By Lee Groves

While this past weekend was quieter than the previous one in terms of profile, that didn’t stop the flow of thoughts, impressions, deliberations and contemplations about what unfolded inside the squared circle and beyond. Here’s just a small sampling of what leaped to mind during my time inside the Home Office:

* Manny Pacquiao’s success may end up hurting his political aspirations – at least for now.

After running through Joshua Clottey earlier this month, Pacquiao resumed his run for a congressional seat in the southern Philippine province of Sarangani. While he returned to a hero’s welcome, that adulation may not necessarily translate to a stampede of votes at the polls.

I suspect many voters who are on the fence will end up not pulling the lever for Pacquiao because he is a much more valuable commodity as boxing’s pound-for-pound king. His incredible deeds in the ring have boosted the spirits of his impoverished countrymen and his fights so mesmerize the populace that the crime rate plummets to almost zero. Peace and unity reigns – at least for those few hours – and that is something of great value.

For many Filipinos, Pacquiao also serves as a symbol of validation, for he confirms to the world at large that people from the Philippines are capable of great feats and that this goodwill should be extended to all. This sentiment is repeatedly expressed in profiles about Pacquiao as well as during my occasional encounters with Filipinos on past road trips.

Pacquiao’s value and impact outside of politics is at its positive peak, so what incentive would undecided voters have to potentially stop it by electing him to higher office now? If elected, his duties might cut into his training time and compromise his focus, which in turn could affect his success in the ring.

These feelings may well have led to his defeat in 2007, when he ran for a seat representing his hometown of General Santos City and it just might happen again here.

With a potential fight against the Mayweather-Mosley winner on the horizon, Pacquiao needs to summon his maximum physical and psychological effort, a task that would be hindered if political responsibilities were added to his already hectic schedule.

Even if he was granted time away from Congress to train, Pacquiao would not be able to fully serve his constituents. Given his wellspring of compassion for his people, that fact will gnaw at his mind. Pacquiao knows that one can’t be of two minds when preparing for great challenges and he is well aware that a loss would be devastating to his worldwide image – and the image of boxing in general.

The fight against the Mayweather-Mosley winner may or may not be his final fight – trainer Freddie Roach discussed “Plan B” matches against Edwin Valero, Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and Juan Manuel Marquez last week – but it would be a natural stopping point.

Once his fate is fully known in a historical sense and his people are convinced that there are no more worlds to conquer in boxing, it will remove one of the biggest roadblocks to his political aspirations. The people will then feel free to vote for – or against – Pacquiao on his merits as a politician, and a politician only.

* Edwin Rodriguez delivered boxing’s equivalent of a Twitter post with his 47-second knockout of the usually rugged George Armenta.

Good “tweets” are concise yet packed with information. The undefeated super middleweight prospect from the Dominican Republic made the most of his 47 seconds on ESPN2’s air as he stopped the previously unstopped Armenta with a perfectly placed left to the body, a punch that didn’t even land with the knuckle portion of the glove.

One-punch knockouts are rare in general but those produced by body shots are even more so. While Armenta isn’t the same guy who went the distance with card-topper Sechew Powell in September 2004 – a fight that precipitated a five-year hiatus that ended last August – Rodriguez’s rub out is impressive all the same.

The 24-year-old is still in the “Godzilla” phase of his career and only time – and higher quality opponents – will tell the full story of Rodriguez’s capabilities. Based on this performance, however, the tale looks to be a page-turner.

* Every fight has the potential to provide teachable moments for prospects, and Chris Fernandez taught Prenice Brewer to look out for the pop quizzes.

On paper, the match between undefeated junior welterweight Brewer and the veteran Fernandez was as competitive as LeBron James against an eight-foot rim.

Brewer was riding a 14-fight winning streak after a draw in his pro debut while Fernandez had lost four of his last six, including back-to-back defeats to Paul Malignaggi and Devon Alexander. At six feet Brewer was three inches taller and at 22 he was 12 years younger. The difference in reach and hand speed was nearly off the charts and worse yet for Fernandez, he was fighting on five days’ notice.

