The Return of Ricardo Mayorga: “Bring on Manny Pacquiao!”
By Edgar Solorzano
Nicaraguan boxing veteran Ricardo Mayorga, 28-7-1, 22 KO’s, is coming out of retirement to face Michael Walker, 19-5-2, 12 KO’s, on December 17th, in Miami, Florida.
Although Mayorga hasn’t proved that he can still keep up with good quality fighters yet, he’s already aiming high and is willing to fight Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The “Pac-Man” has become the biggest magnet in boxing.
Almost every fighter is calling Pacquiao out…they all want a piece of him.
Ricardo Mayorga is only one of the warriors that want to step in the ring against him. There are other fighters waiting in line like; WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto, Multi Division Champion Sugar Shane Mosley and current Lightweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
It’s obvious that “El Matador” Ricardo Mayorga wants to fight Pacquiao to get a nice paycheck. He has fought some tough bulls, but I don’t see “El Matador” dominating this Filipino bull.
Why should Manny Pacquiao fight a 37 year old Mayorga who’s coming out of retirement?
We are talking about a fighter who pulled out of a fight against junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo, due to rib injuries and don’t forget that he was also unable to make the required weight for the fight.
We are talking about the same fighter who lost to Shane Mosley by a tremendous 12th round KO, and “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya by an exciting 6th round TKO.
Mayorga should focus on getting his rustiness off and getting at a certain level in the sport…a level that will be high enough for the fans to respect him.
He hasn’t earned anyone’s respect yet, at least not mine. He should fight those like WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto, Sugar Shane Mosley in a rematch, Timothy Bradley, current WBA Light Middleweight Champion, Miguel Cotto or even former WBA Light Middleweight Champion Yuri Foreman.
I give credit to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and HBO for doing a great job on hyping the Antonio Margarito-Manny Pacquiao PPV fight. It convinced plenty of fans, just about enough to have a PPV hit, but I don’t think they can get away with a Mayorga-Pacquiao fight.
Realistically, it is not even a close match. It could probably be one of Pacquiao’s easiest victories. I just don’t get why an old boxing veteran would come out of retirement and call out Manny Pacquiao?
The only thing that comes to mind is that he’s doing it for the money.
Is this the type of fighter that we should respect? A fighter who already wants Pacquiao without even proving anything to the fight fans? I’m not taking anything away from Mayorga.
He had a great boxing career and fought many classic battles, but he doesn’t have the same speed and stamina as the Mayorga from 2003.
“El Matador” should come back to the sport to earn respect and not just look for gold or a bloody lottery ticket. He won’t earn that many fans’ respect if he calls out the Filipino superstar right away. He should try to take on a dangerous fighter like Antonio Margarito before fighting Pacquiao.
That’s only if he’s willing to prove that he wants to be the best, and not prove that he can be defeated horribly by the Pac-Man.
Most of us have seen destructions of opposition in the last few Manny Pacquiao battles.
If the fight ever happens, I believe the one sided battle would end as early as the 4th round.
It wouldn’t be a good fight; Mosley can still probably defeat Ricardo Mayorga. There’s always better quality gold or a bigger diamond that could replace a smaller diamond in a ring.
Manny Pacquiao just happens to be that special expensive diamond in the ring.