Pacquiao is Starting to Waver on Retirement After Bradley

Published

9 years ago

March 13, 2016

By Frank Lotierzo

He's said it; his longtime promoter has said it and the fans believe it. And that is that Manny Pacquiao's upcoming welterweight bout with Timothy Bradley on April 9th will be his last. And that’s because the eight division title holder is running for a Senate seat in his native Philippines where his poll numbers are declining. Some believe Pacquiao's dip in the polls is a result of his anti-gay comments which he later retracted.

Other pundits have inferred that due to Pacquiao's chances for a Senate seat being up in the air, he might decide to continue his stellar boxing career based on his recent statements.

“I don’t know,” Pacquiao said at a press conference. “at that time, God willing, I’ll be a senator in the Philippines and I’ll ask the people of the Philippines if they’ll allow it. My attention and focus is to serve the people. I’ll ask the people if they agree to that.”

Since making that statement it’s been repeated why Pacquiao has plenty of reasons to retire even if he doesn't become a senator, such as….”he’s taken plenty of punishment over the years, having 65 fights since he turned pro in 1995. Having won titles in eight different weight classes, there isn’t much more for him to accomplish.”

Yes, the above is true, but what was left out is the little fact that Manny Pacquiao is a fighter first above all else. Some analysts don’t grasp how deep that runs. Regardless of his words, Manny Pacquiao is a fighter down to his core and still a relatively great one who still attracts millions of spectators when he fights while being paid millions of dollars when he steps into the ring. Pacquiao may be a gracious man and truly wants to help his country, but he is a fighter first.

In his last bout Manny was beaten conclusively by Floyd Mayweather. And in reality he wasn't even Floyd's toughest fight, but it must be noted that despite losing, he didn't absorb anything close to the type of punishment where one would consider him damaged goods. It just so happened that Mayweather had the style, reach and speed to neutralize Pacquiao's sporadic southpaw aggression. Mayweather will beat Pacquiao every day of the week, but that doesn't mean Pacquiao is finished and his days of being a world class fighter are in the rear view mirror. Granted, Manny isn't the same fighter he was five years ago but he can still beat and compete with other elite welterweights vying to emerge as the marque man at 147.

If Pacquiao could write the perfect script, he'd fight Mayweather again and try to avenge losing to him 10 months ago. But he knows deep down that Floyd isn't going to step in the ring with him again and he certainly isn't going to let Mayweather dictate whether or not he continues on with his career.

In order for Pacquiao to continue fighting for millions of dollars, he must beat Bradley next month, and it would be a real shot in the arm if he did it in a convincing manner. He surely wants to erase the stench of the Mayweather setback and a sensational performance against Bradley would align him to be in position to knock off the fighter who looks to be the next Mayweather, Terence Crawford. Crawford is a beautiful boxer who can fight as the attacker and seek the knockout if he chooses to. It’s not a given yet but Crawford looks to be the genuine article. That said, Crawford is not without his detractors who mock his level of opposition after each impressive outing.

Crawford's most impressive performance to date came against Yuriorkis Gamboa, 23-0 at the time, a little over a year and a half ago. His detractors say Crawford's showing was more the case of Terence being a weight class or two bigger than Gamboa than it was a case of him being such a special fighter. In order for Crawford to escape the perception that he's fighting handpicked opposition the likes of Raymundo Beltran, Thomas Dulorme, Dierry Jean and Hank Lundy, his last four opponents, Crawford needs a big name opponent with a large following to mark his official arrival to the big time.

Adrien Broner would fit the bill ideally, but I think it's obvious Broner doesn't even want to be on the same side of the street as Crawford. Viktor Postol 28-0, who holds the WBC super-lightweight title, would be acceptable, but if Crawford takes Postol apart, it'll be said by his detractors that Postol was a paper champ who hadn't fought anyone noteworthy until fighting Crawford. And if you can believe it, there's a lot of chatter in regards to Crawford fighting Ruslan Provodnikov, 25-4, in his next bout which has Mayweather-Gatti written all over it.

As you can see, based on who's out there for Crawford to fight, Manny Pacquiao is the only one who can put him in front of a worldwide audience to showcase his skills. As for Pacquiao, aside from Crawford, he could fight Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia who are both undefeated, and they also would be PPV attractions. But not for the same money he'd earn fighting Crawford because Terence is seen as the most skilled and gifted boxer in the sport. Pacquiao would like to make the Mayweather outing a distant memory to boxing observers, and the best way he can do that is to take on the next Mayweather-esque opponent on the rise and administer him his first defeat.

I think the reality is, and it's starting to slip out, Pacquiao knows if he beats Bradley in a way in which there's no doubt as to who the better man was, he'll still be a draw and in line for a few more multi-million dollar bouts. Call it a hunch, but I believe Manny likes and needs the money and walking away from piles of it still on the table is something he can't and won't do — assuming he defeats Bradley next month, which certainly isn't a foregone conclusion.

Let me add one small caveat in closing – If Pacquiao looks sensational in beating Bradley, and then indicates he wants to fight further, his promoter Bob Arum might back off on pushing for the Crawford bout right away. If there are two PPV wins available to Manny (Garcia and Thurman) before having to deal with Crawford, Arum will promote those instead, meanwhile continuing to build Crawford up, moving the two fighters on a collision course for mid-2017.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

2 days ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

2 days ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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