Manny Pacquiao is one fighter who will not back out from any one his promoter will put in front of him in the ring regardless of the disparity in size, height, reach and weight of the opponent. Timothy Bradley, who lost his WBO welterweight title to Pacquiao last Saturday, said he takes his hat off to Pacquiao because he is always willing to fight the best in the sport. “I have no excuses tonight, Manny Pacquiao was the better man,” Bradley said. “He showed what he’s made of, he still has it. The reason why I love Pacquiao so much is that he never ducks an opponent. He’s always willing to face the best. He faced one of the best tonight and he came out on top. Manny Pacquiao is a true champion and unbelievable fighter. I have much respect for him and his team.”
But facing opponents who are physically superior than him takes its toll on his body and because of the sheer power of a fighter belonging to a higher weight class, he could suffer irreparable damage or injury. Pacquiao is a natural super lightweight or junior welterweight (140 lbs) and his promoter should be able to match him with fighters belonging to his weight class. What is happening though makes one wonders why promoter Bob Arum keeps on matching Pacquiao with fighters in the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. Arum has a limited number of fighters in the 140 limit under the Top Rank umbrella and he hardly taps other fighters in the weight class who are not Top Rank fighters. The reason Arum won’t let Pacquiao fight in his comfortable weight of 140 pounds could be due to the fact that the current market is primed for the welterweight and junior middleweight fighters. He knows that there is no money in the heavyweight down to the middleweight classes. Gone are the days when Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson and other popular heavyweight fighters would lord it over in the box office. The market for boxing had changed radically in the past decade when fans shifted preferences to welterweights down to the featherweight classes which they found more entertaining to watch. In the article by veteran writer Nick Giongko of Bulletin Today, Pacquiao confirmed that he is not comfortable fighting at the welterweight limit of 147. ?I am naturally small for a welterweight,? said Pacquiao Indeed, Pacquiao is visibly small for a welterweight. He wished he could fight at 140, the weight that he had when he fought Ricky Hatton in 2009. Market forces have vastly influenced boxing matches in recent years when mismatches were forced on boxing fans simply because the fighters were popular even if they are miles apart in their physical attributes. A case in point was the fight between Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, a middleweight fighter, in 2010. Although Pacquiao ran away with a unanimous decision win, he was visibly hurt by Margarito’s punching power. Pacquiao could hardly walk hours after the fight, complaining of severe pain all over his body. Considering that Arum is not likely to tap fighters outside of his Top Rank fighting stable, he could at least match Pacquiao with a Top Rank fighter in 140 pound limit where Pacquiao is more comfortable.
Top Rank 140 pound fighters who have figured in major Top Rank events include Mike Alvarado Ruslan Provodnikov and Jessie Vargas, who recently moved up to 147 but ranked No.8 in the 140 pound limit. Other junior welterweight fighters in the Top 10 junior welterweight ranking but do not belong to Top rank include Danny Garcia, Lucas Mathesse, Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson and Zab Judah. Dierry Jean, Kabbib Allakhverdiev and Viktor Postol of Ukraine. Clearly, Arum’s choice is limited if he gives way to Pacquiao’s preference to be paired with anyone in the 140 pound limit. But if he can work with his top competitor Golden Boy Promotions, where Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and other junior welterweight fighters are under contract, he would do Pacquiao a big favor. Still, the business side of the sport dictates that boxing matches must be financially viable in order for the promoters as well as the fighters to make money. Seemingly Arum values business gain or profit more than the welfare of his fighters.
