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The Neutral Corner: Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins & More

By Jeff Stoyanoff

Fights Without Weights

I’m sure we would all like to see Manny Pacquiao fight Sergio Martinez. Why not? The fight would pit two of the very best in the sport against each other. Unfortunately, there is a problem. Not a Floyd Mayweather JR.- test demand – Manny Pacquiao inexplicable refusal – subsequent Mayweather life implosion problem, but a problem nonetheless. How can two fighters so far apart in weight possibly fight? We may as well hold out for Manny to take on Andre Ward.

The rumors are that a fight might be possible at 150; possible in what alternate universe? The last time Sergio Martinez weighed 150 pounds for a fight it was for an eight round bout in 2003. Does any serious boxing fan really want to see the well conditioned Martinez sweat down to 150 pounds to make a fight?

Make no mistake, money makes things happen. And, if there is enough money on the table Martinez will probably agree to cut off body parts to make a contracted weight. But, what will it prove? Will it really bolster Manny’s legacy in any kind of meaningful way to have the middleweight champion of the world come down to a weight he hasn’t made in seven years for a fight? The obvious answer is no. The fact is even if Pacquiao wins, it will be little more than another cash grab for both fighters. Pacquiao fans will be satiated by another stellar performance against another “bigger man”, while Martinez will earn the hefty pay day he very much deserves, but at the cost of an embarrassing loss quite possibly. For the majority of boxing fans, the fight will tell us next to nothing about either fighter.

How about the other side? What if Pacquiao were to move up and fight Martinez at a higher weight? Forget the fact for the moment that the Pacquiao camp has already made it clear that Pacquiao is a welterweight now and there is little reason to fight anywhere else anymore. What would a likely Martinez win really prove? Likely it would demonstrate that even for the great Manny Pacquiao, there is a man out there that is simply too big and too skilled in combination for him to overcome. I think most of us could agree that this is the truth without having to see him actually fight a supremely talented 157 pound opponent. A Martinez win in such a showdown would make for great drama as we would finally perhaps gain a glimpse of the limits of an all time great fighter, but once again the obvious weight issue would obfuscate any greater truths about the talents of either man. Manny Pacquiao versus Sergio Martinez is a fight without a weight. And, it’s not the only one.

A Slight Weight Problem – Part Two

The fight that many fans are clamoring to see is a third tilt between Pacquiao and his arch nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez. And why not? The first two fights were scintillating give and take affairs that saw both men severely tested only to time and again respond with an awesome display of talent and will. However, there is a problem. Manny Pacquiao has found what was perhaps his natural weight all along as a hybrid Junior Welterweight/Welterweight. Pacquiao has weighed between about 142 and 145 pounds for going on a few years now and, according to his team, any deviation from that range is a real problem for Pacquiao. Thus, even a meeting at 140 pounds with Marquez is off the table for the moment.

Yet, that hardly matters as Marquez is, at best, a Lightweight fighter at this point. Marquez has appeared exactly once over the 135 pound limit and it didn’t go well. Of course, he was up against a huge and ridiculously skilled opponent in Floyd Mayweather Jr. Make no mistake, Mayweather is as big and strong as he is skilled and that is saying something. Realistically, the diminutive Marquez really stood no chance in the fight and it played out exactly that way. Still, even beyond Mayweather’s brilliant performance, Marquez looked bloated and sluggish at the higher weight. Should Manny Pacquiao meet Marquez halfway at 140 pounds and prove his ascension to a new plateau in boxing with a thorough domination of the one man who has most clearly tested his greatness? Perhaps, but it hardly matters. Even at 140 there is reason to think Marquez might not really carry the weight well. Sadly, time has marched on. Pacquiao, who was really bigger all along, has moved up. Pacquiao versus Marquez is another fight without a weight at this point. Just as is the case with Martinez, money is a powerful motivator. Marquez might move up, but if he does the fight takes on an entirely different dynamic. The weight will be the cardinal variable and it will be impossible to parse that variable from the result of the fight. It will simply be yet another cash grab.

We don’t have much time left with Manny Pacquiao. In a couple of short years he will be gone. In the meantime, I see no great shame in simply taking on accomplished and skilled 140 to 147 pound fighters who are in the prime of their careers. When did that become such a silly notion?

Hopkins and Poker 101

I am hardly a professional poker player, but I will say this about the game; poker is a game built around analyzing situations and making solid decisions that give you the best chance to protect the chips you already have or to gain more of them. The better you pick your spots; the better decisions you make; the more you win over the long haul, period. In looking back, I wouldn’t want to play poker with Bernard Hopkins. It would seem that Hopkins is a master at knowing what works for him and what doesn’t. In short, Hopkins knows how to pick his spots.

