LAS VEGAS — When the smoke cleared at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last Saturday, not much had changed.
As always, Manny Pacquiao was just doing his job, and it was nothing personal against Shane Mosley. Without hesitation, he directed all questions regarding the identity of his next opponent at his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
The predictable pattern of events at the postfight press conference was only matched by the action inside the ring. True to form, the 147-pounder showed once again why he is universally recognized as the best fighter on earth in a prolonged pounding of a heavy underdog in future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley.
So it may surprise the readers when I say that Pacquiao?s entering a dangerous comfort zone that doesn?t bode well for the sport.
Sure, he won his 14th consecutive fight. Undoubtedly, Mosley is a great name to add to a glittering r?sum? that now includes world titles in an unprecedented eight divisions and victories over 15 current or former world champions.
However, if recent trends continue, one has to wonder where Pacquiao intends to take his wild ride through boxing history. Once lauded for cleaning out weight classes by taking on the best opposition available — Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight, Juan Manuel Marquez at junior lightweight, and Ricky Hatton at junior welterweight — the 32-year-old WBO welterweight champion?s last few choices of foes since taking the pound-for-pound mantle have left much to be desired.
Before last Saturday?s thrashing of a 39-year-old who was winless in his last two bouts and reluctant to even engage, Pacquiao dominated Antonio Margarito — the man whom Mosley knocked out only 22 months before the Mexican met Manny last November.
Moreover, the Margarito fight came on the heels of an asymmetrical affair against Joshua Clottey last March where the Ghanaian did his best impression of a punching bag by absorbing unrequited punishment for 12 rounds.
Thus, the smattering of boos that marked last Saturday?s performance were inevitable. Many fans? fears are beginning to be realized — that Pacquiao?s willingness to defer to his handlers in picking his opponents has resulted in maximizing the bottom line (over $20 million this time out) at the expense of depriving the sport of bouts with worthy challengers to his crown.
Ironically enough, Floyd Mayweather, who once laid claim to the pound-for-pound title, fell victim to the same affliction once he reached boxing?s apex, which was one of the main reasons why Pacquiao eventually usurped him three years ago.
With that said, what exactly is out there for the ?Pac-Man? that would silence the critics?
Of course, one would have to start with Mayweather, whose erratic behavior and insinuations that Pacquiao has used steroids have contributed toward torpedoing negotiations no less than three times. In addition, with several court cases on the docket, it doesn?t seem that flamboyant Floyd would even have the ability to settle the feud with the Filipino franchise in the near future.
A tantalizing tiff with resurgent WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz would bring the fans to their feet. ?Vicious? Victor, a friend and former sparring partner of Pacquiao, fights for Oscar De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions. He recently participated in a candidate for Fight of the Year when he upset incumbent belt-holder Andre Berto.
But with boxing?s version of the Cold War at full strength, you can pretty much rule out anyone from Golden Boy, who is at odds with Pacquiao?s promoter Top Rank. (Their latest battleground has become the promotional rights to WBC/WBO bantamweight champ Nonito Donaire of San Leandro.)
The same can be said of Marquez. The WBA/WBO lightweight champion has fought Pacquiao tooth-and-nail in two bouts that resulted in a draw and a thin one-point victory for the Filipino when he weighed almost 20 pounds lighter. But the Mexican star, ranked No. 4 in Ring?s pound-for-pound list, seems willing to leave Golden Boy if it means scoring a Pacquiao payday, which is the identical path Mosley took to get to last Saturday.
Unfortunately, a variety of questions would surround the viability of that bout, too. First, Golden Boy claims to possess the right of first refusal of any offers to Marquez (boxing?s version of a free agency offer sheet) until February 2012. Juan Manuel sat right behind me in press row last Saturday, and judging by his words, he seemed more cautious than I expected about rocking the boat.
?Yes, I do want to fight Manny, but I have to see what happens with Golden Boy and my contract,? Marquez said.
Second, Marquez is no spring chicken at 37. He showed both his age and his weight limitations when he moved up from the 135 to the 147-pound division in a lopsided loss against Mayweather almost two years ago; a Pacquiao fight at this point would have to be at the same welterweight limit as the Mayweather bout.
Finally, Marquez is notoriously difficult to bargain with. His unhappiness with his $500,000 proposed purse for a second fight with Pacquiao in 2004 delayed the rematch for four years and led to ?Dinamita? losing his then-featherweight title in Indonesia against Chris John for a paltry $30,000.
According to Fightnews, Marquez has also reportedly rejected Top Rank?s initial offer Monday morning (although I would wager that it was probably an underwhelming one for the sake of setting a starting point). For what it?s worth, he was filming some of the pageantry with his cameraphone.
Sergio Martinez, the middleweight champion who abdicated his belt rather than deal with sanctioning body politics, was also in town for the weekend?s festivities and informed me that he would love to enter the sweepstakes. Although Freddie Roach, Pacquiao?s trainer, has told me numerous times that Martinez would be too big for Manny, the one they call ?Maravilla? was optimistic that the Filipino would reconsider.
?I would fight Pacquiao, sure,? said the 160-pounder who ranks only behind Pacquiao on the pound-for-pound list. ?I am thinking about moving down to 154 pounds if I can get better fights.?
Arum floated two more names last weekend.
?If a fight with Juan Manuel Marquez can?t be made, we?re looking to fight either Timothy Bradley or Zab Judah,? he said.
Judah, the former undisputed welterweight champ, is past his prime and has already been beaten by the likes of Mayweather.
On the other hand, Bradley, who was present in the room for Arum?s words, would be an intriguing matchup. The Palm Springs native is 27-0 and recently gained supremacy in the junior welterweight division that Pacquiao once ruled seven pounds south.
Bradley is also No. 7 in Ring?s pound-for-pound rankings. In my estimation, the 140-pound king would be the ideal choice remaining in lieu of a Mayweather fight among boxing purists.
However, detractors will argue that he?s a relatively unproven commodity at 147 pounds and that there isn?t enough mainstream knowledge of him to generate pay-per-view interest. Perhaps if Bradley were to defeat the white-hot Ortiz, he would dispel such apprehension while presenting the ?Pac-Man? with the lure of a title-unification bout.
So, while Manny Pacquiao continues to run laps around the rest of the field, I truly hope that he doesn?t succumb to the comfort of collecting eight-figure paychecks by fighting mismatches. Instead, I believe that for the good of the sport — and his legacy — that he will hold himself to the same standards as the legends whose rarified air he breathes today.
Ryan Maqui?ana is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a regular contributor to CSNBayArea.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rmaq28
