With the way Marco Antonio Barrera is talking nowadays stating that he does not need a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, the man who mugged him for 11 rounds, one could not help to think that Manny Pacquiao seems to have fallen into the misfortune of being an avoided boxer who dangerously capable of ending one’s boxing career. And it seems that this is what Barrera tries to evade – to have his career mugged to smithereens in case of a Pacquiao rematch and go down the doldrums again.
But in fairness to Barrera, he is just a man who is using his head, not his heart, to enjoy what he has now. People cannot blame the man. It was not that easy to come out of that deep hole he got himself in by showing his braggadocio in fighting Pacquiao and paying dearly for it. It appears to me that he would rather be called a boxer who has lost his heart than being reckless and risk defeat again. A loss to Pacquiao may be the end of the Barrera reign. With his age, there may not be an opportunity to redeem himself again. Barrera’s attitude is simple – fight lesser fighters, earn lots of money, then retire on a winning note.
Well, there is no one to blame, but Pacquiao himself. He is too fast, too powerful, too fiery that anyone who fought him, whether a win, a draw, or a loss, got burned in the process. The three great Mexican boxers who have met him would not want to have a second serving despite the willingness of Pacquiao, anytime, anywhere. After experiencing how difficult it is to fight Pacquiao, they would rather find other opponents, collect their purses, and enjoy the vacation. Morales, though, may consider fighting him again, but I doubt if Arum would allow him knowing fully well, after the very close win, that Morales may not be as lucky as he was in the first fight.
Perhaps, it is about time that Manny Pacquiao consider fighting other fighters than MAB, Marquez or Morales. There are worthy fighters, more willing, to take on the PacMan. He is blazing too fast on the way to Mexico with his no fear attitude, but Mexico is not the world. If Manny wants to conquer the boxing world, he needs to set his sights on fighters other than the three Mexican boxers. In doing this, he may polish his style, earn more experience, build his power and hone his speed and accuracy. It is about time, that Manny Pacquiao change his career strategy. He should not be pursuing these fighters who would rather avoid him. It is better that he eliminates all willing competitors in the equation so that in conquering the world, there is no choice for those who are unwilling, but to fight him or lose face to be branded cowards.
For all the featherweights and super featherweights in the world, there will always be the shadow of Manny Pacquiao over them. None can claim superiority unless one will have to take on the challenge and defeat him in a very convincing manner. Truly, Morales won, but in his heart as a warrior, he knows perfectly well that Manny could have defeated him that night, gloves, cuts, and all.
Manny Pacquiao has taken on the three best Mexican competitors there are. He has made an excellent account of himself. He ducked no one and challenged every one. He has earned their respect. It is now time to move on and conquer the rest of the boxing world.
