Canada and USA

Did Khan Really Show Improvement Vs. Molina?

Published

12 years ago

December 20, 2012

Lee Wylie

Last Saturday, Amir Khan managed to get his career back on track with a 10th round stoppage win over Carlos Molina at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Having lost his last two fights -a disputed decision to Lamont Peterson and a devastating knockout to Danny Garcia- it was not only important for Khan to win, but for him to also look good in doing so. During the build-up to the fight, with Khan now under the tutelage of trainer Virgil Hunter, we were assured that we’d see a more measured and mature performance from Khan, one that would see a dramatic improvement in his defense.

Here, I’d like to highlight a few things that I noticed during the fight.

What’s important to understand with Khan is that he doesn’t necessarily have to become a defensive orientated fighter in order for him to improve defensively. Khan just needs to learn how to be more defensively responsible during and immediately after his attack. Hopefully, the astute Virgil Hunter understands this too. Amir Khan certainly isn’t the most technically proficient of fighters, nor is he one of the smartest. What Khan is though, however, is a raw athletic talent blessed with height, blinding hand and foot speed and good punching power. It’s clearly about refining what Khan already has as opposed to trying to transform him into something he’s clearly not. But first, there are some basic mistakes that still need rectifying.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Amir Khan’s most potent weapon is his jab, which he delivers from the outside with great speed and accuracy. Khan’s jab has often been the difference maker for him in the past. And yet, there is still room for improvement.

amir khan 201212 1

Despite Khan’s utter domination of Paulie Malignaggi, many of his technical deficiencies were on show for everyone to see. Take a look at Khan’s body alignment in the second photograph as he’s throwing the jab. Khan is dead central, is over extending and his chin isn’t being offered any protection by his left shoulder or right glove. Khan is also coming in on a straight line. In this position, should Malignaggi slip either side of the jab, Khan would be vulnerable to a counter from either hand –a slip inside for Malignaggi would open up the possibility of a left hook/uppercut or a slip to the outside would allow Malignaggi to come back with a right hand.

Now let’s take a look at Amir Khan throwing the jab against Carlos Molina from last Saturday night.

amir khan 201212 2

Prior to throwing the jab, Khan’s defense looks nice and tight. His chin is tucked and his gloves are high. However, look at Khan’s non-punching hand as he’s throwing his jab –his right glove has strayed away from his chin again. As a result, Khan is available to be hit with all sorts of counters.

Here’s another look at Khan’s jab on three separate occasions during the fight. Again, as Khan is throwing his jab, look at what his non-punching hand is doing. With his right hand just above waist height, he constantly puts himself in a position to be nailed with a left hand.

Now let’s take a look at how someone with excellent fundamentals, such as Bernard Hopkins, throws his jab.

amir khan 201212 4

Firstly, take note of Bernard Hopkins’ right glove. Felix Trinidad was well renowned for a potent left hook. Because of this, Bernard’s right glove is glued to the right side of his face during the entire sequence. Even though Trinidad slips to the outside of the jab and is in a position where he can throw his left hook, Hopkins’ defense and movement eliminates the threat. Here, Hopkins is perfectly balanced, his chin is always tucked and he’s circling to his left as he’s jabbing –notice the position of Hopkins in relation to Trinidad at the beginning and end of the sequence. His movement suggests he’s always thinking about Trinidad’s left hand.

Khan’s lack of control over his non-punching hand is also an issue when he’s throwing other punches too, and not just when he’s throwing the jab.

amir khan 201212 5

Here’s Khan throwing a left hook to the body. Once again, his bad habit of allowing his non-punching hand to drift has left him wide open for a left hand. This time, Molina takes advantage and makes Khan pay.

Let’s have a look at how the left hook to the body should be thrown.

amir khan 201212 6

Orlando Canizales is one of my favorite fighters to study on film. His technique was absolutely tremendous. As he’s throwing his left hook to the body, look at his non-punching hand. Like Bernard Hopkins earlier, it never leaves the side of his face. He’s always conscious of anything coming back in return.

