It’s now official. No matter your criteria for ranking fighters in a pound-for-pound sense, there’s no disputing that Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world.
Say what you want about David Diaz ? he was “just” a paper titlist, the weakest titlist of the division, not even close to being the best lightweight, and so on. Forget for a moment that there was even a title at stake in Saturday night’s pay-per-view headliner. What folks shouldn’t lose sight of is, ten years after capturing the linear flyweight title, Manny Pacquiao dominated a legitimate Top 5 lightweight, averaging close to 90 punches per round in a complete performance, capped by a highlight reel knockout.
There’s no need to sip from the same fountain that’s selling the Filipino as a world titlist in four separate weight classes based off of Saturday night’s win. Any true student of the game can tell you Manny already turned that trick the moment he beat Juan Manuel Marquez three months ago for the junior lightweight crown. The title trivia is merely for those too lazy to follow the bouncing ball of championships with actual history behind it.
In a true title lineage sense, Manny Pacquiao is a former three-division champ (flyweight, featherweight, junior lightweight) and has now win trinkets in two others (junior featherweight and now lightweight). While then-junior featherweight titlist Lehlo Ledwaba wasn’t the linear champ, he was regarded by many at the time as the division’s best fighter, which would give Pacquiao such a win in four separate weight classes.
Now that he’s emphatically reminded the world of who’s the best fighter in the world, the only remaining question is if he’s ready to define himself as the world’s best lightweight.
For the moment, the answer appears to be no. Not that Pacquaio isn’t capable of handling himself against the Nate Campbell’s and Joel Casamayor’s of the world, among many others in a loaded lightweight division. But if we are to take promoter Bob Arum’s word at face value ? and perhaps yesterday he was just lying and today he’ll have a different version of what he considers the truth ? then defenses against top junior lightweights moving up and more Pacquiao division jumping is in the immediate future of the Filipino phenom.
Heading into the David Diaz fight, there was already discussion of Humberto Soto getting the next crack at Pac-Man. The same rumors surfaced this time last year, more so after he knocked out Manny’s younger ? and far less talented ? brother, Bobby Pacquiao last summer. The irony behind this year’s rumors being that Soto was fighting on the Pacquiao-Diaz undercard for the vacant alphabet title left behind when Manny moved up for this fight.
Soto could very well still land the assignment, but it won’t be based off of a winning effort ? at least not an official win. Way past-his-prime referee Joe Cortez can be thanked (blamed) for that one, disqualifying the Mexican for what was ruled a foul in a fight he was otherwise dominating against Dominican fringe lightweight contender Francisco Lorenzo.
That Arum didn’t immediately mention Soto’s name at the post-fight presser when discussing Pacquiao’s future suggests that he’s no longer the front runner. Perhaps a rematch with Lorenzo is on tap, or a shot at another alphabet title. But for the moment, the names mentioned ahead of his; 130 lb. titlist, free-swinging Venezuelan brawler Edwin Valero, and linear junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton.
Here’s where the Hall of Fame promoter begins to contradict himself.
The latter represents what would be a career-best payday for Pacquaio, much like Floyd Mayweather pursued the massive payday that came with an Oscar de la Hoya showdown. The problem was, Mayweather chasing a titlist in another weight class meant none of the other welterweight contenders would get a crack at the division’s linear crown. It became the theme throughout his reign, having never defended against an actual welterweight before conceding the crown with his retirement (for the moment) last month.
Granted, Pacquiao isn’t the linear lightweight champion or even the truly best lightweight on the planet ? depending upon who you ask, such distinctions belong to either Joel Casamayor or Nate Campbell. But he’s already left behind the junior lightweight division, just three months after finally giving the weight class a defining champion but without a defense against even one top junior lightweight.
Now, one fight into his lightweight career, already comes discussion of moving up another weight class. This for a fight that has no realistic chance of happening until at least 2009.
Hatton’s already signed and sealed for a November fight against 140 lb. titlist Paulie Malignaggi. The site has yet to be determined, and Malignaggi himself indirectly hinted that step-aside money would be enough motivation to allow the suggested superfight to happen. But all indications point to Hatton-Malignaggi proceeding as planned.
So if the two options mentioned by Arum are considered 1 and 1A in Pacquiao’s immediate future, it would now make Edwin Valero the frontrunner in the Pac-Man sweepstakes.
