By James Slater: Promoter Bob Arum was sufficiently impressed by Manny Pacquiao’s 12-round drubbing of a reluctant Shane Mosley to declare how his star fighter is a fighter no-one today can even compete with. Arum said after Saturday’s fight how nobody, be it Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez or Tim Bradley, is capable of beating the Filipino superstar.
Arum, feeling the heat due to the way Saturday’s fight proved to be a boring letdown of an event, now has the tough job of finding and then announcing a foe for Pac-Man’s next bout; tentatively set for November 12th. Arum may have to work hard to find a name the public will be willing to pay to see challenge Pacquiao.
As dominant as he is, who is there out there capable of persuading the fans to part with their hard-earned dollars as they hope to see a competitive, bring-out-the-best-in-Pacquiao, challenge? Marquez seems to be the frontrunner to land the November date, but can even he compete with Pac-Man today? Not at 147-pounds he can’t, so will the fight be fought at around 140? Even if it is, can the 37-year-old, who has fought his best fights at lightweight and below, live with Manny here in 2011?
Arum spoke about who he has planned for Pacquiao’s next fight.
“Manny would beat the hell out of Floyd Mayweather. I guarantee it,” he said, clearly not worried about letting his fighter loose on “Money.”
So who else is there that Arum will be able to sell as a legit foe for Pac-Man? It’s not like many fans were expecting the inactive Mayweather to actually fight Pacquiao anyway, but Arum is sure that particular mega-fight won’t happen this year anyway.
“The situation with Floyd has not changed,” he said. “He told us at The Super Bowl that if he comes back he intends to take a tune-up fight first. That would put a potential fight with Manny to next year at the very least.”
So who will it be on Nov. 12th?
“We have sent a contact to Juan Manuel Marquez,” Arum said. “If not Marquez, we will target Tim Bradley or Zab Judah for Manny’s next fight in the fall.”
At least Arum never mentioned Kermit Cintron’s name!
But will the fans be eager to fork out with the cash to see Pac-Man get it on with either of the three names Bob has in mind; even as much as they love Pacquiao? Marquez, as many have said, looks too old and too small to be able to give Pacquaio the kind of fierce argument he twice gave him many pounds south; while Judah’s chin would almost certainly let him down against the pound-for-pound king. Of the three names Arum mentioned, Bradley’s looks the most interesting to me.
Fast, tough, immaculately conditioned and very, very hungry, the unbeaten 140-pound champ has also proven in the past that he can fight effectively at 147-pounds. Maybe it’s time for Pacquaio to face a young, unbeaten challenger. Certainly, in light of the disappointing Mosley fight, it will prove tough to sell another Pacquiao fight that sees him facing a veteran.
Arum wants his star to engage next in the type of all-action fight he is known for – not a snoozer the like of which we saw on Saturday night. But, as Bob said post-fight: “It’s very difficult to get somebody who can be competitive with him.”
So too may it prove difficult getting the fans to shell out a share of their wages to see Pac-Man’s next fight.