This left hook to the body by Canizales is particularly noteworthy because it not only shows him keeping his right glove by his face when he’s not only throwing the punch, but also when he’s rolling out.

With this in mind, another problem that I’ve found with Amir Khan is that instead of ducking or rolling out after punching, he moves back in a straight line, often leaving his chin exposed as he moves away. One of the key areas that Khan still needs to work on is his ability to stay elusive immediately after punching.

amir khan 201212 8

Here’s Khan coming in from the outside with a low jab. Again, he approaches in a straight line. Khan has phenomenally fast feet, so he should be looking to come in from one angle and leave at another. In this instance, Khan comes in straight and leaves straight. As a result, Molina is able to land a short left hook as Khan’s stepping in and nearly lands a follow up left hook as Khan’s exiting too.

In this sequence, instead of sliding off at an angle or rolling out after he’s finished throwing, Khan is leaning back. As a result, Khan is off balance and Molina easily pushes him back, landing a right and left hand. This could easily have been avoided had Khan performed a simple evasive maneuver such as a duck or a roll after punching.

Let’s take a look at what Floyd Mayweather does in a similar situation.

amir khan 201212 10

Many have put Mayweather’s defensive skills down to God-given talent, when really it’s just a result of good technique and knowledge. First, look at Mayweather’s body alignment as he’s throwing a straight right hand. His head is off to the side and away from the center {extinguishing any chance of a counter jab} and his non-punching hand is protecting his chin. After landing the right hand, notice how Mayweather exits. Instead of moving back in a straight line, Mayweather rolls under and out. Look at Mayweather’s posture in the last photograph –his lead shoulder is protecting his chin and his right arm is wrapped across his body in such a way that his right glove is protecting his chin. The whole time Mayweather is on the attack, he’s thinking defense.

Here’s another look at Khan struggling to keep Molina off him because of an inability to move away at an angle.

As Molina goes on the attack behind a barrage of lefts and rights, Khan has no idea how to blunt the attack. As a result, he’s unable to prevent Molina from forcing him back towards the ropes. Instead of bending at the waist so that the attack comes over the top or pivoting clockwise on his front foot so that he’s turning Molina, Khan backs up in a straight line and quickly finds himself in trouble.

Amir Khan’s hands are among the quickest in boxing. In fact, there were moments during the Molina fight when I was wondering if I’d seen quicker. Nevertheless, whenever I watch Khan throw his punches, I can’t help but feel he’d be better off trading in some of that speed for a little more variety. Khan’s combinations are far too predictable. It’s rare you see him throw anything other than a left, right, left, right combination, which is always aimed up top. When I think of brilliant combination punchers like Ricardo Lopez or Juan Manuel Marquez, who were/are far from the fastest I’ve ever seen, I think of their fluidity, variety and punch placement.

{youtube}49JiYR9Y_48{/youtube}

Throughout this video, you’ll see Marquez throwing just about every punch in the book in combination. Although he’s reasonably fast, it’s not all about speed for Marquez. Notice how he places every punch as a precusror for his next. Notice his angling and stepping to the side which sets up his right and left uppercuts. Instead of head hunting with straight punches, Marquez throws multiple types of punches {hooks, uppercuts and straights} aimed at different targets {either side of the body and head}.

It’s not just Marquez’ offensive variety that makes him a special combination puncher. Because Marquez is thinking angles, his upper body is always moving and as a result, his head is often taken away from the center line. Marquez is also defensively responsible with his non-punching hand when he’s banging to the body too.

For me, Amir Khan’s biggest problem in the ring is his vulnerability to counters while he’s throwing his combinations.

amir khan 201212 12

Here’s a classic example of Khan’s vulnerability while he’s throwing his combinations. Here, as he throws a left/ right, notice his shoulders and head. Khan’s head is dead central and his shoulders are square. There’s no concern what so ever for what may come back in return. Look at Garcia in the third and fourth photograph. He’s not even looking at Khan. But because Khan doesn’t move his head and leaves his chin sticking out as he’s punching, Garcia knows there’s a good chance he’s going to connect.

