There hadn?t been much, if any, talk of matching Manny Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather when I broached the subject during Christmas week in 2008 by rushing my list of dream fights for 2009 into publication. Floyd supposedly was retired then, and Pacquiao?s upset of Oscar De La Hoya a couple of weeks prior had put the spotlight wholly on Manny.
Then a newspaper report out of Michigan claimed Mayweather was strongly considering returning to boxing because of tax problems to the tune of more than $6 million. I immediately wrote that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather was the fight I most wanted to see in 2009. That article is recounted below, but first some background:
I oddly enough got credit in some circles for reporting Mayweather?s comeback, even though I cited the Michigan newspaper as the source. As for who broached the Pacquiao-Mayweather rivalry, it?s tough to say.
Anyway, with the long-awaited Mayweather-Pacquiao fight only a couple of weeks away in 2015, this seems a fitting time to rehash some of the old business that?s cropped up, especially in light of Examiner.com?s decision to put the 2009 archives to sleep in coming days.
–I?ve got to rescue the ?Keep Those Steroid Accusations Under Your Hat? post that earned me rare enmity in Pacquiao circles. Most people know I?m his fan.
–I supported his indignity toward the Mayweathers as the steroids arguments continued past 2009, which bears another look.
–I?ll tell you once again that I hope there aren?t a lot of louts shouting ?USA, USA? at this fight. It?s not about the patriotism, I wrote in 2009 — only to be told not by Americans but by lots of Filipinos that longstanding resentments against the U.S. do figure into the rooting interests, thank you very much.
–The story of Pacquiao?s most stellar fight, his 2009 victory over Miguel Cotto, must be reprised.
–As does Mayweather?s return bout against Juan Manuel Marquez ?
–And the high honor I accorded Mayweather by naming him winner of the Sonny Liston Award.
So be on the lookout for these, and others. In the meantime, it?s interesting to review the list of 2009 fights I most wanted to see. Two of the five eventually took place, and now we?re eagerly awaiting Pacquiao-Mayweather at long last.
PACQUIAO VS. MAYWEATHER TOPS MY 2009 WISH LIST
With Floyd Mayweather battling $6.2 million in tax trouble, leading one to believe he?ll end his retirement and fight Manny Pacquiao in coming months, I?m going to have to rush my 2009 boxing wish list into publication. Therefore, I am suspending my policy restricting the sort of promotional speculation that overly dominates too much boxing talk.
Fight No. 2 on my wish list is Nonito Donaire vs. Fernando Montiel. Although promoter Top Rank says Donaire-Montiel is not a done deal, expect that fight to take place March 14 (March 15 if you?re attending in Quezon City in the Philippines.
Donaire is usually the technician in his bouts, but he may decide Montiel can match his ring savvy and instead try to outgun the smaller, older Sinaloan. You have to like the way Donaire, the lone conqueror of the revenge-bent Vic Darchinyan, faces all challenges head-on. A Donaire-Darchinyan rematch is plenty attractive, but don?t let that interfere with enjoying the Donaire-Montiel matchup first.
My No. 3 fight, Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, is also still in the speculation stage, but the smart money is on May 2. Although I?m not sure Pacquiao can beat Mayweather, look for him to whip Hatton as soundly as Floyd did in 2007.
So here I am, talking about 2009 before I even sum up 2008. In a nutshell, Antonio Margarito?s stoppage of Miguel Cotto was the most memorable fight, more epic and more distinctive than Pacquiao?s thrillingly narrow rematch victory over Juan Manuel Marquez. Also getting consideration alongside with Manny for fighter of the year is Paul Williams, the impossibly tall welterweight who is campaigning at 154 but surely can carry 160.
Which brings us to No. 4 for 2009, Williams vs. middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, although maybe not until Pavlik wins an interim match to shake off his 2008 loss to Bernard Hopkins.
And finally, what wish list wouldn?t include heavyweights? Well, mine some years, seeing as how I champion welterweights. But it?s time to bring on David Haye, the fast, charismatic but somewhat undersized Briton who probably would enliven the division more than current two-headed champion Wladimir/Vitaly Klitschko does. After a warm-up or two, Haye needs to fight and beat Samuel Peter so that we can see him against Chris Arreola, the powerful but limited Californian. It?s more likely that Haye and Arreola won?t square off until they?re the two heading the division, but here?s betting we?ll be talking about Haye higher up in our speculations at the outset of 2010.
