Manny Pacquiao: The Options After Sugar Shane Mosley
By Geno McGahee
I recently wrote an article stating my belief that Manny Pacquiao will most likely retire after he beats or loses to Sugar Shane Mosley on May 7th, but should he continue, where does he go from the Mosley fight?
There are many opponents that are standing in line in hopes of facing Pacquiao in a fight. Win or lose, the paycheck will be the biggest of their careers, but the public is tired of mismatches. Obviously, Floyd Mayweather, JR., is the prize. Everyone in boxing and those that don’t even follow the sport know that this is the biggest fight in the game, but let’s throw that one out. It will most likely never happen. So, we have to examine the other options.
#1: Juan Manuel Marquez, 52-5-1, 38 KO’s
Current WBA/WBO Lightweight Champion
Pacquiao has been very dominant with everyone he has stepped into the ring with, but there is a recent notable exception. Juan Manuel Marquez’s record against “PacMan” is 0-1-1, with the defeat being a debatable split decision. Even the draw has been debated. Some would have scored the fights both for Marquez and even Marquez sports a t shirt proclaiming his victories over Manny.
As Pacquiao prepares for Mosley, Marquez was getting prepared to face Erik Morales, another Mexican boxing hero, and he was expected to easily defeat the shopworn Morales, most likely by a mid round stoppage, but that fight has fallen apart. Marcos Maidana will now be facing Morales.
Should Marquez land an opponent soon and win and Pacquiao come out of the ring victorious against Mosley, a reasonable bout for Manny to take would be a third encounter with the man that nearly beat him. There is drama there. There are people that aren’t convinced he is the better man. There is a lot of drama and support for this fight. For Pacquiao, there may be too much risk though and that may steer him somewhere else.
#2: Andre Berto, 27-0, 21 KO’s
WBC Welterweight Champion
Berto has had the reputation of a man that has been put in too soft and spoon fed into a title. His last fight, a first round stoppage over the hopelessly mismatched Freddy Hernandez hasn’t helped his cause. A fight in April against the rough and tough Victor Ortiz should erase some doubters if he wins impressively and could lead to a shot at Manny Pacquiao.
Although Berto may not have the credentials to face a Pacquiao yet, he is young, strong, quick, and has had a lot of showcase fights on HBO. The people know him and he would have a chance to upset Manny and should learn a great deal in his defense against Ortiz.
A Pacquiao-Berto fight would be acceptable, depending on how Berto performs against Ortiz.
#3: Marcos Rene Maidana, 29-2, 27 KO’s
On April 9th, Maidana will face Erik Morales in a “set up” fight. Maidana is a rumored opponent for Pacquiao in the immediate future and a beating of a former great and it will be a beating. Expect Morales to crumple inside five rounds and the comparison will be made with Pacquiao and set up the fight.
Maidana is a very tough fighter with a lot of heart. Pacquiao would have to beat him severely to stop him or knock him cold and both are certainly possible. Maidana is a good opponent for Pacquiao and might be a tougher foe than many give him credit for.
#4: Sergio Gabriel Martinez, 46-2-2, 25 KO’s
The third man in the pound for pound rankings made a big impact in his rematch with Paul Williams, knocking him cold in the second round. Prior to that, Martinez beat up the bigger and stronger Kelly Pavlik for 12 rounds en route to a decision win and the middleweight title. Martinez is scheduled to face Serhiy Dzinziruk, an undefeated unknown in March and should he be victorious, he could be considered for a showdown with Manny.
This match up would most likely not happen due to the size differential. Pacquiao is a small welterweight at best while Martinez is a natural light middleweight. The style of Martinez and grit he has would make it difficult for Pacquiao and the power of Manny hasn’t traveled to the big welterweights. He hit Antonio Margarito with everything but the ring bell and didn’t stop him, and he landed flush on the chin of Joshua Clottey and didn’t move him. Pacquiao is now a boxer/puncher at the higher weight classes and that wouldn’t be enough to beat Martinez, most likely, BUT if Pacquiao wants to cash out…see if he can pull that big win again before he calls it a day, we may just see it.
#5: Ricardo Mayorga, 29-7-1, 23 KO’s
Why would Manny Pacquiao elect to take on Ricardo Mayorga? He has a recent record of 4-4, 1 KO, and has been inactive, only fighting once in the past two years. Why would Manny face Mayorga?
There are two reasons. One, Mayorga is preparing to face Miguel Cotto for the WBA Light Middleweight Title on March 12th, and should he somehow find the mark and flatten Cotto (a tremendous longshot), that will make him marketable as a Pacquiao opponent.
The other reason is the spectacle of Mayorga. He is outspoken, funny, angry, charismatic, and good for boxing. He will insult Manny, get the PacFans riled up, and sell tickets as they presume he will when he faces Cotto. The bad thing is that Mayorga will most likely lose badly to Cotto, taking him out of the picture for a bout with Pacquiao. If he loses, I can’t see why Manny would want to face him.
Manny Pacquiao goes into his fight with Sugar Shane in May, and should he not retire, there are some opportunities for him to go on and face other notable foes, such as those listed above. We will see what May brings us.
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