In the build-up to his mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather, surprisingly little has been said about Manny Pacquaio?s recovery from his brutal knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez two years ago.
At the time, the immediate question was whether Pacquiao would ever fight again. It was a fair query considering the savage nature of the defeat.
Even when he made it clear he would be back in the ring, it was an open question whether or not he could ever come close to being the same ferocious fighter that tore through the weight classes. In his mid-30s and on the tail end of a career in which he sustained a fair amount of damage, it wasn?t hard to see Pacquiao quickly devolving into a shot fighter.
After three victories over the past two years, however, many observers have set the questions aside and are even ready call him a favorite against Mayweather (five of the nine ESPN analysts picked Pacquiao to win).
But are Pacquiao?s three recent wins all that impressive? Or have they been primarily showcase fights designed to boost his waning stock?
After losing to Marquez, Pacquiao took almost a year off before facing rugged brawler Brandon Rios in Macao in November 2013. He looked dominant in winning a wide unanimous decision, but Rios is tiers below the pound-for-pound list, and it was a style matchup designed to ease Pacquaio back into the sport. Rios did his part, standing in front of Pacquiao and eating flurries of punches.
Chris Algieri, Pacquiao?s most recent opponent, was even more overmatched. An inexperienced former kickboxer moving up in weight for the fight, Algieri found himself overpowered, outmatched and knocked down six times. Nothing highlights the mismatch more than Algieri trainer Tim Lane?s horribly timed in-fight bravado.
The most impressive win of the post-Marquez trio came in April 2014 (between the Rios and Algieri fights), when Pacquaio avenged his controversial 2012 loss to Tim Bradley. There?s no diminishing a win against Bradley, a top-level welterweight and pound-for-pound contender. However, it was a more competitive fight than most remember. Bradley won several early rounds by boxing and countering effectively. Eventually, Pacquiao?s speed and Bradley?s lack of discipline combined to tilt the fight toward the Filipino star, and he won a clear decision.
An unquestionably impressive victory, it showed Pacquaio remained in the welterweight mix post-Marquez. Still, Tim Bradley is no Floyd Mayweather, and, sandwiched between two largely meaningless wins, how much does it really tell us about Pacquaio?s chances on May 2?
There?s no doubt that even a diminished Pacquiao remains in the upper echelon of boxers in the world. He has the natural skills to beat most fighters in his sleep. But while many of his fans want to pretend the Marquez loss is a distant memory, it isn?t. Recovering from such a brutal knockout is a formidable physical and psychological challenge, and the jury is still out on whether Pacquaio is truly all the way back. If he?s not, May 2 could turn into a rout.
