PACQUIAO’S CHOICES & DECISIONS
San Francisco, CA -Assuming Manny Pacquiao stays with Top Rank, Bob Arum’s promotional group, a new breed of opposition will be presented to the Pacman, which will be far different (and lesser?) than previous foes. At age 27, Pacquiao is close to (if not in actuality) the prime of his career. His rise to boxing superstardom could not come at a more perfect time in featherweight history. While Pacquiao was fighting at flyweight (112) and super bantamweight (122), three of the greatest featherweights in the past 20 years- Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez -were cleaning up the 126 lb. division and fighting in big money bouts.
NAZ COULD DRAW, BUT COULDN’T CUT THE MUSTARD
Notice I didn’t include Prince Naseem Hamed in the aforementioned trio, even though he was for a while the biggest draw south of 147 and brought much needed attention to the lower weight classes. Once Barrera burst his bubble, he took on the tag of “fraud.” Meanwhile, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales were battling to win the Mexican fans’ heart and the crown of being the next Julio Cesar Chavez.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE
Six years ago, Pacquiao was still on the road back to the world title after losing the flyweight championship. During that time, the big four at featherweight were dominating the competition. Even the lower echelon of fighters like Clarence “Bones” Adams and Paulie Ayala were capturing attention. Even with the tutelage of Freddie Roach, it’s very doubtful that Pacquiao would have emerged as the top featherweight against the established champions six years ago. He simply wasn’t ready.
SYDNEY HALL GOT MANNY THE BIG BREAK!
The stars of the boxing career of Manny Pacquiao could not have been aligned more perfectly Even getting his initial title shot against Lelho Ledwaba was in itself a minor miracle. If it hadn’t been for boxing agent and San Francisco Bay Area-based attorney Sydney Hall forcing the IBF to mandate Ledwaba to fight Pacquiao when original opponent Enrique Sanchez fell out, Pacquiao would not have had his title shot. Without top boxing figures like Shelly Finkel and Judd Burstein, Pacquiao may still be under the control of Murad Muhammad.
LOTS OF THINGS GOING ON BEHIND CURTAIN
And even with a cold, sore throat, returning a $500,000 signing bonus to Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, and paying Sydney Hall and Marty Elorde approximately $370,000 from a past settlement handicapping Pacquiao, he still managed to knock out Erik Morales in less than nine minutes.
NOW MANNY IS THE TARGET
All that is in the past now, and Paclanders must look to the future in 2007. Pacquiao not only shares the distinction with Barrera and Morales as a legendary fighter, but now he is the King of the feather and super featherweights (130 lbs). Barrera’s reign as king began back in 2001 after dominating and essentially decapitating the cash cow that was Prince Hamed. After winning four bouts (Sanchez, Morales, Johnny Tapia, and Kevin Kelley), his reign ended when a young and upcoming Pacman blitzed Barrera in 2003.
MARCO IS “RIPE” FOR THE PICKING!
Barrera is still the champion at 130 but he’s at a point in his career where he can lose at any time. Although Erik Morales was undefeated at 122lbs, his reign as the featherweight king began by beating Jesus Chavez at 130. The win, along with Barrera losing, made Morales the top dog at featherweight. His reign ended with losses to Barrera and Pacquiao. Now Pacquiao finds himself in a similar place with Barrera and Morales-now the hunted instead of the hunter.
VALERO, GUZMAN & SOTO LEAD THE HUNTERS
Edwin Valero will likely get the first crack at dethroning ”King Manny” in March. Valero, 20-0 (20 KOs), has the distinction of scoring 18 straight first round knockouts. The Venezuelan southpaw is the current WBA titlist after knocking out the champion in his hometown. Banned in the U.S. because of a teenage motorcycle injury, I believe, Valero trains in Japan and has become very popular in Asia and the Internet. Although advanced for his age at 30, Joan Guzman is still a hungry and capable fighter, who’s looking to a superstar like Pacquiao.
JOAN, NOT “JOANIE” UPSET BARRIOS
Guzman, 26-0 (17 KOs) is fresh off a win over Jorge Barrios, who some journalist believed could beat Pacquiao, and holds the WBO title. His power has diminished since moving up from 122, but Guzman hasn’t diminished his confidence, calling out Pacquiao right after Manny’s victory against Morales. Finally, the most dangerous opponent for Pacquiao right now is another Mexican, Humberto Soto. Undefeated in his last 16 fights, Soto has really come into his own, and at only 26 has 40-5-2 (24 KOs). Soto is tall and can fight both on the inside and the outside. He came onto the scene after beating the then undefeated Rocky Juarez. If given the opportunity, Soto can give anybody trouble over twelve rounds.
WILL MANNY BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HEAT?
Now that Manny Pacquiao has dispatched the great featherweight fighters of the past generation, he must now maintain that dominance against opponents who will be younger and hungrier than anything he’s faced before. It’s a fact in boxing that all great championships will one day meet their end. This year is was Erik Morales and Arturo Gatti singing their swan songs. When Morales raised Pacquiao’s hand at the end of their third fight, it was basically a passing of the torch. With Pacquiao’s increasing U.S popularity and pound-for-pound status, it will be up to the Pacman to live up to these accolades in 2007.