Experience, however, can be a cruel teacher and Fernandez used it to reveal two major chinks in Brewer’s armor. One, Brewer has trouble fighting on the inside – a common problem for tall fighters – and he compounded it by keeping his hands at chest level or lower when backed up against the ropes.

Two, he can be hit with long power punches. A solid right nailed Brewer near the end of round two and one could almost see the effects reverberating down his body – a potential red flag for the future. That, in turn, fueled Fernandez’s belief that he could pull the upset, a no-no for a fighter still engaged in the Godzilla phase of his career.

The good news for Brewer is that he has the raw materials for success – height, reach and better-than-average hand speed – and he has time to repair his flaws. Wiry fighters like Brewer can generate tremendous leverage and while he won’t become Sandy Saddler, Alexis Arguello or Danny Lopez in terms of power, he can maximize what he already has. Developing a hard, snapping jab will make life difficult for those who want to force point-blank combat and he can fortify his punch resistance by building up his neck muscles.

As for Fernandez, he had every reason to feel discouraged and put-upon but he showed himself to be a true pro by using patience, timing and experience to put forth a credible challenge. While he revealed the details of Brewer’s skills he also unveiled the content of his pugilistic character. He did the best he could with what he had and one can’t fairly ask for anything more.

* Sechew Powell proved that revenge is a dish best served cold.

Given what Powell lost when Deandre Latimore stopped him in seven rounds in June 2008 – his number one ranking and a guaranteed title shot – it would have been easy for the “Iron Horse” to let his desire for vengeance run wild. He could have come into the ring like a snorting bronco hell bent on trampling everything that dared cross his path, for this was the chance to make right everything that went so wrong before his hometown fans 21 months earlier.

The Empire State southpaw may well have had those feelings swirling on the inside – after all, he refused to touch gloves with Latimore at the end of the first round – but he was enough of a professional to rule his emotions instead of letting them rule him.

Using skillful movement, well-placed counters and excellent defense, Powell neutralized Latimore’s aggression and pulled away in the bout’s second half to secure a majority decision that should have been unanimous. It wasn’t the most exciting way to win, but because Sechew was Se-Cool, he achieved the ultimate objective.

* For Wladimir Klitschko, success alone will never be enough to receive his due from American fans.

“Dr. Steelhammer” once again lived up to both parts of his nickname in turning back Eddie Chambers Saturday night in Dusseldorf. First, he clinically dissected “Fast Eddie” with his jab with surgeon-like care while stifling Chambers’ offense with his extreme height and reach advantages. Then, in the bout’s final seconds, Klitschko anesthetized his opponent with a sweeping left hand that left Chambers sprawled over the bottom rope.

It was Klitschko’s 48th knockout in 53 victories and the eighth knockout in his last nine fights. He swatted aside the man many feel is the best active American heavyweight, and the reaction on these shores is a collective yawn. Why is that?

Americans like excitement and unpredictability and the version of Klitschko we’ve seen these past few years has delivered neither. Although he scores knockouts with frightening regularity, Klitschko is an expert at lulling opponents to sleep before putting them to sleep with sudden and jolting bursts of power.

The long waits that precede the dramatics, however, are the root of Klitschko’s problems on this side of the Atlantic.

In another boxing life, the younger Klitschko sibling was heralded as a gifted and exciting offensive force as well as the natural successor to the aging Lennox Lewis. But shocking knockout losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster as well as chinny performances in his wins over Samuel Peter and DaVarryl Williamson forced Klitschko to confront his fistic mortality. He realized changes needed to be made and the results, while successful, have irreparably harmed his image in America.

What is ironic is that Klitschko, in many ways, epitomizes everything Americans supposedly want in a heavyweight champion. Inside the ring he is a statistical monster; his .842 knockout percentage is fifth highest among heavyweight champions and his older brother’s .902 mark is number one. He is 15-2 with 13 knockouts in championship fights and he has held some form of a belt in seven of the last 10 years.

