Manny Pacquiao: Preying on the weak

By Kenneth Bouhairie: Earlier this month, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank announced the rematch between Manny Pacquiao and a decidedly faded Marco Antonio Barrera. Upon hearing the news, this writer hoped for a message board mutiny. Barrera-Pacquiao II? Will boxing fans really pay $44.95 to watch PacMan devour another ghost? Evidently, there’s little hope for the paying public when a Swiss banker, a lawyer and the most PC boxer of his time brainstorm together. Instead of assailing the latest pay-per-sham, scribes could be heard playing Peaches and Herb oldies while typing away. The reunion of the promotional powerhouses was the headline, their first product an afterthought, as if we should be pacified by these Richie Rich’s deciding to play nice in the sandbox. Floyd Mayweather Jr. can only dream of such media adoration. The five-division champ’s business-minded approach in the ring and hip-hop styled braggadocio outside it have made him a magnet for criticism. Team Pacquiao has its own form of disdain for the paying public, but the keyboards are silent. Maybe that’s because Manny always comes to fight. Perhaps it’s his non-abrasive attitude. Whatever the reason, the masses haven’t taken him to task for this latest rematch that reeks of a final payday for an old warrior and a low-risk, high-reward bout for a fighter in his prime. This article isn’t meant to bash Pacquiao, although I suspect my inbox will be flooded with letters from General Santos City. “How dare you,” they’ll cry. “Pacquiao is a gladiator who will take on anybody.” Yes, Pacquiao is a gladiator, but the second half of the previous sentence is subject to debate. Since his 2003 destruction of Barrera, Pacquiao has dominated his division. His following has grown with each knockout, from local stardom in his native Philippines to a worldwide following. But behind Manny’s unforgiving fists and cloak of invincibility lies a naked truth. Those who look beyond the trademark red shoes and “No Fear” bandana can hear the whirring sound of a money machine. As Pacquiao has gone from raging bull to cash cow, the quality of his opposition has diminished markedly. Barrera turned professional at age 15. After 69 fights and countless wars, he’s a blunted weapon. Moreover, the Mexican legend is coming off a loss to Juan Manual Marquez — a fight which, except for a couple of moments, Marquez dominated. There had been talk of Pacquiao fighting Humberto Soto or defensive wizard Joan Guzman prior to the announcement of Pacquiao-Barrera II. Soto thrashed Rocky Juarez two years ago, only to witness Juarez get a shot against Barrera. Rocky, in turn, exposed Barrera’s decline. Meanwhile, for years, Barrera avoided a rematch against Pacquiao. Now 33, on his last legs and out of options, he has opted for one last big pay-day. Fans will probably forgive Barrera if he exits quickly. Erik Morales, Jose Luis Castillo and Lamon Brewster are recent examples of fighters who, after tasting serious leather, appeared more interested in cashing their check than earning it. In their younger years, they would have fought fire with fire. But their bodies had suffered through too much to summon that kind of will again. Don’t be surprised to see a similar outcome when Barrera gets reacquainted with Manny’s blazing left hand power. A look at Pacquiao’s resume since he took Barrera apart shows a troubling pattern: PACQUIAO VS. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ – DRAW If not for an incredible first round that found Marquez on the canvas three times, Pacquiao would have been on the losing end of the decision. Once Marquez found his footing, he soundly outboxed his opponent, creating a blueprint that fellow Mexican Erik Morales followed against Pacquiao a year later. Still, all credit to Manny for taking on a worthy opponent following his huge upset over Barrera. PACQUIAO TKO 4 OVER FAHSAN 3K BATTERY 3K was the perfect set-up. His previous opponents had a composite 47% winning percentage. But we’ll give Pacquiao a pass. He was entitled to a soft touch after back to back fights against Mexico’s best. ERIK MORALES UD12 OVER PACQUIAO Fresh off his second loss to Barrera, few expected the aging Morales to remain standing against Pacquiao, much less pull off the upset. But the match was intriguing and Morales still had a name, which was why this fight was made. The cagey Mexican used his overlooked boxing skills to keep Pacquiao at the end of his punches and walk away with a spirited unanimous decision. PACQUIAO TKO6 OVER HECTOR VELAZQUEZ Pacquiao battered the journeyman with searing combinations to the head and body. Velazquez was game but eventually wilted under assault. PACQUIAO TKO10 OVER ERIK MORALES “El Terrible” had looked plain terrible in losing his previous fight against Zahir Raheem. That had ruined all hope of Morales-Pacquiao II; or so we thought. But like Zab Judah (who lost to Carlos Baldomir and next fought Floyd Mayweather Jr), Morales was rewarded for his loss with a big purse in his next fight. Against Pacquiao, Morales started strong but his legs faltered in the middle rounds. He resembled a piñata over the last three. PACQUIAO UD12 OVER OSCAR LARIOS Larios, fresh off a TKO loss to Israel Vasquez, moved up two divisions to serve as another homecoming victim for the native son. PACQUIAO KO3 OVER ERIK MORALES Morales had been slapped silly by Zahir Raheem and blown out in the rematch against Pacquiao, so why not go for the trifecta? Fans shelled out $44.95 for a nine-minute going away party. Morales winked to his corner as the ref counted him out. PACQUIAO KO8 OVER JORGE SOLIS Solis was competitive early, but eventually fell under a hail of Pacquiao bombs. It was a good “stay busy” fight. Except Manny has had too many of those lately. His stiffest challenge these past few years came from Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who scored a TKO over Pacquiao several months ago when she won their battle for a congressional seat in the Philippines. The string of suspect bouts continues on October 6th with Pacquiao against Barrera. Golden Boy and Top Rank will be celebrated for putting aside their juvenile cold war as they line their pockets. Diehard fans, having been force-fed one uneventful pay-per-view card after another on HBO-PPV, will lay down another $44.95, hoping that the “Baby-Faced Assassin” has one more great fight left in him. Don’t bet on it. As long as we’re buying, Pacquiao’s increasingly transparent act will continue. Poor Barrera may look the part of a sacrificial lamb on fight night. But it’s the fans, not Barrera, who are being exploited. August 2, 2007 What is this writer smoking? When Pacquiao beat barrera in 2003, all of a sudden they said Barrera is a beaten fighter too many hard fights etc. Then he came and beat Morales for their trilogy and outboxed Rocky Juarez and lost a close decision to one of the all time great featherweight of this era, Juan Manuel Marquez. Now that barrera lost a close decision and is fighting Pacquiao, all of a sudden he's another ghost that Pacquiao is gonna devour? That is total non sense to me. I actually think Pacquiao is smart (no nutghugging on this one) to not fight the likes of Joan Guzman or Humberto Soto etc. because casual boxing fans don't even know who those guys are! And there is no way it would cement his legacy if he were to beat those guys. If he beats Marquez in a sensational fashion, I think that would be the climax of his career and people would consider him as one of the best featherweights of all time. I really didn't see a point of this writer's article. He first said that Barrera is a ghost waiting to be devoured, then in the end he talked about the price of the PPV and that people are getting ripped off etc.. What an idiot :pat: