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Bobby Motus
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Saturday, January 7, 2017
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A $20-million asking price is OK but…
WHEN your boxing status is next to legendary, you command recognition, admiration and at the same time disrespect and belittling. Great fighters would welcome the chance to trade blows with you and likewise untested yet daring fighters want a crack at fame noting fully well that winning is a remote assumption.
It is safe to say that Sen. Manny Pacquiao has reached legendary status. He has faced and fought all the greats in this brutal sport and although he lost some and was sent to dreamland once, he was devastatingly victorious most of the time. As a bonus, he is the only active boxer who is an incumbent senator at the same time. No other athlete, above ground or underground can lay claim to this distinction.
At his peak, PacMan was a left-handed wrecking machine, methodically cutting down opponents in reckless fashion. His power and speed was insane that it was futile to put up a cover. PacMan’s peak was from the period covering 2006 to 2009. During this time, he was the “Mexicutioner” when he defeated in succession elite Mexican fighters Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz.
Before 2008 ended, PacMan permanently sent to retirement boxing’s golden boy, Oscar dela Hoya. When 2009 came, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto became sacrificial lambs. A $20 million guaranteed prize money is loose change. After these fantastic fights, PacMan had “safe” opponents, except for Marquez who sent him to sleep in December of 2012.
Although relatively “old” at 38, PacMan is still a top-level boxer. There is an obvious decline in speed and power considering that the last time he knocked down somebody on the ring was in 2010. Then “The Farce of the Century” came two years ago. He met a more cunning and wily Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who was more intent on keeping his unblemished record clean than engaging in a real fight.
For several times, PacMan’s camp had been non-committal in meeting the dangerous Terence Crawford. They probably had seen what this guy can do and won’t be sending the boxer/senator in harm’s way. I suppose fans want to see how PacMan matches up with the American so much that his camp has taken the risk and asked for a $20 million guaranteed purse to fight Crawford.
Of late, promoter Bob Arum is iffy with the amount, considering that PacMan’s recent fights were pay-per-view busts. He’s not worried about the fight’s outcome but of the marketability of the bout. PacMan adviser Mike Koncz maintained that the amount was standard pay when he fought the top-rated boxers stated above. But that was then and this is now and there’s no guarantee that this fight supposedly in April will attract considerable interest.
But for the same amount, PacMan could be fighting in Australia for the first time as an Australian outfit has started negotiations with Arum. Arum has said that a Crawford fight won’t happen within the first six months of 2017. The April fight could be held at the 52,000-plus seat Suncorp Stadium at Brisbane. Olympian and WBO No. 2 welterweight contender Jeff Horn is a possible opponent for PacMan and he’s 10 years younger, sporting a 16-0-1 record with 11 Kos.
Hyped as Australia’s brightest boxing talent, aformer teacher with an education degree, the Brisbane-based Horn has reportedly started preparing for the April bout. He currently holds the IBF/WBO Intercontinental Welterweight title and is ranked No. 13 by WBO and No. 10 by WBA. If the PacMan fight doesn’t push thru, Horn could either mix gloves with Jessie Vargas or Tim Bradley, who both became Pacquiao snack items.
According to an article by Quinito Henson, Horn is some kind of a bionic man. Because he is injury prone, he has gone under the knife to repair a fractured thyroid and has a titanium plate installed to protect it. Likewise, he has titanium screws and pins for his fractured left hand.
Depending on which airline you fly and route taken, the land down under is between 8 to 13 hours away. It would be very tempting to fly there to watch the fight and at the same time have the chance to visit my son Emil in Sydney. So Bob Arum, let the Brisbane fight commence. More than half of the Suncorp Stadium will be filled with PacMan’s kababayans./PN
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