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Remembering Jerry Quarry: The ‘Bridesmaid’ in a Golden Era of Heavyweights
On Tuesday, May 15, Jerry Quarry would have celebrated his 73rd birthday. Quarry was never the heavyweight champion of the world, but he sure fought like one
On Tuesday, May 15, Jerry Quarry would have celebrated his 73rd birthday. Quarry was never the heavyweight champion of the world, but he sure fought like one. Relatively short for a heavyweight at six-feet and weighing roughly 190 pounds, Quarry was all heart.
Quarry competed against some of the sport’s true giants. Covering a span beginning March 1967 and running through November 1977, Quarry, who fought four times for the title, squared off against Brian London, Floyd Patterson, Thad Spencer, Jimmy Ellis, Buster Mathis, Joe Frazier, George Chuvalo, Mac Foster, Muhammad Ali, Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Lorenzo Zanon.
While some were at the end of their careers and others at their peak, Quarry, armed with a devastating left hook, counterpunching ability with both hands, rugged chin and a willingness to give it his all, cemented his legacy.
It’s been said that perhaps in a different era, Quarry would have made it to the mountain top.
That Quarry, who closed his professional career with 53 wins, nine losses and four draws with 32 knockouts, was eager to fight the best helped his popularity. He was named The Ring magazine’s No. 1 fan favorite between 1968 and 1971.
Like many boxers before him, Quarry, the No. 1 heavyweight contender three times, came from distinctly humble beginnings.
Born in Bakersfield, about 115 miles north of Los Angeles, in 1945, the family moved to Bellflower, a Los Angeles suburb, when Quarry was just a boy.
Quarry’s father, Jack, was a boxer as were brothers Bobby and Mike. One could say it was the family business.
Quarry was once asked if he made the correct career choice. “Would I do it all over again?,” he said in 1990, nine years before his passing. “When I started in 1965, I was changing Greyhound bus tires for a living, bringing home $99.50 a week. You damned well know I’d go back into boxing.”
At an early age, Quarry showed extreme promise. It began as an amateur when the soon-to-be nicknamed “Bellflower Bomber,” started mowing down the competition in the more than 200 bouts he had that included a National Golden Gloves championship.
The next logical step was turning pro, which he did eight days shy of his 20th birthday when he faced Gene Hamilton at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
That night, Quarry won his initial fight, a four-rounder on points, which kick-started a 20-fight unbeaten streak.
The skein ended when the young Irishman walked into the ring against Eddie Machen at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
In attendance was Rocky Marciano, who came to Southern California with designs on perhaps managing Quarry.
The one-time undefeated heavyweight king from Brockton, Massachusetts, left before the conclusion of the fight as Quarry fell prey, losing a 10-round unanimous decision to the more seasoned veteran, who went by the moniker “The Old Professor.”
Quarry then took on London in March 1967 at the same venue and earned a unanimous decision triumph over 10 rounds.
Three months later, Quarry met the two-time heavyweight champion Patterson.
Across 10 rounds at the Coliseum, it was a veritable war as Patterson went down twice in the second round and Quarry once in the seventh. In the end, it was ruled a majority draw.
Around this time, Ali refused induction into the Army and was stripped of his title and not allowed to box.
Consequently, the World Boxing Association held a heavyweight tournament to determine the new champion.
In October 1967, Patterson and Quarry faced off in an elimination bout at the Olympic. This time, Quarry proved superior, knocking down the Brooklyn native in the second and fourth rounds and ultimately taking a majority decision in the scheduled 12-rounder.
Four months later, Quarry, who was managed by his father and Johnny Flores and later Gil Clancy, would have a go-around with Spencer at the Oakland Arena in a WBA elimination fight.
Quarry passed this test, knocking down Spencer in the fourth and 10th rounds and garnered a technical knockout victory in the 12th round.
In April 1968 at the same locale, Quarry stood toe-to-toe with Ellis, a one-time Ali sparring partner with the WBA title on the line.
In his biggest fight to this point, Quarry couldn’t get past the slick and sharp-punching Ellis, losing a 15-round majority decision.
Quarry then cruised into the ring with Mathis in March 1969 at Madison Square Garden.
After decking the “big man” in the second round, Quarry captured a 12-round unanimous decision.
