Manny Pacquiao: THE NEXT FIGHT SET – Boxing News

By Geno McGahee

There are four options for Filipino boxing star, Manny Pacquiao, 54-3-2, 38 KO’s, and none of them is the man sitting in a jail cell, Floyd Mayweather, JR. That fight will never happen, but the “PacMan” will face somebody soon and it has been narrowed down to four.

Miguel Cotto, 37-2, 30 KO’s, the current WBA Light Middleweight Champion, is being thrown out as a potential opponent for Manny, even though he lost badly and by knockout to Pacquiao in 2009. There was a lot of talk about a Mayweather – Cotto fight and it still may happen, but Cotto is considered a good sale no matter what. His recent win over Antonio Margarito avenged one defeat and the logic could be that he is of right mind now and can avenge another, but it’s still a tall order and a tough sale to the true boxing fans that saw the first fight. Cotto is far too slow and his defense is too poor to deal with Pacquiao.

Juan Manuel Marquez, 53-6-1, 39 KO’s, has faced Manny three times, with the record being 0-2-1. It could be argued that Marquez should be 3-0 against Manny, but they were relatively close. The last fight was incredibly controversial. Most that watch the fight that aren’t wearing Manny Pacquiao fan club T shirts believe that the Mexican boxer was robbed and rightfully won that third fight. So, more unfinished business here, but Marquez can’t stop Pacquiao and he won’t get a fair shake on the cards…where’s the intrigue? Manny wins again by decision regardless if he legitimately wins a round or not. The money train must stay on the tracks and Marquez, as good as he is, isn’t a killer puncher and if you can’t knock Manny out, good luck getting the decision…you’ll need it.

Timothy Bradley, 28-0, 12 KO’s, isn’t much of a threat to Pacquiao. The idea would be to outwork him and hope that an old man steps into the ring and will be too shopworn to keep him off, but the most likely scenario is a destruction of a little guy that doesn’t have the pop in his shots to keep Manny off. Bradley recently stopped an out of shape Joel Casamayor and has wins over Lamont Peterson and Devon Alexander, but they are small potatoes next to Manny. This would be an epic mismatch.

Lamont Peterson, 30-1-1, 15 KO’s, just recently eked by British superstar, Amir Khan, and is now in the running for a shot at Pacquiao, but his chances are even less than Bradley’s. He legitimately lost to Victor Ortiz, a fight that was remarkably ruled a draw, and has been dropped by Ortiz, Bradley and Khan. What will a Pacquiao punch do? The answer is: Knock him out early. Peterson is a gutsy fighter that will do anything to win, but if you cannot hurt Pacquiao, you will not beat him. That’s the start and end of it. Peterson would try to outbox Manny, fail, and then try to survive…if he made it that far. This is another VERY tough sale for a fight…especially a PPV fight.

The best choice here is (E) None of the Above. None of these fighters have a chance to defeat Pacquiao with the exception of Marquez and you see what happens when he actually does defeat him. He loses.

A fighter that would be exciting and would pack a house against Manny would be Saul Alvarez, 39-0-1, 29 KO’s. If it were held in Mexico, there wouldn’t be enough seats for the people, and it could be a good way to go out for Manny, since Floyd will never pan out and since the other options are laughable. Alvarez has that “puncher’s chance,” a huge fan base, charisma, and will try to attack Pacquiao and the judges will not be needed. There’s a fight to sell. Forget the four options.