Despite all the talk of technical improvements before, during and after Khan’s fight with Molina, I saw the same old defensive lapses rearing their ugly head.

In each of the three sequences above, Khan is the one initiating the attack, but ends up coming off worse. Khan’s blinding hands do not equate to good combination punching technique. Khan always leaves himself wide open during exchanges. Look at Molina’s head in these photographs -as was the case with Garcia, he’s not even looking at Khan, but because Khan leaves his chin sticking out, never takes his head away from the center line or comes in from any sort of an angle, any opponent who throws a wild, swinging punch aimed towards the middle, will have a good chance of landing cleanly on him.

In all honesty, I believe Khan would probably be more effective with his speed if he were to throw less in the way of combinations and more in the way of single shots. If you look at fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward and Bernard Hopkins, they seldom throw combinations. Instead, they prefer single, intermitting shots. Although Floyd Mayweather is pretty much a jab/straight right hand fighter, he’s difficult to time because of his natural hand speed and the sporadic nature of his punches. It’s the same with Bernard Hopkins, who’s always has underrated hand speed but throws little more than a straight right hand. Have you ever seen Amir Khan lead with a straight right? Khan’s offense would likely be less predictable if he actually threw a lot less and mixed his punches up more. It’s highly likely his punching power and accuracy would benefit from throwing a lot less too.

Although I’ve been quite brutal in assessing Khan’s performance here, all in all, I actually thought he looked pretty good. Like I’ve already said, Khan’s speed at times is breathtaking and as defensively flawed as his jab is, he dominated the fight with it -it’s lighting quick and it also has decent power behind it. However, Amir Khan has, and always will, look good against lesser opposition. Without being too disrespectful here, Amir Khan is the ultimate front runner. Once he’s on top against a certain type of opponent, Khan will look as dazzling as anyone in boxing. Carlos Molina is certainly no bum, but stylistically and physically, he was always going to struggle to have an answer for Khan’s length, physical strength, far superior hand speed and volume. Simply put, Molina didn’t possess the physical strength to back Khan up the way Lamont Peterson did nor did he have the punch power to turn the fight on its head the way Danny Garcia did either. We already knew what Khan does to this type of opponent. The real challenge for Khan comes once he’s faced with someone who has the ability to make him pay for his mistakes by turning his lights out. For me, this fight was like a fire drill. Khan looked comfortable going through the motions without a real sense of danger present, but let’s wait and see what happens once he’s in there with someone throwing smoke and flames.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Lee Wylie

Argentina

The BWAA Shames Veteran Referee Laurence Cole and Two Nebraska Judges

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2018

Arne K. Lang

In an unprecedented development, the Boxing Writers Association of America has started a “watch list” to lift the curtain on ring officials who have “screwed up.” Veteran Texas referee Laurence Cole and Nebraska judges Mike Contreras and Jeff Sinnett have the unwelcome distinction of being the first “honorees.”

“Boxing is a sport where judges and referees are rarely held accountable for poor performances that unfairly change the course of a fighter’s career and, in some instances, endanger lives,” says the BWAA in a preamble to the new feature. Hence the watch list, which is designed to “call attention to ‘egregious’ errors in scoring by judges and unacceptable conduct by referees.”

Contreras and Sinnett, residents of Omaha, were singled out for their scorecards in the match between lightweights Thomas Mattice and Zhora Hamazaryan, an eight round contest staged at the WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa on July 20. They both scored the fight 76-75 for Mattice, enabling the Ohio fighter to keep his undefeated record intact via a split decision.

Although Mattice vs. Hamazaryan was a supporting bout, it aired live on ShoBox. Analyst Steve Farhood, who was been with ShoBox since the inception of the series in 2001, called it one of the worst decisions he had ever seen. Lead announcer Barry Tompkins went further, calling it the worst decision he has seen in his 40 years of covering the sport.

