By Chris Robinson
The last time I spoke with boxing adviser Sampson Lewkowicz we discussed the announced May 5th return of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and how it impacted the sport. While people in boxing would prefer to see Floyd face off with Manny Pacquiao on that date, Lewkowicz made the case that it was his fighter and lineal middleweight champion Sergio Martinez who presented the bigger challenge.
Pacquiao fought this past weekend in Las Vegas, nipping Juan Manuel Marquez in a spirited battle that many felt could have gone the other way. Lewkowicz took in the action and while he didn’t offer up a scorecard of his own, he did drop an interesting theory on the fight.
“Yes, I saw it,” said the Uruguay-born Lewkowicz of Pacquiao's majority-decision victory at the MGM Grand. “To me it was a very close fight. If, by the end of the fight, Marquez had [been] victorious, no Filipino or anybody would say that it was a robbery. But it was a close fight to me.”
It is true that Pacquiao looked far from stellar this past weekend as he failed to get a consistent offensive attack going against Marquez, as was the case in their previous two fights in May of 2004 and March of 2008.
Lewkowicz has his own reasoning for why the Filipino whirlwind seemed to have an off night.
“I believe that what happened to him, it happened years ago when he fought, rest in peace, Agapito Sanchez,” Lewkowicz said of Pacquiao’s November 2001 six-round technical-draw against the awkward Dominican. “Styles make fights and always it was the wrong style for him.”
There seem to be varying reports as to Pacquiao’s next move, as his promoter Bob Arum expressed interested at the post-fight press conference towards a fourth encounter with Marquez so that the rivalry can end with some kind of closure. Adding to the speculation, Mayweather's advisor Leonard Ellerbe, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who works closely with Mayweather, are claiming that Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum is not interested in a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight at the moment.
Pacquiao vs. Mayweather would be the ultimate fight to make in the sport but Lewkowicz feels that Arum thinks more from a financial standpoint when eyeing Manny’s future.
“I believe that Bob Arum is a very intelligent man and he saw that he can continue doing business and he doesn’t need any more opponents or challenges,” Lewkowicz stated candidly. “I believe it’s a good idea and well-deserved for Marquez, however, it looks like next time he needs to do a little bit more.
“No fighter is afraid of anybody. Bob Arum is too smart to be afraid of anyone. If he makes the money and he sees how he can maximize the profit, he will do it. But this moment, to maximize the profit of Top Rank, it would be the fourth fight with Marquez.”
Lewkowicz added that Martinez was on his way to Houston, Texas for this weekend’s HBO-televised middleweight title tilt between champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and challenger Peter Manfredo. Earlier this year Martinez was inexplicably stripped of the WBC belt that Chavez now holds and ever since he has longed for a clash with the Sinaloa, Mexico native to get some sort of payback.
Lewkowicz was asked if he would prefer the fight with Chavez for Martinez or whether a more lucrative bout with either Mayweather or Pacquiao was of more interest.
“I asked several times to Martinez ‘What do you prefer?’ and if it was Martinez’s way, whoever comes first,” Lewkowicz continued. “There’s no solution. It’s either the title or a big fight. After November 19th we know what we’re doing.”
After their time in Houston, Lewkowicz will return to Las Vegas with Martinez as he will be staging his first show as a promoter the following day at the Texas Station Hotel and Casino.
[Reader's note: For an inside look at the Pacquiao-Marquez III event please visit the following slideshows Bonus shots and behind the scenes at the post-fight presser ]
