Manny Pacquiao & Bernard Hopkins: Are We Asking the Right Questions?
By Jeff Stoyanoff
Sports fans love to ask questions and boxing fans are no different. However, often times the questions we are asking are misplaced. I have found myself asking a few questions as a boxing fan only to realize after some contemplation that the questions themselves just may be the problem.
Is Manny Pacquiao using some kind of banned substance?
This certainly seems to be the question of the year, but of course, it is a ridiculous and short sighted question. The problem is not so much with the question, but the subject; Manny Pacquiao is irrelevant and his presence implodes the discussion before it really gets started. I have found that it is impossible to write about this issue without at least taking a cursory pass at the initial question. The answer to the question is…we don’t know. With deepest apologies to the legions of Pacquiao fans out there, very few people know the true answer to the question; that is the problem. It’s not whether he does or not; rather it is why don’t we all know?
People love a nice dose of salacious drama and speculating about one fighter is a fun discussion that gets everybody’s passions up. But again, this particular question is pointless. The real question is, how will boxing handle an exceptionally complicated and difficult issue like PED’s when it is a global sport with disparate governing bodies and severe oversight problems to begin with? Whoa, everybody stand back for a spirited debate!
It is just so much easier to focus on one guy. But, it is really unfair. First, to Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao might be partaking in some kind of PED regimen or he might be completely clean. The contention that he must be using PED’s is based on the most inexact process of simply observing him in the ring. This inherently flawed process overlooks the myriad reasons outside of banned substances that would readily explain his recent performances such as: He was already a pretty big guy who fought at lower weights, he has improved seemingly every time out with a combination of a great trainer and an enormously high boxing IQ, not to mention the simple reality that a couple of his recent opponents simply were no match for him to begin with, and finally we are talking about a guy who dominated other great fighters before any of this came about. Having said all of that, those who believe that there is no chance that one of their heroes could partake in behavior like this given how easy it would be to do and the enormous financial motivation to do it are hopelessly naïve and are simply begging to be disappointed. Perhaps not by Pacquaio, but by someone eventually.
However, in the midst of all this conjecture, here is something that is absolutely impossible…Manny Pacquiao is using some kind of PED and NO other fighter is currently doing the same thing. This is the essence of the short sighted approach to this question. Has Pacquiao used any kind of PED? In one sense it doesn‘t matter as the problem is bigger than one fighter. Why should Pacquiao have to shoulder the entire load? Does that really address the problem? Does anyone wonder about the strength of the Klitschkos? Or the power of Arthur Abraham? Or, did anyone ever wonder about the incredible stamina of Joe Calzaghe? Or, the way that a one time middleweight like Roy Jones was able to put on upwards of 20 pounds of muscle while retaining his ridiculous speed to win a portion of the Heavyweight Title? None of them ever had to PROVE that their performance was natural. Don’t be mislead, Pacquiao should have to prove it, but so should everyone. Right now, we are heaping all of the blame on one guy and giving a pass to every other fighter who has the same motive and opportunity to commit the act. Hopefully those in power will resist the temptation to catch someone of high profile cheating and instead focus on what is surely a widespread and dangerous problem.
Guess what? Manny Pacquiao is going to retire, perhaps soon. And when he does, this problem will still be there. By that point, fans will have moved on to another fighter or maybe even another issue. But, this problem will still be there. There isn’t going to be a lot of discussion among fans about the real question; how does boxing address PED’s across the board? That discussion will put fans to sleep everywhere it comes up. Perhaps that is as it will always be; fans watch sports for fun and testing protocols are not fun. But, those individuals who help to oversee the sport need to ask the right questions before this issue produces the kind of tragedy from which the sport might not recover. It is a situation that requires strong leadership which is a frightening prospect in a sport devoid of that very thing. Hopefully, there will be some serious talk about PED’s and how to deal with them; I just hope the name Pacquiao doesn’t even come up.
Who is the best 140 pound fighter in the world?
Now here is a fun question, but it is a hard one to answer since none of the top 5 fighters are slated to fight each other any time soon. Amir Khan appears headed for the big money of the senior tour. It seems that Juan Manuel Marquez is being lined up and, of course, there is the persistent speculation that Khan will then follow up with Ricky Hatton. Naturally, Khan takes a lot of heat for going this route, but why? It wouldn’t be a viable option if it didn’t make money. I am not particularly excited to see Khan fight Marquez who is not only quite a bit smaller than Khan, but also appears to be finally showing his age in the ring. And, as nonplussed as I am about a Khan-Marquez tilt, I am positively giddy about that potential fight in comparison to the apathy I feel toward a potential Khan-Hatton fight. So, how does it make sense for him to make these fights? Because, one can be assured that it does. How do we know? Because he is looking to make them. So, the real question is; why isn’t it the best financial move for the top fighters in a division to fight each other?
Khan is riding the path of lesser resistance to riches at the top of the division. Meanwhile, Timothy Bradley just moved up to 147 to fight the unknown Luis Carlos Abregu while Devon Alexander survived a much tougher than expected battle with the game Andriy Kotelnik. Both men won, but neither man had the opponent we wanted to see; each other. Meanwhile, Marcos Maidana is playing it even safer basking in the ultra security of a bout with former top contender Demarcus Corley. And Victor Ortiz has a date upcoming with the similarly well known and nearly equally well traveled Vivian Harris. There is something eerily similar to the modus operandi of these particular fighters; it is almost as if they are waiting for something. Oddly enough, fighting the other top fighters in their division just doesn’t seem to be the best move for them; How could that be? And lest we should think this is a one time thing, consider the similar plight of the Featherweight division. Chris John, Juan Manuel Lopez, Celestino Caballero, and Yuriorkis Gamboa; all fighting, just not each other any time soon.
Perhaps as fans we are just not voting strongly enough with our wallets. I am somewhat hesitant of pricy PPV cards. I always want to watch, but I don’t have 60 bucks to shell out for anything less than a truly compelling card. But, I do pay for HBO and Showtime. So, I simply watch what they give me. Are fighters pricing themselves out of compelling fights? Is it just as lucrative for them to schedule less dangerous fights? Do we reward spectacular individual performances as much as great two way fights? I think the answer to all of those questions is yes. I know that I get very excited for a good match up and I am bored with fights that are largely exhibitions of one promising fighter at the expense of another who is just there to collect a check and wait to be knocked out. But, as a boxing fan, I tend to watch whatever they put in front of me. So, why do we see so little of the first and so much of the second. The answer is simple, because the second type of fight clearly still makes money for the participants while simultaneously putting everyone involved in position to make even more money down the road. But, why not just make the fights against the other top fighters, well known or relatively unknown? Truth be told, the top 5 at 140 must still be able to make a little more fighting each other rather than the one time contenders they seem to be choosing now, right? The answer is, there is another far more lucrative class of opponent out there. Which leads me to another question…
Will Bernard Hopkins fight again?
OK, I lied a little here. The fact is, I am not sure I have ever asked this particular question. With all due respect to Bernard Hopkins who is a truly great fighter, he is just who I came up with to illustrate a larger point. Every so often in any sport an individual can transcend the sport that he plays. However, what is so exceptionally rare in other sports is quite literally commonplace in boxing. Perhaps it is the fact that the down time between fights leaves a vacuum that is often filled with increased coverage of the personalities of the combatants themselves. Or, perhaps that lengthy pause that separates the intense action in the ring opens the door to a brand of hype that all too often turns men into legends. In any event, no athlete can capture the imagination of sports fans like a dominant fighter. For the love of god, Wladimir Klitschko could still make twice as much money to fight Mike Tyson as he could to fight any other heavyweight around right now. And, were it not for the presence of David Haye, it would be more like ten times what he could to fight any other heavy out there today. The point is, boxing fans become mesmerized by the legends they create, and for whatever reason, they are hesitant to invest in someone new.
It is ironic that Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz had their rematch just recently. Both men were coming off of losses. Perhaps Marquez was and is still thought to be at least near the height of his powers, but Diaz is clearly winding down a fine career in the ring. Yet, the fight was a pay per view contest. To be fair, the first fight was scintillating and the two did make for an exciting clash of styles and there was no reason to think that they couldn’t put on another good show in a rematch. But, was this really compelling? Where is Juan Diaz really going at this point? He has had a remarkable career and he is an amazing story, but it’s coming to an end now and fans knew that going in. It was the name Marquez that carried the card. Juan Manuel Marquez is in that elite status of fighters who, in and of themselves, capture the interest of fight fans. Apparently, he doesn’t even have to be put in with a guy who can really beat him anymore; it still costs 60 dollars to watch him fight. Marquez may not have transcended boxing, but he is a fine example of what any fighter is likely trying to be; a “money” fighter.