Laurence Cole (pictured alongside his father) was singled out for his behavior as the third man in the ring for the fight between Regis Prograis and Juan Jose Velasco at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on July 14. The bout was televised live on ESPN.

In his rationale for calling out Cole, BWAA prexy Joseph Santoliquito leaned heavily on Thomas Hauser’s critique of Cole’s performance in The Sweet Science. “Velasco fought courageously and as well as he could,” noted Hauser. “But at the end of round seven he was a thoroughly beaten fighter.”

His chief second bullied him into coming out for another round. Forty-five seconds into round eight, after being knocked down for a third time, Velasco spit out his mouthpiece and indicated to Cole that he was finished. But Cole insisted that the match continue and then, after another knockdown that he ruled a slip, let it continue for another 35 seconds before Velasco’s corner mercifully threw in the towel.

Controversy has dogged Laurence Cole for well over a decade.

Cole was the third man in the ring for the Nov. 25, 2006 bout in Hildalgo, Texas, between Juan Manuel Marquez and Jimrex Jaca. In the fifth round, Marquez sustained a cut on his forehead from an accidental head butt. In round eight, another accidental head butt widened and deepened the gash. As Marquez was being examined by the ring doctor, Cole informed Marquez that he was ahead on the scorecards, volunteering this information while holding his hand over his HBO wireless mike. The inference was that Marquez was free to quit right then without tarnishing his record. (Marquez elected to continue and stopped Jaca in the next round.)

This was improper. For this indiscretion, Cole was prohibited from working a significant fight in Texas for the next six months.

More recently, Cole worked the 2014 fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Orlando Salido at the San Antonio Alamodome. During the fight, Salido made a mockery of the Queensberry rules for which he received no point deductions and only one warning. Cole’s performance, said Matt McGrain, was “astonishingly bad,” an opinion echoed by many other boxing writers. And one could site numerous other incidents where Cole’s performance came under scrutiny.

Laurence Cole is the son of Richard “Dickie” Cole. The elder Cole, now 87 years old, served 21 years as head of the Texas Department of Combat Sports Regulation before stepping down on April 30, 2014. At various times during his tenure, Dickie Cole held high executive posts with the World Boxing Council and North American Boxing Federation. He was the first and only inductee into the inaugural class of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame, an organization founded by El Paso promoter Lester Bedford in 2015.

From an administrative standpoint, boxing in Texas during the reign of Dickie Cole was frequently described in terms befitting a banana republic. Whenever there was a big fight in the Lone Star State, his son was the favorite to draw the coveted refereeing assignment.

Boxing is a sideline for Laurence Cole who runs an independent insurance agency in Dallas. By law in Texas (and in most other states), a boxing promoter must purchase insurance to cover medical costs in the event that one or more of the fighters on his show is seriously injured. Cole’s agency is purportedly in the top two nationally in writing these policies. Make of that what you will.

Complaints of ineptitude, says the WBAA, will be evaluated by a “rotating committee of select BWAA members and respected boxing experts.” In subsequent years, says the press release, the watch list will be published quarterly in the months of April, August, and December (must be the new math).

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Canada and USA

The Avila Perspective, Chapter 8: Competing Cards in N.Y. and L.A.

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2018

David A. Avila

Rival boxing shows compete this Saturday as light heavyweight world titlists are featured in New Jersey while former world champion welterweights and middleweights tangle in New York.

A mere 150 miles separate the two fight cards staged in Uniondale, N.Y. and Atlantic City.

But there’s no mercy inside the boxing ring and certainly no mercy between boxing promotions. While Main Events stages WBO light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev and WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol in separate bouts, DiBella Entertainment stacks former champs Andre Berto against Devon Alexander in a welterweight clash.

Take your pick.

Russia’s Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KOs) has lost some luster and hopes to reboot his popularity with a win against Canada’s Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs). But he will be directly competing against WBA champ Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs), also of Russia, who defends against Isaac Chilemba (25-5-2) of South Africa.

HBO will televise both light heavyweight title fights.

