Manny Pacquiao & Pinoy Power – Filipino Boxers Update

By Gina L. Caliboso

Is that the Filipino flag I see waving on the horizon? Or more than likely, probably waving at sunset. In the last year, the presence of Filipino boxers has wavered a bit. Pacquiao and Donaire, JR are the only Filipino fighters out there making a dent in two competitive weight divisions. But as I’ve mentioned in recent articles, all is quiet on the boxing front. There isn’t much happening.

Yes, I know about Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather, JR vs. Miguel Cotto. And my thoughts on this? Eh, bleh. Insert whatever non-excited emoticon here, please.

Unfortunately, boxing is facing a critical transition so far in 2012. With only one or two boxers really making the sport as it should with good, solid bouts and talent, the promotional powers that be to include Top Rank, Golden Boy, and the boxer’s own promotional companies, boxing is bleh this year. And now, as it unraveled in the back and forth scramble of words from both the Pacquiao and Mayweather, JR camps, I throw my hands up in the air and sigh and this will be my one use of an expletive, “WTF?” Yes, such profanity with me. It simply means I’m fed up. But as I’m the resident optimist on my beloved sport of the sweet science of boxing, I’ll put my spin on this rather condensed version of “Pinoy Power.”

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, 54-3-2, 38 KO’s

See above introduction. I already used profanity. I agree with my Managing Editor Geno’s take on the possibility that the Filipino champ just might be at the end of his boxing career. But I don’t think it’s from a fear or lack of desire to fight Mayweather JR. Or even from Arum’s money grubbing panhandling of the money figures. As Pacquiao is really at the forefront of the popularity of boxing, should he decide to end his career to pursue his many other interests,
I simply cannot speculate any more on why the fight against Mayweather did not happen. Sadly, with the Mayweather JR vs. Pacquiao bout now an impossibility, boxing is done. More likely, RSR fans, I’m done. However, again, this is boxing, more negotiating perhaps. Remember, Pacquiao does like to fight in the fall, sometime in November. Let’s keep our fingers crossed anyway.

As per my agreement with my beloved Managing Editor Geno, I will try to come up with something to say later about the two fights to happen this year. But please, no more about Pacquiao vs Mayweather JR. Money is now set to fight against Miguel Cotto. We all know how he did against Pacquiao, right?

Nonito Donaire, JR, 28-1, 18 KO’s

In his most recent outing, Donaire JR really had to work hard to earn his 12 round split decision win. However, it did give him an opportunity to test himself and his ability. In the process, a bloodied hand unveiled while speaking with Larry Merchant showed how much resilience he had by continuing the fight. However, his hand out of the glove looked a little punished and his face, well, looked like maybe he caught a few jabs.

The jab will always hurt in some capacity, especially a good one. Against Vazquez, the Filipino Flash showed how tough he was over the course of 12 rounds. And so the question pops up. Should he move up in weight? Always a possibility, but the five pound weight gain will make a difference in terms of his speed and power. The ‘will he replace Pacquiao’ moniker will always be there for any Pinoy fighter and that’s a pressure I wouldn’t want on any fighter. I don’t know if whether Donaire JR is set to take Pacquiao’s place in terms of an entire nation revering him as much as Pacquiao. But, I will argue that Donaire, JR is really going to own whatever division he chooses to fight. I look forward to his next outing.

Brian “Pinoy Punch” Viloria, 30-3, 17 KO’s

Viloria was down and out for a while last year. Back in July 2011, he earned the WBO flyweight title against Julio Cesar Miranda with a 1st round knockdown and an eventual 12 round unanimous decision. He followed up with an 8th round TKO title defense against Giovani Segura. Back in 2010, Viloria had suffered a tough 12th round TKO loss against Carlos Tamara. But since then, he seems to have shaken off the TKO loss and has won 4 consecutive fights. Sadly, he doesn’t have the coverage from either HBO or Showtime. A little exposure for Viloria wouldn’t hurt him one bit.

Mark Jason Melligen, 21-3, 14 KO’s

Melligen is listed as a southpaw light middleweight from Bacolod City, Negros. Why do I mention him? He happens to be from my mom’s same hometown, so I’m rooting for him. The light middleweight division bears the likes of Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez, and Paul Williams. It’s a tough division to make an impact. In his last outing, he lost back in July 2011. The final scoring indicates that he was down in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th rounds and suffered a 9th round KO in a scheduled 10 round bout. His prior bout resulted in a 10 round unanimous win.
But here’s the thing. I haven’t heard about him at all. Melligen would have to make a huge leap to say competitive in the light middleweight division.

As I know that we have a lot of boxing fans out of the Philippines, please feel free to let me in on the future prospects of Pinoy power. Arum seems to have put single rights on the boxers out of the Philippines in the immediate hope that they can possibly be another Pacquiao. But the odds of that happening, for another Filipino champion to come out with the same talent, ability, and fight as Pacquiao? I’m just lucky and thank God we have Pacquiao now. But sadly, the fight that Pacquiao needs to end his career on is not happening this year. I’m upset about it. I’m sure there are a few head shakers and in my case, I should just enjoy any Pacquiao bout regardless of the opponent.