What’s Manny Pacquiao Fighting For?

Published

10 years ago

March 13, 2014

At the end of the first installment of NBA great Steve Nash’s fascinating film project to document the end of his career, the 40-year old two-time NBA MVP says something truly special: “Every athlete, when they lose their skill, they lose a big part of themselves. A part they’ve built their life around and that’s been a huge part of their purpose, self-esteem, identity; so when the skill or ability goes, it’s like there’s been a death.”

As a boxing fan, it’s impossible to follow the Nash story and not think of the similar struggle facing aging boxers, who in most cases have more concerning adverse health effects to deal with a basketball player. Although stars like Mayweather, Sergio Martinez, and Bernard Hopkins are all older than Manny Pacquiao, because of the attrition from his long and violent career, he’s the first boxer I put in the Nash category.

I’m not here to announce that Manny Pacquiao is done or that he should retire. But you have to wonder, what else does he have to prove?

He’s beaten everyone he’s been matched against (ahem, C.J. Ross) from flyweight through welterweight, he’s a surefire Hall of Famer and a former number one pound-for-pound, he’s launched a successful political career in his homeland of the Philippines, and most importantly, on the strength of his high-beam smile, he’s achieved the impossible of becoming an Asian superstar that has crossed over into worldwide celebrity. Even if recent reports about Pacquiao’s financial troubles are true, he has the profile and brand to always make a robust living without getting punched in the brain by naturally bigger men.

After Juan Manuel Marquez finally bested his long-time rival with a perfect, hidden right to the advancing Pacquiao’s chin in December 2012, there was instant speculation that he may soon retire. Lying nearly motionless in a heap on the canvas for several minutes will do that to any boxer, let alone a champion just handed his second consecutive loss. His wife Jinkee joined the chorus of cautious observers and urged him to retire, telling reporters “there is nothing to prove, he already has eight belts.” More concerning was the credible medical speculation (http://www.badlefthook.com/2013/1/3/3831828/manny-pacquiao-early-signs-parkinsons-alzheimers-filipino-doctors-worry-boxing-news) coming in after the knockout, that Pacquiao was showing early signs of Parkinsons and serious brain injury.

So why in the world is he still here? The easiest answer lies within the Steven Nash quote above, the bit about identity. Absorbing punishment and punching the other man in the nose has brought attention and fame beyond what any malnourished child in Sarangani province could have possibly dreamed. There has to be a fear, even if a subconscious one, that if he walks away from boxing the changes he’s marked in his own life would crumble back into the dust of home. It’s amazing to ponder that a boxer might have more fear over leaving the ring than entering it, but that’s where Pacquiao has to find himself these days.

Let’s not forget we’re talking about the thirteen year old kid who tattooed himself a boxing glove over his heart after becoming hooked on the sport in General Santos City. Boxing defines him as much as he has defined boxing as the most electrifying performer of his generation. Perhaps he’s become more motivated since the knockout, that he looks at himself in the mirror and sees a fit and strong 35 year old dude who wants to prove that he’s not done. He sees an opportunity to augment and deepen his legacy.

Another possibility is that he is, in fact, readying himself for retirement and wants to gain some fairy tale-like closure and go out as ring king. There’s only one way for him to really achieve that kind of closure and that would be to beat Tim Bradley definitively next month, and then finish his contract with Top Rank with one more fight in 2014 so that he could free himself from Bob Arum and better position himself for a showdown with You-Know-Who in May 2015. They won’t be as old as Stallone and DeNiro, but the grudge match between the aging Mayweather and Pacquiao would smash any Hollywood box office and give fight fans their own sense of closure after the five years of bullshit that have prevented the sport from its best potential showcase.

If that’s the goal, his work is cut out for him. Sure he looked good against Rios (for whom else is Brandon Rios just a tune-up fight?), but he was supposed to look good against Rios. An early kayo would have done wonders. There’s a reason why Coach Roach has been beating the knockout drum around Manny so loudly.

Knocking out the man who remained upright amidst the hell-fire from Ruslan Provodnikov will go a long way in restoring the Pacman’s luster. It’s a tall order, but why would he duck a tough assignment now? After all, that’s been the abiding joy in following Pacquiao’s career, his ability to consistently step up and face bigger and badder opposition from 112 all the way to 147 and find different and brilliant ways to win.