Bivol, 27, has slowly, almost glacier-like slow, picked up fans along the way by training in Southern California. The quiet unassuming fighter with a conservative style and cobra-like quickness appeals to the fans.

“I do not think that now I am the best light heavyweight, but I am now one of the best. One of four guys,” said Bivol during a press conference call. “But I hope in not the far future, we will know who is the best.”

That, of course, would mean a date with Kovalev should both fighters win on Saturday. Nothing is certain.

Kovalev, now 35, has lost some of that fear factor aura since losing back-to-back fights to now retired Andre Ward. Though he’s cracked two opponents in succession by knockout, many are pointing to the potential showdown with Bivol as the moment of truth.

“Most likely this fight is gonna happen since both Sergey and I are HBO boxers and as long as that’s what the people want, most likely the fight will happen,” said Bivol. “Me and Sergey will make sure to give this fight to the people.”

It’s time for the build-up and it starts on Saturday Aug. 4, on HBO.

“That’s certainly a goal of Sergey’s and he’s made it very clear to me that that’s what he wants to do,” said promoter Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. “He wants to do unification fights if he is successful with Eleider Alvarez. That’s what he wants to do next; he’s been very clear about that.”

DiBella

Five former world champions stack the fight card at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Former welterweight world champs Andre Berto (31-5, 24 KOs) and Devon Alexander (27-4-1, 14 KOs) lead the charge in a 12-round clash. FOX will televise the main event and others at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.

Berto, 34, has been fighting once a year so it’s difficult to determine if age has crept into his reflexes. When he knocked out Victor Ortiz in a rematch two years ago Berto looked sharp and dangerous. But against Shawn Porter a year ago, the crispness seemed gone and he quickly lost by knockout.

Alexander, 31, has the advantage of being a southpaw. But he always seems to do the minimum when he fights. Last February he slowed down and allowed Victor Ortiz to steal the fight. All the commotion by the announcers was for naught. Defense does not win fights, it allows you to win fights. The lack of offense in the latter rounds cost Alexander a win in a match that entered the books as a majority draw.

It’s a curious matchup of former world champions.

Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (33-1-1, 23 KOs) the former WBO middleweight titlist meets J’Leon Love (24-1-1, 13 KOs) in a super middleweight bout set for 10 rounds. It’s another intriguing fight especially between two fighters with great personalities.

Quillin, 35, was ambushed by Daniel Jacobs in the first round a year ago in losing the title. Was it bad luck, age or both? As a fighter the Brooklyn-based prizefighter has a ton of followers who like him as a person. Few are as classy as Quillin.

Love, 30, has long been a mainstay in Las Vegas and since his amateur days his abilities have been touted. Throughout the years Love has shown that charm and friendliness can go a long ways, even in the bitter wars of prizefighting. But the time has come to see if he belongs in the prizefighting world. Quillin will present an immense challenge for Love.

A number of other interesting fights are slated to take place among former world champions including Sergey Lipinets who lost the super lightweight title to Mikey Garcia this past winter. There’s also Luis Collazo in a welterweight match.

One world title fight does take place on the card.

Female WBA super middleweight titlist Alicia Napoleon (9-1) makes the first defense of her title against Scotland’s Hannah Rankin (5-1). It’s a 10 round bout and the first time Napoleon defends the title since winning it last March against Germany’s Femke Hermans. Ironically, Hermans now has the WBO super middleweight title after defeating former champ Nikki Adler by decision this past May.

L.A. Congestion

Next week the city of Angels will be packed with three fight cards in four days.

First, on Wednesday Aug. 8, 360 Promotions stages Abraham Lopez (9-1-1, 3 KOs) versus Gloferson Ortizo (12-0-1, 6 KOs) in the main event at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, Calif. This is Filipino fighter Ortizo’s ninth fight this year. You read that correctly.

All of Ortizo’s fights have taken place across the border in Tijuana. The 32-year-old now returns to California against another Californian in Lopez. He’ll be looking for his fourth consecutive knockout, but Lopez, 22, has not lost a fight since his pro debut. Inactivity might come into play for Lopez who hasn’t stepped in the boxing ring in over a year.