Beyond the ring he is even better. He is wealthy beyond measure, has a philanthropic streak, is the proud owner of a Ph.D., speaks several languages fluently, always comes into the ring in exquisite condition and his name has never graced a police blotter. He is telegenic, engaging with the public, has a good sense of humor and now he reportedly has actress Hayden Panettiere for a girlfriend. Quite the life, indeed.

He is a huge star in Europe, as the 51,000-plus that poured into the ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf attests, but in America his reputation is in such tatters that no U.S.-based network bothered to air his fight with Chambers.

Why? Because far more often than not, Klitschko’s fights follow a mind-numbing, safety-first script that is diametrically opposed to what Americans hold dear in a heavyweight champion.

All of Klitschko’s personal and professional prerequisites mean nothing if his fights lack two-fisted excitement. That’s not to say that Klitschko has to engage in give-and-take wars. Mike Tyson proved that one-sided blowouts, if executed with the proper panache, can enhance an athlete’s standing with the public as well as his earning power. If Klitschko could have produced more efforts like those in the second and 12th rounds of the Chambers fight, he would have been just fine.

Klitschko had the chance to cement his status among U.S. fans when he fought WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden, this nation’s historic crown jewel for boxing.

Instead of steamrolling his timid rival and emphatically establishing an imprint of robust dominance, Klitschko refused to emerge from his cocoon.

While he left the MSG ring with another belt strapped around his waist, he also left a burned bridge in his wake – one that can never be rebuilt as far as many observers are concerned.

Is it fair? Yes and no. Yes, because heavyweight champions are held to a very high standard. No, because he has met and exceeded every other benchmark.

Does he care? Only he can really answer that question.

* March will go out like a lion for boxing fans.

Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell kick off Stage Two of the Super Six tournament this Saturday with a bout at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena – a welcome blast from the past.

Although Abraham is the tournament leader courtesy of its only knockout victory, there is something about his overcautious approach in the early rounds that is disconcerting.

With Dirrell fighting on home turf and hungry to return to the win column, he has the style and the motive to pile up enough points to pull off the upset. If Abraham picks up the early pace enough to prevent that while maintaining a full enough gas tank to stage his usual second-half surge, he will virtually guarantee himself a spot in the semis.

The reluctant pick: Abraham by decision.

Marcos Maidana defends his share of the WBA junior welterweight title against undefeated Dominican Victor Cayo on the same night. The Argentine supplements his enormous power with prodigious volume, a tough combination to beat.

Those factors will eventually take Cayo out in the middle rounds.

The draw decision that denied Ali Funeka the vacant IBF lightweight title was among the worst in 2009 and some say it was the low water mark for the entire decade. The outcry was such that they will fight again on Saturday.

Based on what unfolded last November, combined with the subliminal sentiment that might benefit Funeka in case of close rounds, the third time indeed will be the charm for the South African, this time by unanimous decision.

Finally, I’m not sure why Erik Morales is launching a comeback at welterweight two-and-a-half years after losing a competitive but unanimous decision to David Diaz.

Maybe it’s because he’s always been a fighter at heart and that he misses the game. Maybe it’s that old devil money. Maybe it’s because he wants a fourth fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, a virtual impossibility given that Pacquiao has just a few big fights left on his schedule and that a third victory wouldn’t do much to enhance his ledger.

Whatever the reason, I hope he doesn’t end up doing more harm than good. He surely will be matched carefully in the early stages - Jose Alfaro represents the first step in that process. But if he truly wants to achieve his goals he will eventually have to step up the competition.

Morales has a proclivity for pushing himself far beyond the bounds of good sense in the name of certifying his machismo. While that was a considerable asset during his salad days, it may well be a different story at age 33 and with many hard fights already on his odometer.

For his sake I hope his campaign ends well but history suggests that it won’t.

E-mail Lee Groves at lgroves@hughes.net