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25.01.06 - By Esteban Rodriguez: Immediately following Pacquiao’s 10-round destruction of Erik Morales on Saturday night, speculation started on who would be Pacquiao’s next opponent. He expressed interest in either fighting Morales, once again, or Marco Antonio Barrera, who he previously destroyed by 11-round TKO on November 15, 2003. However, I don’t see the point in going over old ground, that is, unless Pacquiao’s afraid to face better competition than those old war horses.
I mean, come on, why fight someone again when you’ve already beaten them so decisively? Let’s be honest for once, if Pacquiao really considers himself to be a top fighter, then he should be willing to step up and face the best, even if it means facing the best at 135, namely Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Acelino Freitas or Zahir Raheem.
Heck, for that matter, why not fight Juan Marquez once again, considering he fought to draw against him, in a fight that many had Pacquiao losing. Why wouldn’t Pacquiao want to make it clear to everyone that he is the better fight, especially considering how he lost a majority of the later rounds to Marquez, who appeared to have his number and was punishing him with jabs and right crosses. I guess there's too much risk involved.
With today’s news that Marco Antonio Barrera is going to be fighting Jesus Chavez for his IBF lightweight title on March 25, that removes Barrera as a potential opponent for Paquiao’s next fight. Immediately in the boxing circles, cries of Barrera ducking Pacquiao are starting to be made, but as I said before, why? What is victory is there for Pacquiao to fight someone that he so handily beat two years before if there are better prospects out there for him to fight? To me, it’s like going over old ground, like 12th grader going back to 10th grade and trying to claim a victory by being smarter than his new class mates.
No, I consider it wretched to even consider such a bout, not when he can be facing other new challenges out there. That isn’t to say that Barrera couldn’t possibly beat Pacquiao, because judging from Pacquiao’s sloppy performance against Morales on Saturday night, anything is possible. Believe me, don’t listen to anyone if they say that Pacquiao was particularly impressive in that bout, because he looked horrible, eating all those huge right hands from Morales in the first six rounds. To be honest, if Morales hadn’t been so tired from having to make weight, he would have boxed his way to another decision victory over Pacquiao. However, what’s done is done and Morales had his chance and blew it, but let’s not get it twisted, Pacquiao looked very mortal against Morales.
Thus, with all of the talk of the vast improvement in Pacquiao’s boxing skills, why isn’t he demanding a fight with Diego Corrales, Juan Luis Castillo or Acelino Freitas? Why so quiet about these fighters, can you tell me? Well, the truth is, Pacquiao doesn’t have the ability, in my opinion, to compete with these guys punch for punch, which is why he will likely never be mentioned in the same breath as them, even though they are only separated by a mere 5 pounds. Any of those guys would be a huge step up in class for Pacquiao, a step too far in my estimation. It's good, however, that Pacquiao knows his limitations.
What excuse can there be made for not fighting them, can you tell me? I can hear people saying, “Five pounds is simply too much weight for Pacquiao to gain to fight these guys,” or “why don’t these guys lose five pounds and come down to 130,” but it’s all so silly and they know it. There’s no reason why any of these fights couldn’t be made, whether it be them coming down or Pacquiao moving up in weight.
Nevertheless, by the way Pacquiao fought last Saturday, he wouldn’t make it through six rounds with any of these fighters, in my view, so perhaps it’s best that he stay away from them on a permanent basis rather than facing them and taking a beating. I guess it’s better to have the illusion of greatness rather than face reality and having your bubble burst.
I mean, come on, why fight someone again when you’ve already beaten them so decisively? Let’s be honest for once, if Pacquiao really considers himself to be a top fighter, then he should be willing to step up and face the best, even if it means facing the best at 135, namely Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Acelino Freitas or Zahir Raheem.
Heck, for that matter, why not fight Juan Marquez once again, considering he fought to draw against him, in a fight that many had Pacquiao losing. Why wouldn’t Pacquiao want to make it clear to everyone that he is the better fight, especially considering how he lost a majority of the later rounds to Marquez, who appeared to have his number and was punishing him with jabs and right crosses. I guess there's too much risk involved.
With today’s news that Marco Antonio Barrera is going to be fighting Jesus Chavez for his IBF lightweight title on March 25, that removes Barrera as a potential opponent for Paquiao’s next fight. Immediately in the boxing circles, cries of Barrera ducking Pacquiao are starting to be made, but as I said before, why? What is victory is there for Pacquiao to fight someone that he so handily beat two years before if there are better prospects out there for him to fight? To me, it’s like going over old ground, like 12th grader going back to 10th grade and trying to claim a victory by being smarter than his new class mates.
No, I consider it wretched to even consider such a bout, not when he can be facing other new challenges out there. That isn’t to say that Barrera couldn’t possibly beat Pacquiao, because judging from Pacquiao’s sloppy performance against Morales on Saturday night, anything is possible. Believe me, don’t listen to anyone if they say that Pacquiao was particularly impressive in that bout, because he looked horrible, eating all those huge right hands from Morales in the first six rounds. To be honest, if Morales hadn’t been so tired from having to make weight, he would have boxed his way to another decision victory over Pacquiao. However, what’s done is done and Morales had his chance and blew it, but let’s not get it twisted, Pacquiao looked very mortal against Morales.
Thus, with all of the talk of the vast improvement in Pacquiao’s boxing skills, why isn’t he demanding a fight with Diego Corrales, Juan Luis Castillo or Acelino Freitas? Why so quiet about these fighters, can you tell me? Well, the truth is, Pacquiao doesn’t have the ability, in my opinion, to compete with these guys punch for punch, which is why he will likely never be mentioned in the same breath as them, even though they are only separated by a mere 5 pounds. Any of those guys would be a huge step up in class for Pacquiao, a step too far in my estimation. It's good, however, that Pacquiao knows his limitations.
What excuse can there be made for not fighting them, can you tell me? I can hear people saying, “Five pounds is simply too much weight for Pacquiao to gain to fight these guys,” or “why don’t these guys lose five pounds and come down to 130,” but it’s all so silly and they know it. There’s no reason why any of these fights couldn’t be made, whether it be them coming down or Pacquiao moving up in weight.
Nevertheless, by the way Pacquiao fought last Saturday, he wouldn’t make it through six rounds with any of these fighters, in my view, so perhaps it’s best that he stay away from them on a permanent basis rather than facing them and taking a beating. I guess it’s better to have the illusion of greatness rather than face reality and having your bubble burst.
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