AFTER MANNY Pacquiao had beaten Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, a lot of observers thought he had run out of formidable opponents in his class.
Lately though, a whole slew of hungry predators have emerged, all salivating to get their turn at Manny.
Juan Manuel Marquez has been knocking on the door of superstardom for a very long time. Naseem Hamed avoided him in the late 90’s, but he got his big break when Pacquiao, fresh from his demolition of Marco Antonio Barrera, took him on. Marquez was able to pull off a draw despite being knocked down thrice in the first round.
A rematch was of course inevitable, but somehow that fell through because the Mexican allegedly grumbled about his purse of 0,000. He wanted more, didn’t get it and the rematch was off and Manny Pacquiao was on to greater heights, fighting a marquee Mexican in Erik Morales twice, losing a close decision in the first and dealing “El Terible” his first knockout loss in the second. Now a rubber match in November this year is considered a done deal, with the two ring gladiators splitting almost million in fight proceeds.
Marquez meanwhile, had two fights in the interim, losing to Chris John in Indonesia (for a comparably meager ,000 purse) and then coming back strong last Sunday (Manila time) against Thai Terdsak Jandaeng with a 7th round TKO victory. Marquez is now the WBO interim Featherweight champion. With that feat, he now feels he has the right to challenge Manny and has said so right after his win. Of course, he will have to take care of a minor matter, that of being the next in line for a crack at the title currently being held by Scott Harrison. Should he hurdle that, he would surely want to settle the issue with Pacquiao. And the sooner the better. He’s no spring chicken at 32, currently.
Comes now Venezuelan Edwin Valero, who on the same day snatched the WBA Super Featherweight crown from erstwhile champion Vicente Mosquera of Panama in the latter’s hometown. He decked the champion right in the first round and then himself got tagged with a vicious left hook in the third round to get his own taste of Panamanian canvass. He finally ended it all in the 10th round.
The Valero victory has silenced his many critics, who said he was not in the class of Mosquera who was supposed to be better equipped, technically. Well, Valero is now 20-0, all of his wins via KO, 18 of them not going any farther than round 1! Perhaps it’s true that many of his victims may have been what they derisively call “tomato cans” in boxing parlance, but beating Mosquera has given Valero a loftier status.
Valero feels Pacquiao should also take him on too. This one’s a little tricky though, because he has been banned from fighting in the United States after failing a brain scan there as a result of a motorcycle accident in 2001. And you know the big buck fights are in the US
So everyone wants a piece of Manny. Morales, Barrera, Juarez, and now Marquez and Valero.
Well, the line falls on the right, gentlemen. And if the Philippine way prevails, you might even have to fall behind some other gentlemen who do not wear boxing trunks and gear, but flower-printed shirts instead.
Politics beckons, and if scuttlebutt is half-true, then it looks like the Pacman is considering a different field of battle soon as he decides he’s had enough of the blood and gore of the squared ring.
I don’t know if politics is sweet or scientific, but we have all seen how it can get bloodier than a boxing match, in more ways than one.
It has been pointed out many times over that having fame and fortune, while glamorous and inviting, can also be hell.
The choices Manny will have to make are not easy. His entire future and that of his family are at stake. And it is certainly no fun trying to figure out who you’re going to allow to have a piece of yourself.
With all his millions of dollars and fans, Manny will ultimately, still have to make that fateful decision.
We pray he makes the right one.
