No sooner than it was announced that Shane Mosley will be Rep. Manny Pacquiao?s next opponent, almost all of boxing world were up in arms crying this match up as a highway stick up of sorts although most insiders and jaded boxing observers never really doubted the outcome of the short live wait.
Pacquiao of course is coming off two relatively easy and convincing fights this year ? both against bigger guys.
In fact, his last six fights dating back with David Diaz were nothing but competitive.
Pacquiao entered into a new realm of ?non-competitive boxing? despite or in spite of bigger and taller opponents after he eked out a close split decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez, the perennial sore loser.
Critics seem cannot accept the fact that the only competitive fight ? the one boxing fans and the world will kill for to see ? left for Pacquiao is the one the may not come. A ring appointment with Floyd Mayweather.
Yet the last five fights were what separated Pacquiao from the rest of the pack. Had he contented himself with a win over Marquez and exclusively took the challenges in the lightweight division, he would have been pilloried as picking on smaller and inexperienced guys if not aging ones.
But Pacquiao is a unique class all by himself.
With the exception of Oscar de la Hoya, nobody can argue with much conviction that Manny did not fight boxers in their prime during the last three years.
So when Manny opted to pick Mosley as the next challenge, I agree it is Manny?s fault but for a different reason ? one that I can hold a candle with against anybody.
As early as 2007, when Manny failed to knockout Marco Antonio Barrera during their rematch, I already posited that Manny has become a victim of his own success.
He set the bar so high that anything less than a knockout victory is already a failure.
His fans were spoiled in seeing spectacular knockout victories that failure to do another one is taken against him.
The same is now happening. His boxing critics are accustomed to seeing him fight bigger and competitive opponents but they want nothing of Mosley, who by the way is another bigger and taller guy, if not another older one.
But many also raised howls when Manny went for the Hattons, the Cottos, the de la Hoyas, the Margaritos and everybody bigger than him who they claimed will cut off his head only to be embarrassingly silenced by the Filipino boxing superstar.
Manny is no longer a spring chicken but neither is he a washed up ganador (ask a cockfight aficionado about it).
He is taking his time before Mayweather will finally agree to fight him or just merely walk away from him.
So if he picks someone who presents a bigger largesse, why should we whine?
Manny has already given us more than a decade of exciting boxing.
If winning eight boxing titles in eight weight categories is not enough, nothing will ever satisfy them.
Cry not about it dudes, however. Manny will give you a fight down the road that will set a record for keeps and will surely tick your lusts for blood. Just watch out.
