MANILA, Philippines – Calling out opponents has become a favorite pastime of top-echelon contenders ready to break out and take away the limelight from marquee fighters. It?s called the daring game.
Take WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, the hottest ticket in the sport today. There isn?t anyone in the top 10 world rankings unwilling to face Pacquiao except for Floyd Mayweather whose obsession to preserve his unblemished record has prompted Top Rank chairman Bob Arum to call him a psychological coward.
Fighters calling out Pacquiao are dreaming of a megabuck payday, something that?s almost guaranteed to whomever battles the Filipino icon. Ghana?s Joshua Clottey was assured of at least a $900,000 purse for engaging Pacquiao last March ? he couldn?t have earned anywhere close fighting somebody else.
WBC lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez is probably the noisiest of those calling out Pacquiao. The Mexican drew with Pacquiao and lost a split decision in a rematch. Both encounters were close and Marquez insists he deserves a third crack. But nobody?s paying attention. In Marquez? fight against Juan Diaz last July 31, he tipped the scales at 133 1/2 pounds. Pacquiao weighed in at 145 3/4 for Clottey. Not only is a third meeting an unmarketable exercise but it also is suicidal for Marquez who turns a ripe 37 on Aug. 23.
Pacquiao, 31, will likely tangle with Mexico?s Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at a site still to be determined. Margarito, 32, is a viable opponent and ranked No. 1 in the superwelterweight class by the WBC. Conveniently, the WBC 154-pound throne is vacant and the ?emeritus champion,? whatever it means, is Mayweather. If Pacquiao agrees to meet Margarito, it will be for a record eighth title in eight divisions.
But Pacquiao may be biting off more than he can chew. The limit in the superwelterweight division is seven pounds over the 147-pound welterweight ceiling and Pacquiao has never fought weighing in more than 145 3/4. Even if there?s a catchweight limit of 149 or 150 or 151, Margarito will be much bigger than Pacquiao when the bell rings.
Because boxing is more a business than a sport, or at least that?s how it has evolved in the modern era, bouts are arranged mainly on the basis of the best deal a promoter negotiates. Arum promotes both Pacquiao and Margarito and that?s why other credible fighters not in the Top Rank stable are excluded from the equation at the moment. Top Rank stands to maximize its earnings by pitting fighters under its wing rather than share the booty with another promoter. Legacy is now something few fighters aspire for ? their goal is simply broken down into dollars and cents.
A fighter calling out Pacquiao is WBC welterweight titlist Andre Berto who has a 26-0 record, with 20 KOs, seven in the first round. He won the title in 2008 and has since turned back four challengers. Berto, 26, is launching a movement to pressure fighters to face him and writers to demand the engagements through social networking.
?Arum wants to keep everything in house,? said Berto. ?It?s hurting the sport.?
The other welterweight champions are also waiting in line but because they?re not exposed to the US market, there is doubt if they can generate sales even if their opponent is Pacquiao. The WBA titlist is Ukraine?s Vyacheslav Senchenko who has a 30-0 record, with 20 KOs and has never fought outside his country, Monaco and Russia. The IBF king is Slovenia?s Jan Zaveck, now fighting out of Germany with a 29-1 record, including 17 KOs and the only loss to Poland?s Rafal Jackiewicz by split decision in 2008.
Pacquiao could make a strong statement to protect the integrity of boxing by unifying the welterweight championship, disposing of Berto, Zaveck and Senchenko. But it won?t make economic sense.
Another fighter calling out Pacquiao is WBC No. 4 superwelterweight contender and European titleholder Ryan Rhodes. The Englishman, 33, has a 44-4 record, with 30 KOs and is a southpaw like Pacquiao.
?It?s pretty much disgusting,? said Rhodes quoted by Boxing News editor Tris Dixon. ?It?s not what you know, it?s who you know. Margarito gets smashed at welterweight, suspended for nine months, has one fight back ? doesn?t look that good ? and goes straight in and gets a title shot. All of a sudden, I?m getting bypassed. It?s not nice to see.?
But after all is said and done, there is just one fight the world wants to see ? Pacquiao versus Mayweather and from the way Pretty Boy has been posturing lately, the probability is it will finally be staged in May next year.
