It wasn?t Pacquiao Vs. Marquez V (or even close to IV), but in winning a WBA welterweight world title via dominant 7th round KO of a broken down Lucas Matthysse (39-5, 36KOs), 39 year-old Senator Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39KOs) might be ready to hit the 40/40 Club with style. Or not.
Back in 2009, he was ?Wapakman,? a movie superhero turned real villain on elite foes in the squared circle. Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto would become flatline victims no. 37 and 38, as the Filipino icon had the entire world focused on the possibility of an epic no. 39 victim: Floyd Mayweather.
Then, just as Tiger Woods lost his mojo (and apparently, his little black book) while forgetting how to win, Pacquiao found his mojo in politics and started remembering how to lose. Whether losing ?Money? over a then unheard of Olympic drug testing debacle or spilling a dirty Margarito all over the ring, to private meetings with President Barack Obama at the White House as a congressman from the Philippines before besting a ?survival mode? Shane Mosley, Pacquiao kept believing his real-life superhero could defeat religious or political evil while remaining unscathed in the ring that guided him there.
He clashed with Senator Harry Reid over gay rights and turned in the Catholic rosary beads. Soon, Pacquiao was losing fights he should have won (Timothy Bradley I and Juan Manuel Marquez IV) for reasons conspiracy theorists would call the truth: He was losing his mind. Your wife doesn?t hand you divorce papers before you face your greatest rival in the dressing room (prior to Marquez III) if you haven?t forgotten where you?ve come from.
After soundly obliterating ?The Machine? inside a raucous Axiata Arena directly in front of Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who launched a legend from his bloody stool in December 2008, it might be a good time for Pacquiao to reflect on the journey and figure out where he?s going. Were it up to me? he simply goes home.
I predicted Pacquiao would defeat Matthysse in ?a hateful eight? rounds, and it nearly unfolded as envisioned. Matthysse was as made for Pacquiao?s style as David Diaz was in 2008 just before De La Hoya. It was a basic ass-whooping by a fighter committed to winning ?the fight?? not the rounds. The difference between Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez was symbolic of leaving Hollywood behind and honoring roots. On that note, I think it?d be great to see the Wild Card Gym relocated to Boston.
He?s now an 11-time world titlist and the ?regular? WBA welterweight champion after defeating a Lucas Matthysse who probably gives ?super? WBA welterweight champion Keith ?One-Time? Thurman a far greater challenge due to their styles. Because this reconditioned ?Pac-Man? mauled ?The Machine? (starring a wicked left uppercut and a hooking right jab), the likes of either Danny ?Swift? Garcia or ?Showtime? Shawn Porter would be food for a fighter that gobbles a speed advantage with special feet. Buboy learned from Freddie just as Roach learned from Futch; under Fernandez, Pacquiao would stop DSG, Porter and Thurman, as their connection compliments substance.
However, that?s where the line is drawn. Special conditioning and special feet at 40 only matters against younger fighters who aren?t really special. Sure, Manny could accept the invite to fight new WBO welterweight champion Terence ?Bud? Crawford, but that could only help enhance his legacy while diminishing his own. And if Mayweather (with knowledge of being on the wrong side of gym wars with him) wouldn?t want to face ?The Truth? in IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., then why would Pacquiao need to?
He once again confirmed serious interest in a catchweight bout with The Matrix (see Vasyl Lomachenko V Manny Pacquiao: The Locomotive Train), but why mess with modern technology instead of just appreciating your role in creating it?
One would think that if Tiger Woods found a way to get say a PGA Championship, no one could blame him for not chasing a green jacket at The Masters; a major is still a major after a decade without one and a timeless achievement for a priceless moment. If he honors his roots now full circle, Jinkee and the kids are smiling and proud? they?re happy. The king of the castle won with a one-punch KO on Asian soil, not American, after spreading love from Malaysia to Argentina and beyond courtesy of ESPN+.
