Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The cracked, parched and dried-up landscape of boxing received some long overdue rain this weekend.
And now unfortunatley—even though the sky is still filled with hungry cage-fighting-buzzards—those who have awaited the death of the sport, may just have to wait a bit longer.
Yes, boxing is still undoubtedly surrounded by desert and unquestionably stunted by bad weeds; however, it has—thanks to a 130-pound Filipino superstar named Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and his pay-per-view-/seat-filling potential—recently experienced a much-needed healthy growth spurt.
This weekend the man who has single-handedly performed life-saving hand-to-hand resuscitation on the sport entered the squared circle once again.
This time however, "Pacman" had his hands full in a hard fought war, on route to a 12th rd. stoppage against the pride of Puerto Rico, Miguel Angel Cotto.
A great fight, yet it was anything but pretty, and did little to secure Pacquiao a place among the greats, he is now merely the second best in boxing.
Pacquaio, along with elite pugilist, "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr., are in contention for the top prize in boxing, which surprisingly has little to do with title belts.
It has more to do with the bragging rights of professional boxing, which is the right to be called the No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound on the planet.
Last time out—against Manchester England's Ricky Hatton—Pacquiao had his arm raised in victorious celebration while the legions of British fans looked on from their stadium-filled seats in utter disbelief.
"The Hitman," who was considered more of a British god than a fighter, lay motionless on the canvas, knocked out cold in the second round by a lightning-fast, perfectly timed, brain-numbing left hook.
It was a punch that the tough former world and British champion didn't see coming, and it erased any doubts regarding Pacquiao's greatness in the minds of many.
Many, that is, except Mayweather.
At an undefeated and unbelievable 40-0, Mayweather truly believes he is the man, the greatest ever, and he very well could be.
Pretty Boy literally put on a boxing clinic last month against a fighter many including this writer felt was the true holder of the pound-for-pound title, Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez.
I had Marquez beating Pacquiao in both their fights, not just the second one.
So the win over Marquez in my eyes was a career-defining performance which demonstrated Mayweather's supreme dominance in the sport, and it should be solid proof to us all that he is undoubtedly at the top of the food chain when regarding the world's pound-for-pound boxers.
Pacquiao, however, has achieved his own level of greatness, mostly in his home country of the the Philippines, where little Pacman Pacquiao was transformed from a mere ambassador for the sport of boxing to a great ambassador for the entire country, and he is now nearing sainthood.
In the words of his promoter, Bob Arum, "he could, one day, become President."
After all but ending the brilliant careers of boxing legends like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, and now Hatton, Pacquiao has likely surpassed the legendary Pancho Villa as the greatest Filipino boxer ever to emerge from the great island nation.
A few months ago I wrote an article asking the question that I felt was in the minds of many fans at the time, which was: Will Pacquiao bring Mayweather out of retirement?
Whether it was actually Pacquiao who brought him back or not—who knows?—the fact remains, Mayweather has returned, and now he wants to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his: boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound throne.
Although public popularity has eluded him, it's a well-known fact that Mayweather has enjoyed many career-defining wins against great names such as Zab Judah, De La Hoya, and Hatton; thus, the recent win over Marquez leaves no doubt in the mind of this writer that Mayweather is still the true King.
With the absence of greats like Joe Calzaghe and Oscar De La Hoya, some doors have been closed forever, but, thankfully, others have been re-opened.
With tonight's win over a very game Cotto, Pacquiao will undoubtedly take the next step along the road toward a super fight with Mayweather, and I'm predicting that he will do just that.
If he does, boxing fans who were ecstatic before at the potential of a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super fight will then be even more eager to witness the history-making boxing event which could potentially take place next spring.
Like those popular and well-hidden wild flowers—the ones that only bloom once a year, during May—I'm sure much more will be revealed in the early quarter of 2010.
I wish them both luck.
"When 'Pac' beat the ol’ legend Oscar De La Hoya, He was over the hill, Now it’s time for you to swallow the same damn pill, So get your tickets now people and let’s make it clear, That the Pacman ass woopin is almost here."
—Poem by Floyd Mayweather Jr.
84 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete