HAVEN’T HEARD A WORD FROM MANNY PACQUIAO!
Bob Arum Hugs Tim Bradley Post Fight: Does He Look Unhappy Manny Pacquiao Lost?
San Francisco, CA– The second most successful boxer as far as money earned of late, has been quieter than a church mouse. Where is Manny Pacquiao and why isn’t he talking about facing Tim Bradley again, or his now having to take less money and fight Floyd Mayweather? However controversial was the loss to Bradley last month, Pacquiao’s stock value had been dropping, not plummeting as it has since the Bradley fight, this seeing Pacquiao’s life and death struggle (he lost) to Juan Manuel Marquez last November.
IT WASN’T ABOUT THE MONEY, THEN WHAT WAS IT?
Pacquiao could have certainly made more money fighting Marquez a fourth time, or an even bigger chunk of cash if he were to have faced Floyd Mayweather on May 5, something he initially said he would, but backed out when he found out that Floyd was going to be allowed to box in May. Manny Pacquiao is a “tired” old man when it comes to boxing. His punches aren’t dropping anybody anymore, his body looks soft and old, and to add injury to insult, Alex Ariza, Pacquiao’s conditioning coach said after the Marquez fight that, “Manny had been exposed,” that he was no longer training like he should, etc.
BACK TO THE MONEY ISSUES!
Promoter Bob Arum had a “win-win” situation when he put Pacquiao in with Tim Bradley, for he had both men under contract. But Arum claimed the decision was a “heist” and that he was calling for an investigation of some kind. Never mentioning that the only real way to put an end to the atrocities in boxing is to put together a Federal Boxing Commission. One of the rumors floating about while the Pacquiao fans were still crying robbery after the split decision loss to Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs), was a fourth fight with Marquez. But as we saw last November, that fights involves many risks, as does a Bradley rematch or tango with Floyd Mayweather.
MANNY SQUANDERED THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!
An Exhausted Manny Pacquiao Before Round 11 With Tim Bradley
For 2 1/2 years now, Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) had the opportunity to fight Floyd Mayweather in what would have been the biggest boxing event of the decade, if not this 21st century. But he dragged his feet there, refusing at first to adhere to the “Random Drug Testing” Floyd was demanding, after agreeing to Pacquiao’s demand that he pay $10 million to the Pacman for every pound he was over the 147 lb. welterweight limit. By putting the fight off as long as he did, and then losing, albeit controversially to Bradley, just like he won controversially over Marquez, Manny lost his negotiating power and a lot of followers. Filipino fans, some admitted he lost to Marquez, while others said it “was close.”
CAN MANNY DO TO REGAIN HIS “MO JO?”
My professional opinion is that Manny Pacquiao has “burned himself out” as a boxer. The dramatic rise in weight classes, from 107 to 147, this while being the same height he was at 107, has taken a toll on the body of Manny Pacquiao. Like an 80-year old man and sex, can Pacquiao at the age of 33, after having boxed professionally for 17 years, still “get up” for a fight? In each of his recent outings, the “killer” body language was gone. Truth be told, especially against Bradley, Manny Pacquiao has regressed back to a time, say 2001-2002, when he was a one-armed fighter. Pacquiao threw his “money” punch the left cross all night against Bradley, yet he never dropped him. With the exception of hurting his feet and ankles, Bradley was never in any kind of trouble against Manny. The question was, “Can Manny Regain His Mo Jo?” I don’t think so! What do you think?
Pedro Fernandez