Manny Pacquiao: Is Hopkins Right About Pacman Dodging Black Fighters?
Manny Pacquiao: Is Bernard Hopkins right about Pacman dodging black fighters?
Hopkins went on the record and said that he thinks Manny Pacquiao doesn't have much interest in fighting African-American boxers.
That's a pretty wide-ranging allegation, that is sure to stir up some major debate.
But is it true? Hopkins isn't making this up out of thin air.
Inside we'll debate the issue.
No. 5: Untrue
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Pacquiao is pretty busy these days: he essentially squeezes in fights in between his music career, political career, acting career, home grilling system product career—Or maybe that last one is George Foreman's pet project.
Either way, Pacquiao probably doesn't have much of a hand in the selection of his opponents.
Even if he wasn't busy with his many side projects, he would entrust his managers and promoters to pick his opponents.
So maybe they are the one's dodging African-American fighters, but he probably isn't.
There is a big difference between him choosing not to fight tougher fighters and his managers choosing for him.
No. 5: True
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There is something to be said about the fact that Pacman has switched weight classes so often.
He has won titles in eight weight divisions.
Maybe he just wants to keep moving up to face a new challenge.
Or maybe he just doesn't want to stay in one class too long, where the questions about his opponents can fester.
Every time he switched classes, he bought himself some "adjustment" time to settle into the new division. That allowed him to dodge opponents under the guise of getting used to a new class.
No. 4: True
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It is curious that Pacquiao hasn't fought an African-American fighter pretty much ever in a major title fight.
And anyone who points to Pacquiao's win over Joshua Clottey back in 2009 is missing Hopkins' point—Clottey is from Africa (Ghana) but he is not African-American.
Whether or not it is defined by race, Hopkins is speaking about a particular style of fighter: "African-American fighters -- and I mean, black fighters from the streets or the inner cities -- would be successful," Hopkins told Fanhouse.com. "Clottey is 'black,' but not a 'black boxer' from the states with a slick style."
Whether or not its the race or the style, the fact that Pacquiao hasn't faced such a fighter does raise an eyebrow regarding Pacquiao's career.
No. 4: Untrue
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Doging Floyd Mayweather isn't the same as dodging all African-American fighters.
Maybe Pacquiao and/or his team doesn't think Mayweather is a good opponent for him: maybe they do think he will clobber Pacman.
They can certainly choose to dodge him, and they should be criticized for it. But if it's just a case of Pacquiao dodging one fighter, and not an entire race, than Hopkins is off base.
And, aside from Mayweather, maybe Pacquiao is dodging other African-American fighters, not because of their race, but because they aren't better opponents than Antonio Margarito, Oscar De La Hoya, or Miguel Ángel Cotto.
Pacquiao had to fight Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Márquez; he was unable to defeat those two.
If he didn't fight them in a rematch, people would accuse him of dodging them and they'd have a good case for it.
No. 3: Untrue
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For Hopkins to single out such a specific subset of the boxing population might be a bit singleminded on his part.
If Pacquiao were an American, who only fought other American fighters, then the exclusion of African-Americans with the style Hopkins talks about would be a pretty glaring oversight.
But Pacquiao is not an American, and until he fought David Diaz in 2008, he had not fought a single American in his professional career. Three of his past six fights have been against American born fighters.
But Hopkins wants him to fight a specific American with a specific style.
For a global fighter like Pacquiao, that is really narrowing down his options.
No. 3: True
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The argument that Manny is an "All World" fighter and he just hasn't yet had an opportunity to fight the specific type of opponent that Hopkins speaks of is a valid one.
But it's also hard to overlook the most recent stretch of Pacquiao's career.
He may have started off as a Filipino fighter, and he is a hero to his country—the 60 Minutes segment a few weeks ago essentially said that the entire nation shuts down and there is no crime in the Philippines when his fighting.
Still, you would have to now consider Pacquiao pretty well assimilated into American sports.
For one, his last 10 fights have come in the United States.
And when you train in Los Angeles, go on the Jimmy Kimmel Show to sing a duet with Will Ferral, and make a public appearance at a Nevada senators rally (all in the same month), you should at least consider taking on this nation's biggest boxing superstar.
No. 2: Untrue
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Pacquiao certainly deserves blame for the fact that he has not yet fought Floyd Mayweather. But the race factor doesn't play into this particular episode of dodging: something even worse does.
The two were scheduled to fight back in March, but it was called off because the two camps couldn't agree to a drug testing policy.
The notion that Pacman refused a blood screened drug test because he doesn't like needles is such a ridiculous excuse.
Maybe it's true and he does hate needles, but when millions of dollars, your reputation, your title, and your legacy are on the line, you should suck it up and take the test.
That suggests that he doesn't want to be caught using PEDs, HGH or whatever else he might be on—not that he doesn't want to fight an African-American like Mayweather.
No. 2: True
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When approached about Hopkins claim, one of Pacquiao's advisers, Michael Koncz, said the following:
"The selection of opponents for Manny has nothing to do with race, creed or color...It's all about business. And they can cry all that they want. It's all about economics, now, with Manny's career."
That statement is pretty hard to believe, considering how much money and how much attention a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight would draw.
If business and making money was the number one concern and that is what directed his promoters in their search for opponents, than Pacquio would have already fought Mayweather—at least twice.
No. 1: Untrue
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Again, Hopkins is talking more about style than race. Part of his argument was that the hand speed of a fighter like Mayweather would pose a real problem for Pacquiao:
"I think Floyd Mayweather would pot-shot Pacquiao and bust him up in between the four-to-five punches that Pacquiao throws and then set him up later on down the line."
That claim has to be slightly verified by the fact that Pacquiao was unable to defeat Juan Manuel Márquez, a speedy puncher himself, back in 2004.
But Pacquiao defeated Marquez in a rematch in 2008. So he's already proven he can defeat that type of fighter.
No. 1: True
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The notion that Pacquiao "has nothing left to prove" and that is why he cannot be accused of dodging an African-American fighter like Mayweather, is pretty absurd.
Yes, Pacman has won dozens of fights, 10 titles, and countless awards, including "Fighter of the Decade."
But because he hasn't fought a specific type of fighter, the one Hopkins speaks of, if he steps into the ring against Floyd Mayweather, he has everything to lose.
To many critics, a loss to Mayweather would take much of the shine off of Pacquiao's illustrious career. It wouldn't undo his great career, but unless he fights and beats Mayweather, it is true that he did achieve all of that without facing every possible type of opponent.
Conclusion
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Hopkins isn't insinuating that Pacquiao or his camp is racist in not wanting to fight Mayweather. So to say he is dodging "black fighters" isn't really what he means.
Hopkins is trying to say that Pacquiao is not interested in fighting a particular style of opponent.
So just because Manny hasn't fought an African-American opponent doesn't prove Hopkins claim.
But after more than two decades of fighting, Hopkins knows style and approach as well as anyone alive.
He is right that Pacquiao has restricted the type of opponent he faces: just infusing race into the situation makes this a more controversial issue.
Is Pacquiao dodging the STYLE/TYPE of fighter Mayweather is? Probably.
Is Pacquiao dodging the RACE of fighter Mayweather is? Probably not.
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