Let’s return to Amir Khan once again. Khan is furthest along in the 140 pound division to being the 21st century “champion”; the fighter who gets the money regardless of who he fights; a “money“ fighter. Currently, it looks like he is trying to line up Marquez and Hatton. That is no accident, as those two are also 21st century champions; guys who bring the money regardless of opponent. Let me digress here to make an important point. Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez are truly great fighters. They have reached the level that they have by beating a long line of outstanding fighters. There are no pretenders in the group of widely recognized names in boxing. The point here is not that they haven’t earned the money, but only what their status brings about….gridlock. Every fighter fights for money, let’s not be naïve. And, it seems that every fighter is trying to become the name that brings the money. Some things never change, the quickest way to become the man is to beat the man. Anyone who thinks that this is not the way it works should consider just how much Manny Pacquiao has elevated his stature by doing just that. Pacquiao was one of the best fighters of his era and a true all time great and a legitimate star in the world of boxing. However, he could have probably walked down a street in any US city completely unmolested after his second fight with Marquez early in 2008. Then he beat: De La Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto and he became a global icon making ten times the money he did before. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t need anyone to make money at this point. The opponent only determines how much money he will make. He has become the quintessential transcendent fighter. And if he gets money every time he fights then so does his opponent. Why would Bradley and Maidana fight each other for relatively little money when they can get several times the money to fight Pacquiao….welcome to gridlock.
We find ourselves wondering when our favorites will fight again. If Joe Calzaghe contemplated a comeback it would be huge news in the boxing world. Rumors of a Tyson return have always generated huge interest, forget that we are nearly twenty five YEARS removed from the cover of Sports Illustrated and over 20 years removed from the knockout of Michael Spinks. Roy Jones was still able to command pay per view as of last year when he clearly had lost most of his remarkable gifts in the ring. The legends and personalities dominate the sport to such a degree that the intriguing match ups are often cast aside because an intriguing match up without any notable names produces very little money in comparison to a lesser fight between widely known fighters. That is what happens when the names transcend the sport.
We wonder when and if we will see Bernard Hopkins, or who will be the opponent for Marquez, and of course we are beside ourselves wondering about Floyd and Manny (good sign of transcendence….first names only). But, we are asking the wrong question. My question is, why isn’t boxing the star? Danny Jacobs and Dimitry Pirog was the best fight on the Marquez-Diaz card, not just as it turned out, but going in. And the result doesn’t really matter as the exciting and competitive fight means that fans want to see BOTH of them again. What would happen if boxing somehow just made great fights? Two things would happen: Boxing may move beyond its niche just a little bit, and new legends would invariably be created. How do you think the current guys became so notable? The only way they could, by dominating in the ring. The only problem is, it’s a gamble for individual fighters and good businessmen don’t like to gamble. But, the stakes are high here; if boxing succumbs to this dynamic too much it will continue to lose fans and the money will eventually become hard to find. There is already persistent speculation that HBO might drop boxing and Showtime already shows MMA right along side its boxing coverage. The money seems to be very good in boxing right now, but that doesn’t mean it can’t change. Boxing needs to make fights and create new legends. That is what should be happening in the 126 and 140 pound divisions.
Boxing needs to think out of the box. The Super Six was a great thing. A tournament structure should be a boxing fans dream. The best fighters have to fight eventually, something I deeply suspect that they want to do anyway. But, perhaps we, as fans, need to get out of our own way and find a way to demand this. Some reports suggest that Marquez and Diaz was a success. That is good news for fight fans because I think we all like it when fighters make money. But, it was bad news in that it encourages a damaging dynamic. Juan Manuel Marquez had one of his biggest paydays in a fight that didn’t represent a significant risk. How irrational would the still burgeoning stars in boxing have to be if they didn’t want to emulate that?
And so we see it, Bradley, Ortiz, Maidana, Khan, and Alexander all carefully plotting. Not avoiding each other, but simply trying to make as much money as they can. Trying to become a pay per view attraction. Each one trying to keep winning until they can get their shot at one of the money men. Should Timothy Bradley fight Marcos Maidana? Perhaps not because If he loses that fight, there goes the chance he covets to share the ring with Manny Pacquiao. Instead, he needs to stay active and keep winning until he gets the call to fight a modern day “champion”; a pay per view attraction. Finally, the decision is made even easier by the fact that apparently the top fighters can make nearly the same money taking safer fights since the casual fan has no idea who any of them are anyway, a sad ancillary effect of the pay per view culture that pervades boxing. So, the demand to see these talented boxers fight each other exists only amongst hardcore fans; the only ones watching boxing anymore. It is the money men that bring the casual fans, hence the spike in the money for everyone involved. Ironically, boxing has put itself in its niche and that is the dynamic that hurts boxing the most. If only those in boxing just focused on making great fights then one gets the feeling that the number of fans would grow and the money would be there for all of the fighters in the end, who knows?