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PACQUIAO ? THE BEST IN THE WORLD? By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sat, 15 Sep 2007  In its March 2007 issue, the prestigious Ring Magazine, recognized as ?The Bible of Boxing,? had Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao on its cover with the caption ? BEST IN THE WORLD? And the subheading - Pac-Man?s closing in on Pretty Boy. The Ring?s esteemed editor-in-chief and a good friend Nigel Collins, went one step further and told us last Thursday that another dominant display by Pacquiao against legendary Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera in their rematch at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 6 ?could conceivably push Manny into the No.1 position in the Ring Magazine?s pound-for-pound ratings.? This would almost become a certainty if Pacquiao wins impressively over Barrera and the current No.1 Floyd Mayweather merely ?scrapes past Ricky Hatton? says Collins, in the battle of the undefeated on December 8. Another Mayweather performance similar to the one he showed against Oscar De La Hoya which he won on the judges scorecards but lost in the minds of many fight fans and journalists, according to Collins, ?will not be enough to keep ?Pretty Boy? on top.? Ever since he demolished Mexican icon Erik ?El Terrible? Morales in the second and third fights of their epic trilogy there have been many boxing writers around the world ? and especially in the Philippines ? as well as numerous fight fans proclaiming that indeed Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. More than the issue of who is the best is the undeniable fact that Pacquiao is among the heroes of today and as WBC president Jose Sulaiman said recently when he learned of the disruptions and distractions during Manny?s training at the RWS Gym of his close friend and confidant Rex ?Wakee? Salud, ?I?m very worried because boxing needs Pacquiao.? The WBC president in a conversation with James Blears of the widely-read boxingscene.com said ?many of the new heroes are stepping down and leaving the sport. They?re getting old. So boxing has to protect the performance of the heroes until the time of new heroes come. That is our obligation.? While conceding that Mayweather was to him ?the best pound-for-pound as a boxer? Sulaiman stressed that the best pound-for-pound in ?excitement, passion, tension and aggressiveness? is Pacquiao. In his Ringside editorial for the March 2007 issue of Ring Magazine, Collins wrote ?although they are unquestionably two of the sport?s finest practitioners (referring to Mayweather and Pacquiao) when it comes to providing entertainment, ?Pac-Man? is so far ahead of ?Pretty Boy? they?re not even in the same league.? Collins conceded that this skews things in an uncomfortable way and posed the very valid question - ?if the best fighter in the world is a bore to watch, why should we care about him, or more importantly, pay $50 to watch him fight on pay-per-view?? Creating what he called the ?dollar-for-dollar? ratings which is a listing of the fighters without taking into consideration their weight class, who give boxing fans or consumers if you may, what Collins classifies as ?the biggest bang for their bucks,? Pacquiao whom he refers to as ?a once in a lifetime phenomenon? is No.1 which every sane boxing fan would agree with. Jorge Arce is No.2 and interestingly enough Marco Antonio Barrera is No. 8 with the comment - ?slipping but remains must-watch TV.? Filipinos in their millions will surely watch the Solar Sports telecast of the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch titled ?Will to Win? in theaters, on pay-per-view and on free TV over GMA 7 on October 7, Manila Time. Viva Sports will present two, one hour pre-fight specials titled ?Repeat or Revenge? on September 23 and 30 over RPN 9 at 4:00 p.m. with exclusive footage of Pacquiao training in Cebu City, highlights of some of his memorable fights, a slew of interviews with Pacquiao, his charming wife Jinkee, trainer Freddie Roach, Mexican sparring partners Raymund Beltran and David Rodela, as well as footage of Barrera in training in Guadalajara plus an interview with the head of the HBO team that flew to the Philippines to shoot footage of Manny for the HBO Sports countdown show, George Jacovic. Jacovic was amazed at what he saw. During a break from filming Pacquiao?s roadwork on the killer uphill run at the Alta Vista subdivision in Cebu, Jacovic told us ?I?m just now understanding how important Manny Pacquiao is to Americans but seeing how important he is in the Philippines which is different when you read about what an icon he is. Now I?m seeing it ? the people ? its incredible.? Jacovic, referring to the sometimes bad press that Manny gets, drove home the point that anyone who watched Pacquiao work out would see that ?he?s focused, he?s got a job to do and he?s there to do it. Once he is in the gym, apparently it doesn?t matter where he trains ? Los Angeles or the Philippines ? when