In the year 2003, the super bantamweight division had two dominant champions that stood above the rest. Those two were Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Larios. I was extremely vocal (although I seemed to be the only one) about wanting to see a unification between Larios and Pacquiao to determine supremacy in the 122 pound weight class. Manny soon moved on to fight Marco Antonio Barrera for his featherweight championship, leaving Larios as the man to beat at super bantamweight. It seemed like the paths of these two warriors had divided and they would not meet again. Although they never did meet to unify belts, the two met last Sunday morning in the Philippines. Pacquiao dropped Larios twice en route to a twelve round unanimous decision. That is a fight that I can cross off of my top 10 list of fights that should have happened, but didn’t. One of the few that I am glad to have crossed off even if it happened late (Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe at this stage would be ugly). Larios and Pacquiao have finally settled the debate of who was the better super bantamweight champion in the early 2000’s.
I often get asked why Asian fighters do not get any attention by the boxing press in America. Fighters like Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Masamori Tokuyama, and Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (3-K Battery) are or were major belt holders with a respectable number of title defenses. They are hardly ever mentioned in the press though. There are two major reasons for that. The first is that Americans pay little attention to the divisions under featherweight. The second is that the Asian boxers tend to grab a title belt and then defend it against second rate opposition while never leaving their home country. The majority of fans in the United States have never seen Wonjongkam fight before, and based on his recent opposition, they have no reason to want to.
Manny Pacquiao is an Asian fighter who bucks the trend. He is as popular as any featherweight in the last twenty five years. Why is Pacquiao so different than the other fighters listed above? For one he is an exceptional talent and one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world. His breathtaking ability and punching power forces us to pay attention. However, what really sets Manny apart from the pack is his choice of opponents. Pacquiao takes on all of the best fighters at or around his weight class without fear or hesitation. This weekend Manny fought Oscar Larios as a tune up fight between battles with Erik Morales. This time last year Larios was a dominant World Champion who was on the verge of breaking into my top 10 pound for pound list. He lost the title that he had held for years on cuts to a fighter that he had already beat in the match immediately before taking on Pacquiao. Manny took on, and easily handled, a standout former champion who was still in his prime as his “easy” fight between chartbusting main events.
Compare that to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam who was also in action this weekend against a journeyman named Everardo Morales. Wonjongkam won by 4th round TKO and recorded one more title defense in the flyweight division. The match went on almost completely unnoticed, and those who did notice did not care. Even though Pongsaklek is a long reigning champion, he has not fought anyone that has captured the imagination of the boxing public. For that reason he remains in anonymity. The quality of opposition of Manny Pacquiao’s tune up fight last weekend represented a better fighter than Wonjongkam has ever faced in his entire career, by far. The boxing media is not biased against Asian boxers as proven by its love affair with Pacquiao, they simply do not care about fighters who are not willing to take a chance.
Stay Put and Gain Glory
Floyd Mayweather, JR. vs. Ricky Hatton. Jorge Arce vs. Vic Darchinyan. Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. Acelino Frietas vs. Erik Morales. Roy Jones, JR., vs. Joe Calzaghe. Do any or all of these matches sound like they would have been fun? These were all mind blowing blockbuster fights that we missed out on because the first boxer made a premature move up in weight. I see this as a new trend in today’s state of boxing. Fighters seem to have ADD and get bored with the landscape of their division then decide to move up in weight. I am against the unnecessary rise in weight unless there is a super fight that is to be made. That was not the case with most of the examples above. There was no one with any credibility at light heavyweight waiting to welcome Roy Jones, JR. Frietas turned down unification offers to fight Artur Grigorian of all people.
Not only are fans cheated out of the declaration of a true champion in a weight class when stars needlessly move up in weight, but the boxer’s legacy is adversely affected. Let us compare the careers of Bernard Hopkins and Tommy Hearns. Hopkins stayed at middleweight for most of his career and racked up the title defenses. Hearns continually jumped around in weight winning titles here and there, but not putting in a sustained campaign at any weight. Those who watched and grew up following Hearns’ career know what a great boxer he was. However, Hearns does not hold any records in any weight classes and cannot be considered one of the top 5 greatest welterweight, middleweights, or light heavyweights of all time because he did not spend enough time in any of those divisions. Contrastingly, Hopkins fought weaker opposition, had less meaningful wins, was not as talented in a pound for pound sense, but will probably be looked at by history more favorably because he dominated one division for so long.
Boxers like Oscar De La Hoya set goals of winning titles in as many different weight classes as possible, but the fans do not really care that much. Your average fight fan will not remember or care that De La Hoya was fighting five divisions higher than he started at when he fought Hopkins. All they remember is that he got knocked out; not that he was at a weight disadvantage. Taking on those extra pounds makes your odds of losing increase with little to no added reward for winning. The only reason Sugar Ray Robinson moved up to middleweight is that every welterweight contender not named Jake LaMotta was ducking him. He had a reason, but the motive of today’s fighters eludes me.
The sport could use dominant, undisputed champions anyway. The more recognition that boxing gets, the faster that it can dig itself out from being just a niche sport in America. Contenders should find a weight class that they feel comfortable in, make a name for themselves there and ride out the rest of their careers. Just imagine the havoc that PBF would be causing on the record books if he decided to stay at 130 and defend his title for the remainder of his career.
