PACQUIAO DEFEATS ANOTHER OF MEXICO?S FINEST!
Landover, MD-You?ve got to wonder if, after a while, Mexico might offer him honorary citizenship. After watching Manny Pacquiao (42-3-2, 33 KO?S) win a twelve round unanimous decision over former 122-lb. titlist Oscar Larios (56-5-1, 36 KO?S), it might not be a bad idea. The fourth of the four best Mexican fighters of this decade (along with Marco Antonio Barerra, Erik Morales, and Juan Manuel Marquez), Larios now joins them as the fourth to also do some canvas kissing (he was dropped in the seventh and twelfth rounds) against the growing legend of the Philippines. Manny Pacquiao is the undisputed champion of Mexico on this day?but where does he rank with the rest of the world?
DOES MANNY BELONG ON TOP?
That is a question that serious fight fans must begin to ask themselves. Along with Winky Wright and Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao is part of a crowded field at the top of the pound-for-pound charts. Given that Wright hasn?t done the division hopping of Mayweather and Pac, it?s hard to consider him alongside these two. With the win over Larios, the idea of Manny Pac at number one seems less far-fetched and comparing him to Floyd makes a lot of sense. Like Floyd against Zab Judah, Pac was facing a fighter coming off a loss (Larios having been stopped on a cut in his previous tilt). Larios though had more to fall back on than Judah. He was the best in the world at 122 from the day Pacquiao left until the loss to Vasquez, a period of almost three years. Mayweather backers might argue that the opponent before that (and the next slated), Morales, is coming off two losses. Pac fanatics can point out that Morales on a five fight losing streak is still better than just about anyone not named Zab that Mayweather has faced in nearly four years. Mayweather?s fans will retort that their man is more complete, more skilled, while Pac fanatics can fire back that their man takes real challenges, never fought Henry Bruseles, and that lack of skill isn?t keeping cats off their backs.
BEST KIND OF DEBATE FOR BOXING!
Mayweather?s opponent choices are coming under greater scrutiny and they should. He may not be able to force Ricky Hatton or Oscar De La Hoya into the ring, but after years of not fighting available guys like Stevie Johnston (who he shamefully ducked) and Paul Spadafora, and being apologized for ?because those guys would have lost anyways,? he isn?t getting any more grace periods for fighting softies. Pacquiao has Morales again on tap, and with a win should be on target for the winner of the Barrera-Juarez rematch. Just examine the records of the four Mexicans noted above, then add to that Lehlo Ledwaba, Chatchai Sasakul and the historical feat of being the only fighter in history to be the lineal World champion at flyweight and featherweight. Then figure out how one weighs that against everything Floyd accomplished from his win over Genaro Hernandez in 1998 to his wins over Jose Luis Castillo in 2002, and the series of exhibitions he has since gone on since all but the Judah fight. The real pound-for-pound king isn?t as easy to pick as some of Floyd?s cheerleaders would have you believe. Let the debate rage on for this contemporary topic while another smaller debate rages on a historical note.
24-KARAT NOTEBOOK?
Well, I guess we have a new contender for worst decision of the year. The ESPN2 main event Friday that saw Juan Urango defeat Naoufel Ben Rabah for the IBF 140 lb. title was closer than Teddy Atlas had it, but still a clear win for Rabah. That said, the belt was lifted off Ricky Hatton so that two guys who had done next to nothing could be seen as legitimate ?mandatory? contenders for it, and if one fights for a tainted title (and no titles are more tainted with a lack of credibility these days than those of the IBF), then Rabah can?t really bitch about a tainted decision?Yes, I saw Superman Returns and it was THAT good?Give Don King credit. His matching of Cory Spinks with IBF hr. middleweight titlist Roman Karmazin is genius. If Spinks wins (and he won?t get out of the eighth round but if?) then King has a big ticket seller in St. Louis to lure in top names like Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley; if Karmazin wins, than he has beaten his second name opponent (after his title win against Kasim Ouma) and positions himself as a bankable future challenger to Jermain Taylor six pounds north. Intriguing fight?Speaking of tainted titles, both Steve Cunnigham and Guillermo Jones, who will do battle for the, you guessed it, IBF cruiserweight belt on the Karmazin-Spinks undercard deserve shots at World champion O?Neill Bell, but this is no legitimate title fight. How did Bell get stripped when he just unified the title in January? Was it for being injured, or for not kissing the right promoter?s tail? Aww, who cares? Bell may soon face former heavyweight titlist Chris Byrd in a bigger payday than all of the above at 200 lbs.
