By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report
It is the headline that boxing fans do not want to read, but it is inevitable and coming soon. With boxing being at a popularity low, Manny Pacquiao and his star appeal has kept it afloat and the boxing sites and publications are aware of this. If you go to any boxing site, you will see Manny articles. He is in demand and the people get what they want.
A site dedicated to Manny: “Pacland” brings in the masses of Filipino followers, supporting their national hero, but with 57 professional bouts under his belt, and a lack of true challengers to his pound for pound throne, and a political obligation, the writing is on the wall.
On May 7th, we will see Pacquiao step into the ring and either way, it should be his last fight. A 39 year old grizzled veteran, slow on the draw, will be across the ring with the hope of either upsetting the boxing world or cashing that last big paycheck. Sugar Shane Mosley is one of the last remaining names of the 1990s welterweights.
Mosley, at one time, shared the limelight with Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, and Pernell Whitaker, but time has moved on, and all of his costars of the past have found retirement…at least for the time being. Mosley, as great as he was, still appears that he wants to prove something. He beat Oscar De La Hoya on two occasions, held his own with a prime Miguel Cotto, and had an incredible run at lightweight. He may have been one of the best lightweights ever to lace up the gloves, but he wants more. He failed miserably in his last outing against Floyd Mayweather, JR., but feels that the less elusive Pacquiao will at least give him some opportunities to land. Perhaps, but the risk is far greater.
Although the fight will sell, it is a mismatch based on where the two fighters are in their careers. Manny knows this. Shane knows this. Bob Arum knows this. The hope is that the fans don’t catch on, but even if you are just watching it to give a payday to a great fighter of the past or hope that somehow he can land that big right hand and knock Manny cold, the reality is that Pacquiao should win because he is that much better at this point in his career.
Now there are two scenarios that are going to happen on May 7th. Manny will win or Manny will lose. Should Pacquiao win, expect one last ditch effort to get Floyd Mayweather, JR., in the ring. The chances of that are slim, considering just how disinterested Money Mayweather has seemed, but should he elect to face the Filipino power-puncher, we will have that mega fight that we all wanted and then, win or lose, Pacquiao leaves the game.
The other scenario is that Mosley finds the mark with the right hand or left hook…he has decent power in both hands, and starches Pacquiao. Mosley wins, Floyd Mayweather, JR., immediately comments that he is without question the best considering the performance he had against Shane, and Manny retires and goes into politics full time, which many contend he wants to do at this point in his life.
Where does boxing go without Pacquiao? It will survive, but the impact is going to be strong. When Lennox Lewis left the heavyweight division, it was in shambles, eventually dominated by the Klitschko brothers, but there are no challengers to excite the fans.
Pacquiao leaving and with Floyd staying retired, it hurts the sport because nobody has come up, although there are plenty of exciting fighters…just not pay per view headliners, yet. When you look at this fact, you can’t blame Bob Arum for trying to protect Pacquiao by choosing softer opposition then the fans demand.
There are so many websites out there that have built their house on Pacquiao and when he retires, it will be interesting to see how they adapt and how boxing as a whole adapts. The only good thing that may be happening now, and it’s not for certain good, was the move from HBO to Showtime with Manny.
If CBS elects to step up and starts giving a network platform for up and coming fighters, the casual boxing fans and non boxing fans could warm up to the sport. Exposure is everything and the fighters today get very little of it, and the ones that do often fail to impress.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander fight. It turned into an ugly mess ending with a head butt. Just prior to that, Evander Holyfield put on what many consider to be the worst pay per view of all time, as he quit in his corner against Sherman “Tank” Williams. Of course, the Fistful of Dollars pay per view may still have a hold on the top spot, but this fiasco was a close second.
Boxing isn’t doing itself any favors. All of the wagons have been attached to Manny Pacquiao and names of the past like Bernard Hopkins. When Pacquiao retires, you will see boxing websites fall by the wayside and boxing’s audience shrink that much more. The only good point may be that it will hit rock bottom and sometimes that prompts the subject to bounce back and reclaim their old glory. Let’s hope that boxing does the same thing.
The truth of the matter is that Pacquiao will retire soon. There is no avoiding it and he has so much money that I don’t think he can be bought into anything other than a Floyd showdown in the future. Boxing will have to bounce back and it will. It’s been down before and has always come back. It will be a long road, but Pacquiao’s retirement won’t kill it.
Source:
ringsidereport.com
next week.
“Everything is premature. Nothing has been confirmed by the White House that a meeting is taking place between Manny and the President at this time,” Dena Duboef, daughter of Top Rank chief Bob Arum told ABS-CBN News.
Pacquiao's 154-pound title was "declared vacant, following the unanimous voting of the WBC board of governors, due to the inability of the champion to defend his WBC title," according to a statement from the Mexico-based organization.