Manny Pacquiao & the Rise of the Southpaw
By Gina L. Caliboso
I may be dating myself, but have any of you combat sports fans ever hear of the Huey Lewis and the News Song “Hip to be Square?” And why the reference to an obscure 80s song? Ever since Nonito Donaire and his noble experiment at southpaw, I got to thinking – and yes, I have a very long thought process, I started to wonder about the idea of fighting southpaw or fighting orthodox.
As MMA has shown, a fighter can attack in all four ranges, punching, kicking, close quarters with elbows and knees, and also on the ground. But in boxing, aptly named the sweet science, where punching range is the only range, I suddenly went through a list of my favorite fighters. There are a LOT of southpaws. Why the sudden rise of the southpaw? Is this a new trend? Is it a sort of back up to an arsenal a boxer can rely on just to confuse his opponent?
Since I’ve studied Jeet Kune Do, my brain did a switch every time my Sifu told us to do drills in a right lead. I suddenly became aware of the feeling of fighting in a right lead and it felt uncomfortable. But as I go through some of my favorite southpaw fighters, I thought I’d also provide some input as to who would make a great fellow southpaw competitor, and given the current state of questionable matchmaking these days, I’ll have fun with this one.
At welterweight, and yes I have to start at this one, it’s the most obvious one. My favorite fighter, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, 51-3, 38 KO’s is currently ranked #2. Up next, as we all know (and dread), Pacquiao goes up against orthodox fighter Antonio Margarito on November 13th. I’m still wavering on this PPV. Times are hard for this barely working boxing reporter. Timothy Bradley had called out Pacquiao earlier this summer. Bradley isn’t quite there yet. As for Mayweather, I don’t really care to discuss it. It’s a done non-deal.
At light welterweight, Devon Alexander, 21-0, 13 KO’s, is currently ranked #3 in the division. His next opponent? The fighter I just mentioned, Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, 26-0, 11 KO’s set for January 2011. I like this fight and glad to know that Alexander is putting up his undefeated record and his WBC/IBF Light Welterweight titles on the line. I love this. Bu let’s not forget the return of Zab “Super” Judah, 39-6, 27 KO’s, to the boxing ring.
Judah’s boxing style had been compared as Pacquiao-like. Judah could make the division a southpaw dominated division and then move into the welterweights. Even at 32, he needs a good fight and a financially rewarding one. Judah is currently set to fight Michael Clark, 40-5, 18 KO’s, in November.
In the light middleweight division, Paul “Punisher” Williams, 39-1, 27 KO’s, is currently ranked #1. Williams’ last two fights have been questionable victories. It showed that the height advantaged southpaw has some vulnerability against a fighter that stands in the ring and outboxes him.
As for the middleweights, Sergio Gabriel “Maravilla” Martinez, 45-2, 24 KO’s is ranked #1 in the division. As for a challenger, it’s a rematch really. Martinez is a boxer that pushed Williams to a 12 round MD. Their fight made me question judges’ cards. I was happy to see that Martinez went on to win his next fight and the WBC/WBO middleweight titles against Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik, 36-2, 32 KO’s, although the WBO title was later stripped. I’d say it’s a rematch in the making between southpaws Martinez and Williams.
Shall I continue with the Super Middleweights? There’s Lucian Bute, 26-0, 21 KO’s currently ranked #1. In the Super Six alone, there’s Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell, 19-1, 13 KO’s ranked #2. And also, there’s Andre “S.O.G.” Ward, 22-0, 13 KO’s, listed as orthodox, but can comfortably switch into southpaw if necessary.
At light heavyweight, “Bad” Chad Dawson, 29-1, 17 KO’s is now ranked #3. Dawson lost against talented Canadian Jean Pascal, 26-1, 16 KO’s for the light heavyweight title last month. Pascal may or may not fight veteran Bernard “Executioner” Hopkins, 51-5, 32 KO’s, sometime in December.
Finally, I have to mention two of my favorite fighters in the lighter weight divisions. At super flyweight, Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire, 24-1, 16 KO’s ranked #1. And at bantamweight, of course, Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan, 35-2, 27 KO’s is currently ranked at #1. These fighters never fail to challenge and lift each other into a better fight. With Donaire experimenting at southpaw, these two must match up. It would be a very entertaining and exciting fight to watch.
Keep in mind that in Donaire’s last fight, he did okay as a southpaw, but he won with his orthodox style. I’d like to see how he’d do against Darchinyan.
So, to take a few words from Huey Lewis, I’ll pose the question again, albeit modified, “Is it hip to be a southpaw?” The answer is a resounding yes – and however un-orthodox, the southpaw remains to look as backward as anything, but I guess as long as the southpaw keeps winning, I’m thinking maybe an Eminem song, “Ain’t nuthin’ but a southpaw!”
For the record, I don’t listen to Eminem, I was just trying to be hip.
Read what Singer Robbie Dupree had to say about Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, JR.