A Pacquiao-Valero fight would be bombs away for as long as it lasts. But it’s also a fight that should’ve taken place at 130. Much like a Mayweather-Hatton fight should’ve taken place at 140 lb circa 2005-’06, where Hatton was the linear champ and Mayweather was a recently crowned titlist beginning to gain universal recognition as the world’s best fighter.
For that matter, a Pacquiao-Soto fight should’ve already taken place ? and at 130, where both Valero and Soto have yet to truly define themselves as the division’s very best. The two are on the verge of receiving such honors by default, only because of a massive thinning of the herd at the top now that Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Joan Guzman are pursuing fame and fortune at lightweight.
Fights against Soto or Valero would merely mark time for Pacquiao, though it can be argued that in doing so, he fits right in considering the present state of the lightweight division.
Still, more questions should be answered than raised come September, which will host three separate fights involving four of the best lightweights in the world along with two potential future players.
Surely among them can be found a formidable future opponent for Pacquiao.
For at least the next few months, the Champ vs. Best debate will rage on at lightweight. It will linger on as long as linear champion Joel Casamayor and unified titlist Nate Campbell continue to travel different paths. Fittingly enough, both fighters are tentatively scheduled to next appear in the ring on September 13 ? just not against each other. In fact, both are welcoming top junior lightweights to the murky waters of the lightweight division.
Casamayor puts his linear crown on the line against Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13 in Las Vegas, as formally announced by promoter Golden Boy Promotions last weekend. It’s a fight he and his handlers insist is more lucrative than the $610,000 offer he received for a fight against Nate Campbell, who was willing to give the Cuban purse parity despite the fact that he could’ve easily demanded the lion’s share of the $1.22 million purse bid.
Campbell insists that with fame will come the fortune, and that a real fighter’s objective should be to prove himself against the very best, like he did when he accepted a modest payday for a crack at Juan Diaz. He stays true to his word, willingly accepting the challenge of undefeated Dominican challenger Joan Guzman.
The final piece of the puzzle before making the fight official is securing a location; Guzman’s promoter, Sycuan Ringside Promotions, claim to have a date, network (Showtime) and venue (Sycuan Resort and Casino, El Cajon, California), while Don King, who co-promotes Campbell, insists he has plans of his own, which presumably involve bringing the fight a little closer to Campbell’s backyard of Jacksonville, Florida.
What neither fights brings us any closer to is lightweight clarity. Nor does a September 6 showdown that bears something of a loser’s bracket, as Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis plan to throw down following the first pro losses of their respective careers. Diaz was handled by Campbell in Mexico early in March, two weeks before Katsidis saw a modest lead on the scorecard go bye-bye after getting knocked out by Casamayor in ten rounds.
Many have Diaz-Katsidis tabbed as a can’t-miss Fight of the Year contender, and the fight might very prove to be that good, if not better. But the question that lies ahead for the winner is, what’s next. Presumably, either the winner of Casamayor-Marquez or Campbell-Guzman.
No matter how you mix it up ? Campbell-Diaz II, Casamayor-Katsidis II, Marquez-Diaz, Guzman-Katsidis, and so on ? none of it adds up to a single answer atop the division come end of 2008.
What would help, however, is if others would join in the fray, picking up the slack to help narrow the field. That is where Manny Pacquiao can fit in, now that he’s already tested the lightweight waters.
A place in the Boxing Hall of Fame has already been long ago secured for the Filipino; a win at the very top level of the lightweight division would make his name the newest entry when discussing the greatest fighters of all time.
Sure, a win against Ricky Hatton would just as easily take him there and put his name into a much higher tax bracket all in one fell swoop. But who’s to say that 140 doesn’t become one weight class too many for Pacquiao, whose career began 34 lb lighter. Not to mention that a Hatton fight doesn’t happen until the Brit gets past Paul Malignaggi, which isn’t guaranteed, especially considering how he’s looked in recent fights.
The fortunes beyond his wildest dreams may lie ahead in the future, but there’s so much to take care of in the present, well within his reach and in a division desperately in need of clarification sooner than later. What it doesn’t need is another top player ? in this case, the world’s very best fighter – further contributing to the clutter.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at [email protected]
