Even before the sweat was wiped off the body of Manny Pacquiao and amid the din of the wild celebration of his scintillating win over David Diaz the other day, fans were already asking “what next?”
After the brutal disposal of the erstwhile champion, the new WBC lightweight champion and now 4-division titlist was immediately asked who he thought he was going to go up against next.
Characteristically, Manny deferred to his promoter, the seemingly indefatigable 70-something Bob Arum saying “my job is to fight and it?s up to my promoter to look for fights for me.”
Okay. So we talked to the Harvard barrister who essayed his legal training into a highly-successful boxing promotions career that has spanned decades and which have seen him charter the course of many of the biggest names in the business.
In an on-air conversation with the astute and highly articulate promoter in our weekly program “The Scene Around” on Sports Radio the day after the fight, we pointedly asked him about all the talk about Manny?s next opponent whom many say should be the popular British junior welterweight sensation Ricky Hatton.
“That?s impossible”, Arum declared, “because Hatton has a signed contract to fight the 140-pound champion, Paulie Malignaggi. So not this year; we?re looking at other options.”
“Tomorrow (Monday in the States), we will continue our talks with Akihiro Honda, who promotes Edwin Valero (24W; 24KO?s), a very dangerous super featherweight fighter who also wants to move up in weight. He looks to me as Manny?s next opponent.”
Despite the pronouncement however, boxing pundits insist that if both parties agree, the big fight with Hatton should be the natural course that Pacquiao should take. It is argued that it?s all a matter of settling an economic issue with all concerned, including Malignaggi who could be “persuaded” to step aside.
With the relatively anemic reception to the Pacquiao-Diaz tiff sales-wise, it is said that business-wise, the logical move is to set up that fight between the two popular fighters.
However Arum makes the point that 135 lbs. is “the perfect weight for Manny to be in at this time. Perhaps in a year or two maybe, his body will tell him it?s time to move up. But right now, 135 is perfect for him.
“The thing that was holding him back in his last two fights that prevented him from putting up a more scintillating performance was the fact that he was struggling to make weight at 130.”
“Now at 135 lbs., he doesn?t have that problem, and you will see in his next few fights the best Manny Pacquiao possible because his last training was a dream; he was happy, content and was able to concentrate well while not having to starve himself. So he had the stamina to work on the things that he and Freddie (Roach) wanted to do.”
Well, we saw for ourselves what the partnership in the gym did for Manny and it was a sight to behold as he glided effortlessly all around the ring, delivering destruction gracefully, oxymoron notwithstanding.
And Arum believes Pacquiao should take advantage of the comfort level he is experiencing for a year or two more before he even considers advancing in weight class. “The amazing output that he showed against Diaz was the product of his easier time in training combined with his renewed determination to make things right in his life. “
“He was perfect during training. He had disdained the negative habits of old like gaming, some drinking and late nights. He was 100% focused this time. That?s why he was able to perform at such an incredible level last night.”
There will still be non-believers and cynics who will belittle the efforts shown in that fight, citing that Diaz was slow and not in the same level as the greats that Pacquiao had felled in the past.
But with this renewed diligence and dedication in an already formidable array of fighting abilities, and with a smart and grizzled veteran handling his affairs in Bob Arum, it is not far-fetched to surmise that even greater things are to come for this blessed young man with the fiery fists.
