WELTERWEIGHTS Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr. going eyeball-to-eyeball and formally announcing their August 21 showdown in Las Vegas is definitely a fight fan’s dream.
You see, these days boxing champions spend more time trading acerbic words on social media instead of trading punches in the ring.
Pacquiao-Spence comes as a breath of fresh air in a very polluted environment.
Pacquiao stunned the boxing world in May when he announced he was going to fight Spence for the WBC-IBF welterweight titles. The unbeaten (27-0, 21 knockouts) Spence is not only younger but is arguably the best 147-pounder in the world today.
WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford spent a considerable time trading barbs with Spence on social media, but their verbal spats, to the fans’ disappointment, did not parlay into a showdown in the ring.
Crawford did not step up to the plate, so to speak. Well, Pacquiao did.
Pacquiao is 42 years old and has not fought since July 2019 when he outgunned Keith Thurman for the WBA’s “super” version of the welterweight diadem.
Pacquiao could have opted for a lesser-risk fight and he did initially ponder on facing mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor and former multi-weight division champ Mikey Garcia.
McGregor would have been easy money but fan interest in the fight disintegrated when the cocky Irishman was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in January.
Spence’s WBC and IBF welterweight titles will be at stake.
Pacquiao carried with him the WBA “super” belt, but he has since been stripped of the title because of inactivity. The WBA actually declared Pacquiao a “champion in recess,” which means he remains a champ albeit in suspended animation.
Leave it to the WBA to come up with such terminologies if only to keep its hold on the fighter.
The WBA should have simply declared that Pacquiao has been stripped of the crown for inactivity. Instead, the WBA came up with the “champion in recess” mumbo jumbo.
The WBA promoted “regular” champ Yordenis Ugas to “super” champ, but to date the Cuban has also been inactive.
When boxing fans pressured the WBA to reinstate Pacquiao, the organization came up with a sheepish excuse: its rules supposedly do not allow it. If that’s the case, then why did the WBA declare Pacquiao a champ “in recess?”
The truth is, the WBA can no longer reinstate Pacquiao because the belt had already been given to Ugas. If the WBA reinstates Pacquiao, you can bet Ugas will sue the WBA.
The WBA cited Pacquiao’s inactivity as the reason behind the stripping, but when Thurman went inactive for almost two years the WBA allowed the American to keep the super belt.
Oh, the WBA still found a way to get some publicity in the Pacquiao-Spence conference.
According to Sean Gibbons, president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, it was only just before the conference when the WBA gave Pacquiao the “super” belt that should have been given to him in 2019 after he beat Thurman.
Clearly, the WBA gave Pacquiao the belt at the last minute with the end in view of having it shown during the conference with Spence.
Talk about free publicity.
“I can tell you what Manny did not receive (from the WBA) – due process and respect,” said Gibbons. “It took two years to get the world title belt he earned inside the ring by beating the undefeated super champion Keith Thurman. Hell, Manny only received that belt on Saturday (July 10). The WBA never inquired about Manny’s title defense plans. The WBA never warned us Manny’s Super Champion status could be in jeopardy. The WBA never informed us Manny had been designated its Champion in Recess. Recess is over. The two best fighters in the welterweight division are facing each other.”
Truth be told, the titles at stake are immaterial.
As perfectly stressed by Gibbons, the two best fighters in the division are squaring off. This is the best line to advertise the fight. No titles required.
Pacquiao and Spence will have the stage all for themselves come August.
The heavyweight title fight between behemoths Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, originally scheduled for July 14, has been postponed after Fury tested positive for Covid-19. With this fight off, Pacquiao-Spence is now the sole focus of attention.
Pacquiao and Spence are promising fireworks and boxing fans believe them. That’s because we are talking here of fighters who are ready to walk the talk.