Frazier awaited Quarry three months later at the “world’s most famous arena,” and the two absorbed enough punishment to last a lifetime in this New York State Athletic Commission title bash.
Cut, bruised and battered, the bout was halted in the seventh round. So good was the scheduled 15-rounder that The Ring magazine voted it “Fight of the Year.”
Afterward, Quarry was philosophical. “They never thought I had a heart till that fight,” he said. “Damned shame I had to show ’em that way.”
Frazier knew Quarry had no quit in him despite his early departure. “He’s a very tough man,” said Frazier, who himself was blessed with a pulverizing left hook. “He could have been a world champion, but he cut too easily,” he said of Quarry who was elected to the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
Thirty months after taking on London the first time, the pair met at the Oakland Arena.
This time it was short and sweet as Quarry floored London twice in the second frame which halted matters.
Three months later Quarry and Chuvalo, a tough Canadian, faced off at the Garden, and a left hook by Chuvalo to Quarry’s head in the seventh round capped the fight.
Foster was next for Quarry in June 1970, again at the Garden, and saw the young Californian deliver significant punishment to Foster in the fifth and a knockout in the sixth round. Coming in, Foster was undefeated and had won all 24 of his pro bouts by knockout.
After being inactive for three and a half years, Ali finally returned to the ring in October 1970.
The city was Atlanta and the opponent was Quarry, who made $338,000, the biggest payday of his career.
It didn’t last long, three rounds, and came to a close because of cuts on a TKO. An accidental head butt over Quarry’s left eye didn’t help matters.
These two would meet in June 1972 at the Las Vegas Convention Center with the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight belt up for grabs.
This time the fight would last seven rounds and Ali would prevail via a TKO.
Afterward Quarry said he was distracted when his younger brother Mike, fighting in the chief undercard bout, was seriously hurt as Bob Foster administered a fourth-round knockout with the WBA and WBC light heavyweight belts on the table.
“I watched it on the monitor in the dressing room and it totally destroyed everything I wanted to do,” Quarry said. “I thought he killed my brother.”
Quarry then faced Lyle, a hard-hitter in February 1973 in New York City and hurt him in the fifth and eighth rounds and eventually earned a 12-round unanimous decision.
A meeting with Shavers, who Ali said was the hardest hitter he faced, was next in December 1973 at the Mecca of boxing.
In short order, Quarry belted Shavers with a crisp left hand and felled him with a solid right that ended the bout in the first round.
A second fight with Frazier took place in June 1974 at the Garden and once again it wasn’t to be for Quarry, who lost on a TKO in the fifth round.
Norton awaited Quarry in March 1975 in the “Big Apple” with the vacant NABF belt at stake.
Once again, Quarry came out on the short end, losing on a fifth-round TKO, but wasn’t done just yet.
This time Quarry would meet up with Lorenzo Zanon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in November 1977. Quarry would lose every round on the judges’ cards until the eighth but would prevail, winning by TKO in the ninth.
At this juncture and 32 years old, Quarry decided to retire from the sport, but would change his mind and enter the ring six years later.
When he did, in August 1983, he took on Lupe Guerra at the Albuquerque Civic Auditorium and it ended with a left hook and a TKO win in the opening round.
A majority decision victory by Quarry over 10 rounds against James Williams three months later at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield followed.
Then Quarry retired again. He stayed away for nine years before getting into the ring one final time.
Quarry’s last fight came against Ron Cranmer in Aurora, Colorado, in October 1992 at age 47.
For his services, Quarry was paid slightly more than a thousand dollars. Like so many greats and near-greats before him, the six-round clash would see Quarry lose, on a unanimous decision.
Quarry’s reflexes were gone, but certainly not his enormous heart that helped him pull through so many blistering ring battles.
During his career, Quarry earned $2.1 million, but most of the money was spent and eventually he was sideswiped by that ugly demon, pugilistic dementia.
Near the end of his life, which came on January 3, 1999, at the age of 53 in Templeton, California, Quarry was reflective about his time in the ring. He summed up his feelings in a poem: “I’ve been in the ring with the best of all men/Some say the best of all time/I gave my all, round after round/And the world knows I tried/I fought with heart/But needed much more/A bridesmaid but never a bride.”
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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
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
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.
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