Two of Hopkins biggest wins in the latter stages of his career came against Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik. In both cases, Hopkins actively sought the fights himself. And in both cases, Hopkins not only won, he dominated his opponent in a manner that left you with the distinct feeling that he knew all along how easy it would be. In looking back on his magnificent career, it would seem that Hopkins has struggled some with speed and volume punching. Excluding a loss in his first fight as a pro, Hopkins losses have come to: Roy Jones JR., Jermain Taylor, and Joe Calzaghe. With the possible exception of Calzaghe (even the best poker players make bad calls), Hopkins didn’t exactly target any of those fights. He didn’t say no, but he didn’t beg for them either. Jones was his first chance at a world title, so how could a man that was still working a second job at the time say no? And, how was he supposed to pass on Taylor? An undefeated and immensely popular Olympian who was clearly qualified for the opportunity as measured by not only his in the ring performance, but his out of the ring marketability as well.

As for Calzaghe, Hopkins worked the deal as best he could getting the smaller man to move up in weight, but it didn’t quite work. In each case, Hopkins was hardly dominated, but he was outworked by a faster fighter who kept throwing punches and didn’t allow himself to get flustered by Hopkins defense and “old school” tactics. Hopkins can be beaten, just like even the greatest poker players in the world, but much like the pros on the felt, when he himself makes a move you can be sure he likes his position. And how often has he been wrong?

Hopkins disposed of Tarver and Pavlik easily after calling them out as he knew his game plan would work. And most recently, it didn’t take long for him to go after a fight with newly crowned Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal. Pascal is fast of course, but his speed is not of the lightning variety like Jones, Taylor, and Calzaghe. What’s more, Pascal fights in spurts rather than maintaining his aggressiveness throughout which also sets up well for Hopkins. Hopkins has never had a problem avoiding getting hit with clean shots especially the first couple you throw his way and Pascal has not exactly been constant motion in the ring. Basically, Pascal appears to set up pretty well for Hopkins.

It’s fascinating that Hopkins (despite still being highly ranked on P4P lists at the time) never expressed even the slightest interest in meeting the then still undefeated Chad Dawson in what would have been a highly anticipated showdown of the best two light heavyweights in the world. Yet, as soon as Dawson loses, Hopkins immediately pursues the man who vanquished him; Jean Pascal. I’m surprised Hopkins didn’t interrupt the post fight interview with a contract in hand for Pascal to sign. I can see the wheels turning. Hopkins folded his hand when it was Dawson, but he’s moving all in on Pascal; it’s about decisions. Just as is the case in poker, there are seldom if ever any guarantees in the ring, but I for one am not betting against Hopkins; not when he likes his hand.

The Haye Foreshadow

Give Dereck Chisora a little credit; he is doing everything he can to build some interest in the flagging Heavyweight division. Chisora is talking up a storm and he hasn’t been above getting a little personal with IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko. I don’t want to go into the classless and silly statements made by Chisora, but they are not hard to find. Chisora did accomplish one thing though with his vitriolic diatribe, he did appear to get under the skin of Klitschko who promised to be more aggressive in their upcoming fight. In addition, Klitschko trainer Manny Steward verified that Klitschko is indeed angry and is motivated to an even greater degree by the lack of respect shown by Chisora in the lead up to the fight.

As of now, the fight is off due to a back injury suffered by Klitschko. Yet, It might be interesting to see what happens if the two ever do meet in the ring. The Klitschkos do appear to be cerebral fighters who naturally seem to gravitate toward the science behind the sport of boxing. To be fair, they are hardly robots, but nothing thus far seems to have been able to derail their almost clinical precision in the ring; until now perhaps. Chisora definitely made Klitschko angry; much as David Haye was able to do. Perhaps Klitschko will punish Chisora by taking away his pay day. It would be a stroke of genius and a move of utter calm in the face of Chisora’s heated tirade. But, if they do fight, there is one more thing to look for; how will Wladimir respond?

Will Klitschko indeed be more aggressive? Will he even become a little reckless? Or, will he be his normal methodical self in the ring. Or, will Klitschko be even better? Will he become even more destructive? Dereck Chisora is not David Haye in the ring, but he is certainly trying to be; perhaps in every way. If Klitschko is prone to making mistakes due to an animosity toward his opponent it could provide a fighter like Haye with the opening he needs to pull an upset. Dereck Chisora is still a major long shot to shock the world when and if he ever gets in the ring with Klitschko, but if he even has a few moments it might suggest that Klitschko is not above being taken out of his game through psychology. A Klitschko-Chisora fight might yet provide a possible foreshadow here by introducing a new question in the career of Wladimir Klitschko. Just how does Klitschko respond to an opponent who rattles his cage? Sadly, that might be the most compelling question in the Heavyweight Division right now.

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