General Admission

Enjoy Pacquiao without his boxing gloves

By Al S. Mendoza

 

 

FIRST, Terrence Crawford was what the public wanted.

Crawford would be the perfect match for Manny Pacquiao because the American isn’t only good but the hottest in the business as well.

After two easy wins for Pacquiao, the public deserves a fight that should prove close.

With his world-class caliber, Crawford can easily provide that.

A close fight ensures thrills and spills aka knockdowns and/or a knockout.

But in boxing, a public wish, though oftentimes valid, is rarely heeded.

Most often, not even the wish of a boxer himself is strictly followed.

I know of only one fighter who could command attention virtually at all times:  Muhammad Ali.

The late Ali’s word was the law.  Especially when he was at the peak of his career.

Ali was the ultimate exception to the rule: It is the word of the promoter and matchmaker that matters in a boxing card.

Pacquiao had tried to interject.

However, when Bob Arum stomps his foot down, Pacquiao would readily accede.

Since Pacquiao shacked up with Arum in 2006, it was always Arum on top of every Pacquiao fight.

Well, just right.

If it were not for Arum, perhaps Pacquiao would not have reached the pinnacle of success.

Without Arum, who’s been in the business of boxing promotion for nearly 60 years now, Pacquiao might not have amassed the wealth considered to last even five lifetimes.

The astute promoter that he has become, there is not a single Pacquiao fight that Pacquiao has not emerged enormously victorious—financially, that is.

It is mainly Arum that Pacquiao could not retire.

Well, in fairness, Pacquiao is not yet ready to retire because he thinks he can still hack it.

He knows retirement is near, but with the little time left that he has, Pacquiao, 38, feels he might as well make the most out of it.

A while back, he was being lured to fight Jeff Horn, a former Aussie schoolteacher who is a complete unknown in the beak-busting business.

Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, had dangled $5 million dollars to Pacquiao for the fight set April 23 in Brisbane.

Then, all too suddenly, that fight was scrapped.

Ballyhooed next was the Pacquiao-Khan fight on May 20.

This time, Pacquiao would pocket $38 million in the Khan clash in Dubai.

What a huge leap in earnings.  Pacquiao was, uh-oh, salivating again.

And then the Pacquiao-Khan was cancelled.

Just like that.

No explanation.

Surprised at the cancellation of both fights?

Not me.

There were no fights at all to begin with.

No meetings from all camps.

No contracts signed.

Boxing being the “red alley” district in sports, crooks abound.

So, in the meantime, let’s enjoy Pacquiao strutting his new-found wares.

As senator, he is fast out-clowning his colleagues in the Senate.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments