BOBBY Pacquiao took one giant step out of the shadow of his illustrious brother Manny Pacquiao, with his own brand of punching power, knocking out former featherweight champion Kevin Kelley in the fourth round at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden yesterday.
Pacquiao nailed Kelley with a wicked left to the rib cage that sent the 38-year-old veteran crashing to the canvas grimacing in pain as referee Steve Willis counted him out at 1:24 of the fourth round.
Kelley, as well as the ringside commentator, tried to make out that the former champion was decked by a low blow. But it was clearly the body shot that devastated Kelley while the supposed low blow was borderline at best, although Pacquiao had been warned for a low blow in the second round.
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Standard Today, Pacquiao’s comanager, Wakee Salud, said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was looking for a title shot for Pacquiao, but appears stymied by the fact that the World Boxing Council super featherweight champion is Marco Antonio Barrera and the no. 1 contender is Bobby’s elder brother Manny.
Bobby was ranked no. 9 in the latest ratings, while Kelley was no. 5.
It is unlikely that a megabuck rematch between Pacquiao and Barrera will be sacrificed for a championship bout between Barrera and Bobby, the reigning WBC Continental Americas champion.
Salud said indications are Bobby will fight no. 2 contender Humberto Sotto in what he claimed could well be an interim title fight, although it is unclear how that could happen.
Bobby’s superb conditioning under Justin Fortune and the game plan of celebrated trainer Freddie Roach, who was not in the corner, were clearly in evidence as Kelley hurt Pacquiao with a solid uppercut in Round 3, only to see the Filipino southpaw come back to drop the former champion with a left flush on the face.
Referee Willis counted to five, but the bell saved Kelley, who was wobbly and didn’t even know where his corner was.
The win improved Pacquiao’s record to 27-11-3 with 12 knockouts while Kelley dropped to 58-7-2 with 39 KOs.
Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who did the TV coverage, said it was better that the fight was stopped, saying the aging Kelley could have been badly hurt beginning the third round, when Pacquiao began to demonstrate he had no fear in trading punches with the American, who had a reputation as a big puncher which was attested to by his 39 knockouts in 58 wins.
