DALLAS, TX – Nobody is saying Manny Pacquiao has to fight King Kong in his next fight. He deserves a slight break in competition level.
Even though Antonio Margarito wasn’t up to the task Saturday night, it was obvious Pacquiao trained very hard and the physical wear and tear on him takes a toll on his body and emotions with every workout and fight.
But Shane Mosley next? Maybe promoter Bob Arum was just sticking it in the backside of Floyd Mayweather that he doesn’t need Mayweather to further his cause of Manny Pacquiao.
If the Margarito fight brought brought Pacquiao $25 million, then you can see how the great fight of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather would bring each fighter $50 million.
Mosley is coming off of two non-competitive performances against Mayweather where he won one early round and Sergio Mora where he fought to a boring draw.
Usually the market place dictates who the opponent will be but Arum and his Top Rank, Inc. are riding a wave of Pacquiao mania where as the general public will buy virtually anything that seems to have a story and makes sense.
What has amazed me about the two fights at Cowboys Stadium has been the eruption of applause when Pacquiao is first seen entering the arena. Whatever it is, Pacquiao has it and the American public has bonded with him.
We should all be so lucky.
I would buy Juan Manuel Marquez before Mosley but in any order they might be the next two Pacquaio opponents as we wait for the big fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
But Marquez is at best a part time fighter now. First he’s a true lightweight and a full weight division and a half below Pacquiao. He’s already 37. He has a fight on November 27th against Michael Katsidis. He last fought and beat Juan Diaz and before that he fought and lost to Mayweather.
So all roads lead to Pacquiao vs. Mayweather somewhere, somehow. Let’s hope it happens soon.
A knowledgeable boxing person told me a fighter is in his prime up to age 33 1/2. So Mayweather has already passed that by a few months. Pacquiao is only 31.
But since Mayweather has taken off long periods of time, maybe he has less wear and tear on his body.
Maybe King Kong better start training.
