HAS MANNY ?THE FIGHTER? RETIRED?
San Francisco, CA- You can look at the now signed Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya encounter (notice I didn?t say ?fight?) in two distinctly different ways. The first being the positive in that Pacquiao, a fighter that has fought from 107 to 135 lbs., is following in the mold of a Roberto Duran, against say a Marvin Hagler, as he will face a seemingly insurmountable challenge in taking on the much bigger De La Hoya.
TIME FOR A PACMAN REALITY CHECK?
The flipside (no pun intended) is that the Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao has sold his soul to the devil that is cash per se.
LOOKING AT BOTH SCENARIOS
Let?s address the first scenario. Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs), who turned professional in January 1995 at 108 lbs. even, has captured titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, and now 135 lbs. On paper, these accomplishments look stellar, but in reality these accomplishments look much better in writing than they actually are.
LET?S GO DOWN PACMAN?S ROAD
Case in point, Pacquiao, now 29 years of age, won the WBC flyweight (112) title in his 25th fight (he was 24-1, stopped in 3 rounds by Rustico Torrecampo in his 12th fight in 1996) by halting Chatchai Sasakul (33-1) in his native Thailand in round eight. In his second defense (9-17-99), Manny was beaten handily (KO 3) by another Thai in Medgoen Singsurat (18-0).
PULLED A JOSE LUIS CASTILLO?
Technically, Pacquiao never made the 112 lb. weight limit for this fight and instead scaled 113. And while beating Sasakul was impressive, Pacquiao lost without having unified the 112 lb. class. At 122, his drubbing of Ledlo Ledwaba (33-1-1) in June 2001 was again impressive. But his mighty struggle with the ?dirtiest fighter in the game,? the late Agapito Sanchez (31-9-2) showed that there were indeed kinks in the Filipino?s armor. And while the end result was a Technical Draw 6, a bleeding (from butts) Manny looked like he wanted to quit more than once!
AVOIDS GUZMAN FOR THE FIRST TIME
Without unifying the 122 lb. division, and avoiding Joan Guzman for the first time, Manny went to 126 and throttled Marco Antonio Barrera, stopping the Mexican in 11 heats in a one-sided beat down. Then he ascended to 130 lbs. where the formidable Dominican Guzman was already residing. After a second squeaker with Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny opted to face a ?paper? champion at 135 in the less than formidable David Diaz.
AND NOW THE CURRENT SITUATION
This brings us to today, September 3, 2008. Manny Pacquiao has signed a contract to face (again, notice I didn?t say ?fight?) Oscar De La Hoya ON December 6. To put this match in the proper perspective is not a difficult task. Simply put, this encounter is a mismatch!
MANNY AVOIDING REAL FIGHTS
There are a plethora of legitimate challenges for Manny at 135 lbs. The winner of the Guzman-Nate Campbell clash is one. How about whoever comes out on top between Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis? If that doesn?t work for Manny, there?s the upcoming Juan Manuel Marquez-Joel Casamayor clash. The truth of the matter is that Manny, while he might be favored because of his ?star? status, he would be hard pressed to beat any of the aforementioned.
THE PACMAN?S TAINTED LEGACY?
No longer is the Filipino icon looking to (a) engage in real fights, or (b) concerned about a legacy that will be tainted because he won?t fight Guzman or rumble a third time with Marquez.
PAC NEVER AN “UNDISPUTED” CHAMP!
Unlike great fighters such as Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Ray Leonard, and the like, Pacquiao has yet to clean out not one weight class! And while some of you are hopping mad at what I have to say, here are the facts. Pac was drilled at 112 lbs., couldn?t spell Guzman at 122, this coming after a life and death struggle with the less than formidable Agapito Sanchez. At 126, there were unanswered questions and challenges after the initial Barrera drubbing.
SECOND ?DUCKING? OF JOAN GUZMAN
At 130, he again wanted no part of Guzman, before or after the win, albeit controversial, against Juan Manuel Marquez. At lightweight (135), I?ve mentioned the numerous challenges that face the Pacman.
DONAIRE CONCURS WITH FANS/PUNDITS
While appearing on ?Ring Talk Radio? this past Sunday night, World flyweight (112) champ Nonito Doniare, was of the opinion Manny didn?t have much, if any chance against Oscar De La Hoya. Seeing that this is the overwhelming opinion of everyone one I?ve talked to in recent weeks, the truth of the matter is that Manny Pacquiao has indeed sold out!