New York’s Brian Ceballo (3-0) returns in a six round welterweight bout against local fighter Tavorus Teague (5-20-4). Ceballo, who is promoted by 360 Promotions, looked good in his last appearance. The amateurish punches seen in his first two bouts were gone by his third pro fight. His opponent Teague has ability and can give problems if Ceballo takes his foot off the pedal.

One of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin’s training partners Ali Akhmedov (11-0, 8 KOs) makes his California debut when he meets Jorge Escalante (9-1-1, 6 KOs) in a light heavyweight match.

Female super lightweight Elvina White (2-0) is also slated to compete. The entire fight card will be streamed at www.360promotions.us and on the 360 Promotions page on Facebook. First bell rings at 6:15 p.m.

Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. is the site of Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Friday Aug. 10. A pair of young prospects will be severely tested.

San Diego’s Genaro Gamez (8-0, 5 KOs) meets Filipino fighter Recky Dulay (10-3, 7 KOs) for the vacant NABF super featherweight title. For Dulay it’s always kill or be killed. Five of his last fights have ended in knockout wins or losses.

Gamez, 23, seems to thrive under pressure and broke down two veterans in back-to-back fights at Fantasy Springs Casino. Now he returns to the Belasco, a venue where he has struggled in the past. But this time he’s the main event.

Another being severely tested will be Emilio Sanchez (15-1, 10 KOs) facing veteran Christopher Martin (30-10-3, 10 KOs) who is capable of beating anyone.

Sanchez, 24, lost by knockout in his last fight this past March. He’s talented and fearless and one mistake cost him his first loss as a pro. He’s not getting a break against Martin, a cagey fighter who has upset many young rising prospects in the past. Martin also has experience against world champions. It’s an extremely tough matchup for Sanchez.

The fight card will be televised by Estrella TV beginning at 6 p.m.

World Title Fight

On Saturday, boxing returns to the Avalon Theater in Hollywood.

The main event is a good one as Puerto Rico’s Jesus Rojas (26-1-2, 19 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Jojo Diaz (26-1) in a 12 round clash. It’s power versus speed.

Rojas, 31, is one tough customer. When he took the interim title against Claudia Marrero last year he chased down the speedy southpaw Dominican and blasted him out in the seventh round. Several months earlier he obliterated another Golden Boy prospect, Abraham Lopez (not the same Abraham Lopez that is fighting on the 360 Promotions card), in eight rounds. Now he has the title and defends against the speedy southpaw Diaz.

Diaz, 25, just recently lost a bid for the WBC featherweight title against Gary Russell Jr. Though he lost by decision three months ago, that fight might be easy in comparison to this challenge against Rojas.

The former Olympian won’t be able to take a breath against the Puerto Rican slugger who is about as rough as they come.

Two more undefeated Golden Boy prospects get a chance to eliminate each other when Philadelphia’s Damon Allen (15-0-1) meets East L.A.’s Jonathan Navarro (14-0, 7 KOs) in a super lightweight fight set for 10 rounds.

Phillie versus East LA is like fire versus fire in the boxing ring. Boxers originating from those two hard-bitten areas usually have go-for-broke styles that result in pure action. Allen versus Navarro should not disappoint.

Allen, 25, is not a hard puncher but he’s aggressive and like most Philadelphia fighters, he’s not afraid to mix it up.

Navarro, 21, lives in East L.A. but trains in Riverside under Robert Garcia. He’s slowly finding his timing and will be facing the fastest fighter since his pro debut in 2015.

Others featured on the card will be Hector Tanajara, Aaron McKenna and Ferdinand Kerobyan.

The card will be streamed on the Golden Boy Fight Night page on Facebook beginning at 6 p.m.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Canada and USA

What’s Next for Manny Pacquiao?

Published

6 years ago

August 1, 2018

Kelsey McCarson

Manny Pacquiao isn’t quite ready to retire, and more big-money fights against high-level competition seem to be on the 39-year-old’s way.

