Philippines, 01 Apr 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Pacquiao Watch: Dashing hopes


PhilBoxing.com




Some in Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s camp must be disappointed that the title fight against welterweight champion Errol Spence has been dropped after the latter suffered a retinal tear injury on the left eye.

The Pacquiao-Spence is the closest to a marquee match up the Philippine senator has not been involved since he last fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015. That fight grossed for the senator more than $100 million. He may have lost that stanza but his fattened bank account was winner many folds.

The Spence fight would have been his 8th fight since the Mayweather debacle. In that span, we saw how Pacquiao steadily lost his box office attraction as the purse kept on sliding down along with the competition that kept on getting thinner.

The appeal of boxing is waning.

It will take some time before it can match the ferocity of the competition that oftentimes comes in cycles. The eras of Ali, Leonard, Golden Boy and Pacquiao-Mayweather ushered new heights and standards in terms of live audiences that migrated into pay-per-views and purses that went and leaped outrageously enormous.

For some boxing greats who precipitated the shifting and spiraling successes in their respective golden periods, it was very difficult to leave the square ring.

Muhammad Ali was mere shadow of himself by the time he was brutally beaten by former sparring partner Larry Holmes.

Sugar Ray Leonard was a pitiful sight when he made several comebacks past his prime time.

Golden Boy Oscar dela Hoya was ugly and could not pull the trigger when he shed a ton of pounds to challenge Pacquiao who was then at the prime of his boxing career.

Pacquiao and Mayweather had the luxurious distinction of laying off and coming back and of retiring and unretiring simply because the audience is still there.

For Pacquiao, the lure of the limelight is like the moth’s attraction to a candlelight. So much so that even at the very ripe age of 42 and with his guaranteed purse greatly reduced, he is still at it.

Pacquiao is far from being a wash up fighter. He still has that oomph that could shame many pretenders to the throne.

But Pacquiao is no longer there for the challenge. He is there both for economic and political reasons.

That is why the sudden and unexpected setback in the Pacquiao-Spence fight is disappointing to many of his supporters. Cuban refugee Yordenis Ugas will substitute for Errol Spence as the fight is already too close to call off.

Until his name was brought up, Ugas was unknown except to the most rabid boxing aficionados. Nobody heard of him in the Philippines until it was announced that he will have the chance that Manny Pacquiao had when the latter was called in short notice to fight Lehlo Ledwaba 20 years ago in the same glittering city that brought him to boxing stardom.

Win or lose, this time, Pacquiao has nothing to gain in terms of political mileage and goodwill.

Win and it will be dismissed as a triumph over a non-entity. Lose and he will suffer the ignominy of refusing to learn the hard lessons of the brutal sport that is boxing.

More importantly, the political bonanza that many of the political handlers of Pacquiao expected to reap in the Errol fight has vanished into the thin air.

As a rabid student of the sports and a faithful boxing fan of Pacquiao, I still believe and hope that he will win on a different Sunday come August 22.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Edwin G. Espejo.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Anthony “ATV” Velazquez Ready to bust out of New England
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • BOOTS VS. STANIONIS – ‘MAKE THE DAYS COUNT’ PREMIERES NOW
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • “THE FILIPINO FLASH” NONITO DONAIRE TO MAKE FIRST VISIT TO CANASTOTA FOR 2025 HALL OF FAME WEEKEND FESTIVITIES
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • Tokyo Olympian Rashida Ellis signs long term management contract with Trifon Petrov
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • Fightbook Adds Brendan Gibbons to Lead Athlete & Fan Activation Strategy
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • BOXLAB PROMOTIONS RETURNS TO ORLANDO FOR ACTION-PACKED FIGHT NIGHT ON APRIL 18
    , Tue, 01 Apr 2025
  • Takeaways From Last Weekend's Fights in Japan
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • Lope Tenorio: El Bulakeño Matón (The Bulacan Brawler)
    By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • Luka Doncic's Shock Factor for LAL Dissipating? Dallas Mavs Getting Playoff Bid Boost From AD
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • Jerusalem Easily Repeats Over Shigeoka, Spoils A Huge Boxing Weekend for Japan
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME REMEMBERS LIVINGSTONE BRAMBLE
    , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • IIEE GenX 3-peat, SAEP Millennial Champ in PTC WED Basketball
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 31 Mar 2025
  • Jerusalem dominates Shigeoka in rematch, retains WBC World title
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 30 Mar 2025
  • AND STILL! WILLIAM "EL CAMARÓN" ZEPEDA RETAINS WBC INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE WITH MAJORITY DECISION VICTORY AGAINST TEVIN "2X" FARMER
    , Sun, 30 Mar 2025
  • A Second Coat of Paint: Mikaela Mayer Defeats Sandy Ryan in Action-Packed Rematch
    , Sun, 30 Mar 2025
  • Cartel, 5 others share lead after Day 1 of 6th AQ Prime Standard Open Chess Tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 30 Mar 2025
  • Jerusalem, Shigeoka successfully make weight for their WBC World Title rematch
    , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • Rematches Rule the Day with Zepeda/Farmer & Mayer/Ryan on ESPN and DAZN
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • Three Lions Promotions Official Weights from Hamilton, Canada
    , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • Weights from Las Vegas: Mikaela Mayer - 146 lbs., Sandy Ryan - 145.5 lbs.
    , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • WEIGHTS FROM CANCUN: ZEPEDA - 134.2 LBS, FARMER - 135 LBS.
    , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • YAIR GALLARDO TO FACE DAVID STEVENS IN ACTION-PACKED LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT OF ‘LA FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS’
    , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • Castellano, Faeldonia, Casiguran banner tough field in 6th AQ Prime Standard Open Chess Tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 29 Mar 2025
  • ZEPEDA VS. FARMER FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE
    , Fri, 28 Mar 2025
  • MORITZ NEUHAUSEN CROWNED THE 2025 IFX PAYMENTS PREMIER LEAGUE POOL CHAMPION
    , Fri, 28 Mar 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.