Bring me Manny Pacquiao: A Letter to the Boxing Santa Claus
By Gina L. Caliboso
It’s been years since I’ve written to any sort of Santa Claus, but to get into the holiday spirit, I thought I’d put out a boxing wish list for the boxing Santa Claus to consider.
I’ve been a good girl, definitely not naughty, and as a boxing fan and writer, I think I definitely deserve to have some of these requests waiting for me on Christmas morning.
Dear Boxing Santa,
I hope all is going well for you. It’s been a tumultuous 2010 boxing year. It’s been filled with a lot of highs and lows. While I know you are completely flooded with requests, notably from our website, to fulfill some wishful thinking as to how boxing needs to get better with its matchups and higher stakes, I’d like to point out that it’s never too late to personally send you a letter about some things I want.
Since Xmas is only a few days away, I’d like to request a few things that I think I definitely deserve because I’ve been a good, loyal boxing fan and I hope you reward me. I’m not asking for much, I’m not asking for a Xbox 360, a PS3, or a Macbook Air, but if you can use your influence on the powers that be, I think my wish list for boxing isn’t completely over the top. But if you can manage the Macbook Air, it’s a bonus.
1 – Manny Pacquiao, 52-3-2, 38 KO’s vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, 52-5-1, 38 KO’s (third bout)
I know, I know. Pacquiao is currently listed as a middleweight, but after Marquez’s performance against Michael Katsidis, these two must meet again. Then again, Pacquiao isn’t the same boxer either. Even as Pacquiao leads the series 2-0, Marquez has a champion’s heart and Pacquiao has evolved into a great boxer. When I think of Marquez, I don’t remember him in his loss against Mayweather. I remember Marquez and his fights against Pacquiao. I remember Marquez shaking off the knockdown against Katsidis and how he beat him. Boxing Santa, make this happen!
2 – Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd “Money” Mayweather, 41-0, 25 KO’s
It’s been a year or two (?) in the making? Mayweather fought against a strong, but not necessarily competitive Shane “Sugar” Mosley. I thought Mosley could beat Mayweather and he had the “undefeated retired, sort of retired, I’m retired” Mayweather in one round. Boxing Santa, I know that on a personal level, Mayweather is facing some problems right now, but he needs to keep fighting and retire on a good note. If I can forgive him (sorta), make this fight happen too.
3 – Manny Pacquiao vs. Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, 46-2-2, 25 KO’s
Boxing Santa, there is no priority of fight matchups. If you can make requests #1 and #2 happen, this can happen as well. I don’t want it to happen because I really think Martinez can defeat Pacquiao because he is so competitive and strong and he’s riding on a wave of confidence right now.
4- The Return of Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik, 36-2, 32 KO’s
Pavlik’s boxing career is slowly turning into a career of should haves. In 2009, he should have fought against Paul “Punisher” Williams, 39-2, 27 KO’s, but due to a staph infection, the fight continued to get postponed. Earlier this year, Pavlik went up against Martinez for both the WBC and WBO Middleweight title belts.
Over the course of 12 rounds, Pavlik ended up losing to Martinez in a 12 round unanimous decision. He should have been stronger, but Martinez definitely wanted it more. Back in November, Pavlik should have fought against Brian Vera, but pulled out due to a rib injury. So Boxing Santa, see if you can assist the return of Pavlik. It might be slow going at first, but he’s still got some boxing left in him and the middleweights, even with the competitive talent of Martinez, needs yet another shakeup that can make the division even more interesting.
5 –Andre Dirrell’s Recovery
Hey Boxing Santa, I still call foul. “King” Arthur Abraham punched Andre Dirrell in what I hope is not Dirrell’s last fight. The Super Six tournament started out so competitive, but it was also indicative of some bizarre incidents to include a 12th round down to the last seconds KO of Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor. Taylor pulls out of tournament. Ward does not fight Abraham as scheduled. Then, Abraham punches him while he’s on the canvas…the DQ follows. Kessler pulls out. Dirrell pulls out. What a mad, mad tournament. But hey Boxing Santa, I really think he could use your assistance in recovering.
6- Chris Arreola, 29-2, 25 KO’s as the Next Heavyweight Champion
No offense to Vitali Klitschko, 41-2, 38 KO’s, or Wladimir Klitschko, 55-3, 49 KO’s, I just want to see someone other than the Ukrainian brothers dominate the division. I want some competition in the heavyweight division. David “Hayemaker” Haye, 25-1, 23 KO’s? Really? Arreola, a local native Californian, didn’t look all that great in his bouts against Vitali Klitschko or even in the upset by Tomasz Adamek. Make Arreola stronger.
So, Dear Boxing Santa, that’s as much as I can think of in just three days before Christmas. I leave it up to you as to what’s possible or even impossible. As for me, I’ll patiently wait on Christmas morning and see if you came through. And yes, I still want the Macbook Air.
Until next year.
Sincerely,
Gina L. Caliboso