“I feel like I’m a 27-year-old,” Pacquiao told GMAnetwork.com’s Jamil Santos last week. “Expect more fights to come.”

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) looked exceptionally sharp in his seventh-round knockout win over former junior welterweight titleholder Lucas Matthysse on July 15 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was Pacquiao’s best performance in at least four years, netting Pacquiao a secondary world title at welterweight along with a slew of renewed public interest in the boxing superstar’s career.

But what comes next for the only fighter in the history of boxing to capture world titles in eight different weight classes? TSS takes a detailed look at the potential opponents for one of the sport’s most celebrated stars.

Cream of the Crop

Pacquiao looked good enough against Matthysse to suggest he’d make a viable candidate to face either Terence Crawford or Vasyl Lomachenko next. Crawford is ranked No. 2 on the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board’s pound-for-pound list while Lomachenko slots at No. 1.

While Pacquiao is no longer under contract with longtime promoter Bob Arum at Top Rank, most industry insiders expect he will continue working with Arum’s team in some capacity so long as his career keeps moving forward. Pacquiao started his own promotional venture, MP Promotions, to co-promote the Matthysse bout with Oscar De La Hoya, but Top Rank was still involved in the fight which is why the bout ended up streaming on ESPN+.

Top Rank’s two hottest commodities at the present are Ring Magazine and WBA lightweight champ Lomachenko and welterweight titlist Crawford. Both are highly-regarded, multi-division world titleholders in the primes of their careers who are universally considered the top fighters in boxing.

Lomachenko and Crawford would each present a unique set of problems for Pacquiao stylistically. Of the two, Pacquiao probably matches up best with Lomachenko at this point in his career. Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs) is much larger and heavier than both Pacquiao and Lomachenko, and unless Pacquiao just really wants to test himself against someone incredibly dangerous, it’d probably be best for Team Pacquiao to avoid fighting Crawford at all costs. Crawford would be a heavy favorite against Pacquiao and most boxing insiders don’t believe this version of Pacquiao could compete with Crawford.

Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) is naturally smaller than Pacquiao and has never fought above 135 pounds. If Pacquiao could lure Lomachenko to 140 pounds or above, he’d find himself in a winnable fight against a top-notch opponent. Lomachenko would probably be the slight favorite based on age alone but Pacquiao’s power and athleticism would give him a realistic chance to pull the upset.

Other Notable Possibilities

Former junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan has long been angling for a bout against Pacquiao. Khan faces Samuel Vargas on Sept. 8 in another comeback bout against lower level competition. Khan (32-4, 20 KOs) bravely moved up to middleweight to fight Canelo Alvarez in 2016 but was knocked out in the sixth round. He left the sport for a spell but returned to boxing in February as a welterweight with a sensational first round knockout win over Phil Lo Greco. A win over Vargas puts Khan in good position to secure a bout with Pacquiao, and the fight is a reasonable move by both camps. Pacquiao would probably be the heavy favorite, but Khan’s speed and long reach give him a decent chance to pull the upset.

Former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn won a controversial decision over Pacquiao last year in Australia. The bout grabbed huge ratings for ESPN and there have been many debates since it happened as to which fighter truly deserved the nod from the judges. Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) doesn’t possess elite level talent, but he’s huge compared to Pacquiao and fights with such ferocity that the two can’t help but make an aesthetically pleasing fight together. Pacquiao would be the heavy favorite to defeat Horn if the two fight again.

Pacquiao vs. PBC fighters?

Boxing’s current political climate and the ongoing battle of promoters and television networks for the hearts and minds of boxing fans usually leaves many compelling fights between top level stars off the table. Fighters promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy are almost never able to secure bouts with fighters signed to Al Haymon to appear under the Premier Boxing Champions banner and vice versa. But Pacquiao’s free agent status opens up new and interesting possibilities for the fighter to pursue noteworthy PBC fighters.

