OTHER SIDE OF BOXING LIKES MANNY
San Francisco, CA- People talking great fights are what help make great fights. And with the sport coming off a splendid year of quality matches, a lot of that had to do with a promotional need to satisfy you the fans. Because in the end, you write the checks. Just yesterday I wrote of some ?boxers? I polled that were picking Joan Guzman over Manny Pacquiao. Today we swing the other way. What do I mean by that? At the Northern California Retired Boxers Assn. banquet Saturday night, I asked a lot of the old timers, and some youngsters as well who would win this potential mega match.
THREAT TO PACMAN NAMED JOAN?
Guzman throttled Fernando Soto over 12 on what turned out to be Larry Merchant?s final Boxing After Dark care some ten days ago. With Manny Pacquiao cleaning house on the Mexican contingent, most notably Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, this represented a changing of the guard per se. It was said, at least prior to Guzman?s coming out party with Soto that there wasn?t a serious challenger out there for Pacquiao at 130.
IMPOSERS OF WILL ALL FAVOR PACQUIAO
The punchers (and the guys that like ’em) at the awards dinner liked Manny Pacquiao over Guzman. Honoree Yaqui Lopez, he favored Pacquiao as did most of the guys that could whack. It is the styles of the fighters that dictate fights, and the majority of those in attendance thought Pacquiao?s relentlessness and power would beat down Guzman. Saying Manny was ?simply too strong? and the like, many who thought Pacquiao?s combination of speed, guts and sheer power was too much for Guzman?s boxing to overcome.
?DOUBLE R? LIKES MANNY OVER JOAN!
Ray Rainford, one of the big wigs in the NCVBA, ?Double R? put it like this. ?Guzman is overrated and not worthy of being the #1 contender (for the little king of boxing) simply because he beat Fernando Soto (who had won 20 straight). And it was a night in which there were few Filipinos in attendance, so the polling was pretty neutral from that perspective. Still, epeatedly, time and again the pick was Manny by mid to late round stoppage.
COULD BE ?REAL? THRILLA IN MANILA!
So the boxers and slicksters are with Guzman (27-0, 17 KOs), while the people that tend to like imposing their will with power and brute strength almost exclusively prefer the 44-3, (35 KOs) resident of General Santos City in the Philippines. This pairing is esseentially Joe Frazier (Pacman) vs. Muhammad Ali (Guzman) at 130 lbs. As for a site, if promoter Bob Arum couldn?t find it feasible in Manila come mid to late 2008, they could still keep the fight on Asia by having it at Steve Wynn?s resort and casino in Macau.
PART I: BOXERS FAVOR JOAN OVER PAC
This is the conclusion of a two part series. Here is the link to Part I ?Boxers Like Guzman Over Pacquiao. .CLICK FOR PART I
How do you the ?Ring Talk? wise guys and gals feel about this match? Pacquiao is a 12-5 favorite in my mind. How do you see it?
