Passing the torch in boxing is an age-old tradition. New stars are born at the expense of outgoing older stars. That?s just the way of the world in boxing. Some would even say that neither Manny Pacquiao nor Floyd Mayweather would?ve climbed to their great heights of stardom had they not been passed the torch by Oscar De la Hoya. In turn, De la Hoya was passed the torch years earlier by Julio Cesar Chavez.
The nature of the business is that, eventually, all stars are chased from the sport by the next generation of stars. It sounds cruel and ruthless, but it?s actually quite healthy in terms of maintaining a vibrant and entertaining scene. It?s also very good for business.
In terms of Mayweather and Pacquiao, there?s clearly a pre-Oscar presence and a post-Oscar presence. Both were stars before fighting De la Hoya, but, afterwards, they became superstars and, perhaps more importantly, financially self-sufficient giants of the game.
The future health of the sport actually depends on this generation?s greats getting in the ring with their young rivals and passing the torch with dignity.
Unfortunately, Mayweather has opted to not partake of that particular ritual. Instead, he avoided instances where young, talented fighters would be able to snatch the torch from his hands and booked himself against older and/or strategically limited fighters who wouldn?t stand a chance of putting a blemish on his perfect record and retiring him.
Similarly, many of the other greats of this era have also been less than noble in the area of possibly passing the torch. Joe Calzaghe retired rather than risk passing the torch, Juan Manuel Marquez is carefully choosing the ?right? opponent for his final fight, Bernard Hopkins just never seems to want to retire, and circumstances may conspire to keep Wladimir Klitschko from ever passing the torch, too.
Meanwhile, there?s Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao?s promoter may want Manny to eventually pass the torch to rising star Terence Crawford. Amir Khan definitely wants a chance at piggybacking off of Manny?s star power. And there are a host of other young stars just bursting at the seams for a shot at the one remaining true cash cow post-Mayweather retirement.
The question, though, is whether Pacquiao is interested in taking the kind of risk involved in beating back the challenge of a young lion who may even be favored to beat him, like Crawford.
The temptation is to take one or two more winnable fights, pad the bank account a bit, and walk off into retirement. But can Manny ever resist a real challenge? Will there come a point when he simply doesn?t feel compelled to fight anymore or defend his status as a top fighter?
However, Manny Pacquiao is a risk taker and, most of all, he is a born warrior?and warriors go out on their shield. Expect the same from the Filipino Icon and expect his sacrifice to be the catalyst for the rise of boxing?s next superstar.