he?s training he?s a professional.? The HBO Sports lead man in the three-man crew that was in Cebu said that while Manny missed some flights to the US where he was supposed to start his training, Barrera was training at home in Guadalajara. He said an HBO crew that filmed Barrera in training reported he was ?very serious and he wants revenge because of what happened? in November 2003 when Pacquiao mauled him into submission in eleven rounds. Jacovic believes the rematch with Pacquiao will probably be Barrera?s ?last big fight? but indicated that ?while he may be getting older (Barrera is 33) he is still Marco Antonio Barrera and you can?t sell him short.? But seeing the way Pacquiao trained and his condition, Jacovic said it is ?going to be hard? for Barrera to overcome the Filipino fighting machine. Jacovic maintained that if he saw that Manny Pacquiao was ?not training and unfocused? he would go back to the US and say ?you know, Barrera has a good shot and he?s got a chance because he is a great fighter.? However, Jacovic added, ?the more I see Manny train, the chances of Barrera winning in my eyes go down.? Just like WBC president Sulaiman, the HBO producer said Pacquiao is good for boxing because ?he brings excitement and he?s positive. He has got some bad press but it comes with the territory. He is a positive guy. He?s got a smile. He?s got charisma and people warm up to that.? He noted that some fighters were ?good action fighters but not very popular. Manny Pacquiao ? I mean his following ? it's unheard of. He is great for the sport. He is absolutely great for the sport. We need more guys like Manny Pacquiao.? Eric Gomez, vice president and international matchmaker of Golden Boy Promotions who handle Barrera told us that Barrera was ?treating this fight as the biggest fight of his career ? bigger than the Naseem Hamed fight, bigger than the Erik Morales fights ? so you?re going to have the best Barrera ever and he?s going to be ready for this fight.? As Gomez correctly emphasized ?after this fight there?s no tomorrow.? Even though Ring Magzine thinks highly of Pacquiao in terms of his skill and the excitement he brings into the ring in every fight, editor-in-chief Nigel Collins has always expressed concern about Manny?s lifestyle outside the ring and when he?s not in training at the Wild Card Gym of Roach. He expressed his concern before the fight against Juan Manuel Marquez when Pacquiao was having late nights and long hours playing pool, showing up at cockfighting derbies and generally having a good time. Referring to his upcoming fight against Barrera in which he picked Pacquiao to win by stoppage, he cautioned Pacquiao and his handlers saying ?it is possible that Manny?s crazy lifestyle and countless distractions coupled with Barrera?s skill and pride will result in an upset.? But Collins, after taking stock of the situation, said a Barrera win was ?unlikely? even though the Mexican was ?training diligently? because he knows this is his ?last chance to enhance his legacy.? Even Sulaiman an ardent admirer of the fighting qualities of Pacquiao warned the Filipno southpaw that nothing can be taken for granted in the rematch. He told our good friend James Blears that ?Barrera is not any fighter. He is a helluva good fighter and even though he is not in his prime he can still be dangerous for any fighter in the world.? Like Collins and several others, Sulaiman was also worried about Pacquiao?s attitude advising him to ?make a correction in his mental attitude and devote totally to his profession that has given him what he has and made him what he is. He cannot go on this way.? Despite his fears the WBC president believes the only option for Barrera is to run and to try to frustrate and outbox Manny, somewhat in the fashion of his second fight against Rocky Juarez. Sulaiman says that in order to be able to do this, Barrera is definitely training very hard. But that?s not going to be enough, as Sulaiman himself admits, because Pacquiao ?is much stronger than him.? To Golden Boy?s Eric Gomez, Pacquiao?s decision not to train in the US and instead train in the Philippines is no big deal. He told us, ?you can never underestimate Pacquiao even though he is not training here in the US. He can train in a garage? and be ready to fight. To Gomez as it is to Sulaiman, Roach is the key. In the eyes of Gomez, Roach has ?done a good job with him throughout the years. He has watched over him. Freddie will not let him go into a fight if he?s not a hundred percent. He knows what he?s doing and how to get him into shape.? Sulaiman referred to Roach as "a very decent, honest and serious trainer." Marco Antonio Barrera has said he wants to beat Pacquiao so badly he can taste it. Regrettably for him Barrera would most likely taste defeat once again and when its all over Manny Pacquiao may well answer the question posed by Ring Magazine as to who is the ? Best In The World.? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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