There had been lots of chatter about Pacquiao facing Mikey Garcia next. Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) has been decimating competition at both lightweight and junior welterweight. Garcia is considered by most experts to be one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. He’s the TBRB junior welterweight champion and a unified lightweight titleholder (WBC, IBF). While Garcia is hoping to land a big money bout against IBF welterweight titleholder Errol Spence, most boxing experts believe the jump up to 147 pounds would be too much for the diminutive Garcia who began his career at featherweight. A better welterweight target for Garcia would be Pacquiao who also began his career in a much lower weight class.

Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) is probably the best of the PBC welterweights. He’s considered by many to be on par with Crawford at 147 so it would be an incredibly dangerous bout for Pacquiao to go after at this point in his career. But Spence is aggressive and fights in a style that Pacquiao traditionally matches up very well against. Spence would be the favorite based on size, age and skill.

Slightly less dangerous to Pacquiao would be facing the winner of the Sept. 8 battle between Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter. Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs) and Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) are fighting for the vacant WBC welterweight title and the possibility of capturing another world title in his career could sway Pacquiao to seek out the winner. Pacquiao could find himself a slight favorite or underdog depending on which of the two fighters he would face, but both would be winnable fights.

The WBA welterweight champion is Keith Thurman. Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) is a good boxer with tremendous power but Pacquiao’s speed and athleticism would probably give him the leg up in that potential matchup. Thurman hasn’t fought in over 16 months though and recent pictures suggest he’s not in fighting shape at the moment, so the likelihood of a Pacquiao vs. Thurman fight is pretty much nil.

Some fans want Pacquiao to face Adrien Broner. Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) is a solid contender at 147 but probably doesn’t have the skill to seriously compete with Pacquiao. Pacquiao would be a significant favorite and would likely stop Broner if the two were able to meet in a boxing ring.

Mayweather-Pacquiao 2?

Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015, but the circumstances surrounding the fight, and the fact it was the biggest box office bash in the history of the sport, have led many to suspect the two fighters would meet again in a rematch.

Yes, Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) is retired, but he’s unretired several times in his career for big money fights including last year’s crossover megafight with UFC star Conor McGregor. While it seems unlikely to happen, Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 would still be a huge worldwide event worth millions of dollars to both fighters so those following the sport can never say never to the idea of it happening again.

While Mayweather is 41, he’d still get the nod as the betting favorite should he fight Pacquiao again based on what happened in the first fight as well as his stylistic advantage over Pacquiao.

Pacquiao vs. McGregor?

McGregor’s bout against Mayweather last year was such a financial success and the MMA star made so much more money in the boxing ring than he did as a UFC fighter that the idea of him returning to the sport to face Pacquiao isn’t as far-fetched as one might think.

Pacquiao vs. McGregor would be an easy sell to the general public. According to CompuBox, McGregor landed more punches against Mayweather than did Pacquiao, and the general consensus is that Mayweather-McGregor was more fun to watch than Mayweather-Pacquiao.

The size difference between the two would lead to an easy promotion. McGregor is a junior middleweight and Pacquiao has only competed at the weight once back in 2010. Despite all that, Pacquiao would be a significant favorite to defeat McGregor and rightly so. He’s too fast and too good a boxer, and his aggressive style would likely lead to a stoppage win.

Pacquiao’s Top Targets

Pacquiao’s top targets should be Mayweather, McGregor and Lomachenko. Pacquiao would stand to make the most money facing either Mayweather or McGregor. Pacquiao’s reportedly injured shoulder heading into 2015 bout left many wondering how the fight might be different had the Filipino gone into things at his best, and Mayweather’s age might play more of a factor in the second fight than it did in the first. A Pacquiao-McGregor fight would be a worldwide spectacle, one Pacquiao would be heavily favored to win. Besides, it’d be interesting to see if Pacquiao could stop McGregor sooner than historical rival Mayweather. Finally, Lomachenko might be trying to climb up weight classes too fast, and Pacquiao would certainly be fit to test the validity of that theory. It’d be one of the biggest fights in boxing and a win for Pacquiao would be another huge feather in the cap of one of boxing’s true historically great champions.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!