Manny Pacquiao & Paris Hilton: The Spectacle of Boxing
By Geno McGahee
We’ve had a few days to digest the one-sided trouncing of former multiple division champion, Shane Mosley, but the pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao, and we look ahead to the future of the Filipino warrior.
The Showtime Pay Per View was done incredibly well, proving that the network can present an equal quality production as HBO. In some ways, they stepped up the production, which included the lead singer of Survivor singing “Eye of the Tiger” and walking to the ring with Pacquiao as LL Cool J performed his tune “Mama Said Knock You Out” as Shane Mosley walked with him to the ring. The event was an event. The promotion got the boxing fans excited and even if the main event did not deliver, the buildup and execution of the pay per view was something to admire.
The fight itself verified that Mosley’s reflexes weren’t good enough to make him competitive with the best in the game. Even with Pacquiao right in front of him, he couldn’t find him and was gun shy, much like the way he was in his fight with Floyd Mayweather, JR. He was jittery and played defense to avoid being knocked out. It was actually surprising to see Mosley on the floor from one punch, but it’s a testament to the power of Pacquiao.
After the knockdown, Mosley used his crafty bag of veteran tricks to hold off the aggressive Filipino and Manny, sensing the fear of his opponent, did some things like banging his gloves together and throwing hard combinations to keep Mosley in his shell and it worked.
After the fight, Mosley was the champion he’s always been. He stated that Manny was the true pound for pound champion and he has the right to give this opinion. He faced both Pacquiao and Mayweather and lost similarly to both, but he seemed to give the nod to Manny should the two ever face. Others have jumped back onto the bandwagon of Pretty Boy Floyd, seeing the flaws in Manny’s game, and how they can be exploited.
Pacquiao was rather disappointed with his performance, which is surprising. He dominated Shane Mosley, but there was so much emphasis on getting a knockout that anything less than a knockout was a failure, and that’s how he saw it. Shane has never been stopped and it’s not something to be upset about if you just beat him. I think that it is safe to say that Manny is the man that came the closest to achieving the stoppage, and he looked good in doing so.
After the fight, at the press conference, Paris Hilton was brought around the pound for pound champion, for a photo opportunity, but her flirty ways didn’t seem too well received by Jinky Pacquiao. Considering the history of Hilton, being a party girl and having several adult movies on the market, Jinky may not have thought that she was the right sort of person to be around her husband. Paris did look great and the smile on Manny’s face said it all. He didn’t mind being that close to Paris.
Now with the fight and the attractive women out of the way, Manny can move forward and take on Juan Manuel Marquez, which is his next logical opponent, considering that Floyd Mayweather, JR., is tied up with Victor Ortiz in August, or so it appears. It is highly unlikely that Floyd would jump right into a fight with Manny, and Ortiz has enough flaws in his defense to be a good foe for Mayweather’s return.
Manny Pacquiao is on a fourteen fight winning streak, on the verge of retirement with maybe a couple of fights left before he hangs them up, and has nothing left to prove, but can he beat Floyd Mayweather, JR. There is only one way to find out.