopez coming up, and it’s also safe to rule out any of Golden Boy’s fighters with its ongoing feud with Top Rank.
With that said, it really seems like Pacquiao’s best option is a fourth fight with Marquez. For Pacquiao to regain some of his lost steam, he will have to put forth a dominating performance, something he has not done against Marquez in their previous 3 fights. A loss will be catastrophic.
Other than that, Pacquiao really has nobody else other than Mayweather. But at this point, does he really need anybody else?