No one has ever doubted his courage and heart in the ring, but courage and heart won’t make his feet and hands any faster. How long will it be until we see him run on fumes? There’s nothing sadder than a boxer fighting past his prime, milking the sport for every drop of money and attention it can provide.

Underneath the smile and resiliency that have made him great, Pacquiao, like Steve Nash and Beowulf before him, has to be facing his own mortality.

Steve Nash is lucky in this regard. Boxing is a far more cruel sport to get old in, it only takes one punch for the years to instantly show, for a career to irrevocably end in a beating where years of fighter’s life are mercilessly excised. I’m still not convinced we haven’t already seen Pacquiao take that punch.

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Aaron Lowinger

Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

Published

6 hours ago

September 26, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Canelo-Charlo-Gets-All-the-Ink-but-Don't-Overlook-This-Compelling-Match-in-Turkey

Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

The eyes of the boxing world will be on Las Vegas this Saturday where Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez risks his four super middleweight title belts against unified 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo. Earlier that day at a luxury resort hotel in the city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, there’s a heavyweight match sitting under the radar that may prove to be the better fight. It’s an intriguing match-up between former world cruiserweight title-holder Murat Gassiev and Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin, a bout with significant ramifications for boxing’s glamour division.

Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs) and Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs) have only one loss, but those setbacks came against the top dogs in the division. Gassiev was out-boxed by Oleksandr Usyk back in the days when both were cruiserweights. Wallin gave Tyson Fury a world of trouble before losing a unanimous decision.

Since those fights, both have been treading water.

Gassiev

Gassiev was inactive for 27 months after his match with Usyk while dealing with legal issues and an injury to his left shoulder. He is 4-0 (4 KOs) since returning to the ring while answering the bell for only eight rounds. The only recognizable name among those four victims is German gatekeeper Michael Wallisch. After stopping Wallisch, Gassiev was out of action for another 13 months while reportedly dealing with an arm injury.

A first-round knockout of Carlouse Welch, an obscure 40-something boxer from the U.S. state of Georgia on Aug. 26, 2022, in Belgrade, Serbia, was promoted as a title fight. The sanctioning body was the Eurasian Boxing Parliament (insert your own punchline here). Gassiev followed that up with a second-round knockout of former NFL linebacker Mike Balogun who came in undefeated and was seemingly a legitimate threat to him.

Although he has yet to fight a ranked opponent since leaving the cruiserweight division, Gassiev — a former stablemate of Gennady Golovkin who has been living in Big Bear, California, training under Abel Sanchez – is one of the most respected fighters in the division because he has one-punch knockout power as Balogun and others can well attest. The rub against the Russian-Armenian bruiser is that he is somewhat robotic.

Wallin

Otto Wallin, a 32-year-old southpaw from Sweden who trains in New York under former world lightweight champion Joey Gamache, fought Tyson Fury on Sept. 14, 2019 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There was a general feeling that the Swede would be a stroll in the park for Fury, but to the contrary, he gave the Gypsy King a hard tussle while losing a unanimous decision.

Wallin is 5-0 since that night beginning with victories over Travis Kauffman (KO 5) and Dominic Breazeale (UD 12), but his last three opponents were softer than soft and all three lasted the distance. In order, Wallin won an 8-round decision over Kamil Sokolowski, who was 11-24-2 heading in, won a 10-round decision over ancient Rydell Booker, and won an 8-round decision over Helaman Olguin. His bout with Utah trial horse Olguin was at a banquet hall in Windham, New Hampshire.

It isn’t that Wallin has been avoiding the top names in the division; it’s the other way around. His promoter Dmitriy Salita reportedly came close to getting Wallin a match with Anthony Joshua whose team had second thoughts about sending Joshua in against another southpaw after back-to-back setbacks to Oleksandr Usyk.

Gassiev vs Wallin is a true crossroads fight. Both are in dire need of a win over a credible opponent. At last look, Gassiev, who figures to have the crowd in his corner, was a 3/1 favorite.

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

Applerose2

In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Tedious-Fights-and-a-Controversial-Draw-Smudge-the-Matchroom-Boxing-Card-in-Orlando

Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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