Pacquiao makes the wrong move

 

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

anny Pacquiao has a chance

to carve out a place for

himself as one of the greatest
fighters in history. The 31-year-old
Filipino, who right now is in a class all
by himself as the hottest boxer on the
planet in any weight class, has breathed
life into his sport with thrilling wins
over such stars as Oscar de la Hoya,
Ricky Hatton and most recently Miguel
Cotto. He’s looked stronger and faster
in each bout and has been the talk of not
just the boxing world, but all of sports
as well.

That talk only intensified when it
was announced that Pacquiao would
square off against the undefeated and
now un-retired Floyd eos who

was fresh off his complete domination
of Juan Manuel Marquez. Since the
retirement of de la Hoya, Mayweather
had become the undisputed biggest
name in boxing, but Pacquiao now
easily rivals or even exceeds him in that
regard. Suffice it to say, Pacquiao vs.
Mayweather is a dream match that has
the potential to be the biggest drawing
match in the history of boxing, and
draw in millions of new fans.
Unfortunately, the bout fell apart
over drug testing regulations imposed
by Mayweather’s camp. Now, while
that fight may very well take place
sometime down the road (there is just
too much money at stake for everyone
involved) it won’t happen anytime
soon; at the earliest, towards the end of
2010. Mayweather has been in talks to

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Coyoie Ugly on the bar Friday ‘ale

fight Shane Mosely while Pacquiao has
already moved on from Mayweather,
scheduling a bout with Joshua Clottey.

While Clottey is undoubtedly a
good fighter, he’s scored a big win
over Zab Judah, this fight is hardly a
draw, and that’s the absolute wrong for
Pacquiao to take on at this stage in his
career. Clottey, who at age 33 could be
on the downswing of his career, will
have been out of action for a full nine
months by the time he fights Pacquiao,
and is coming off a hard fought loss to
Cotto.

When it comes to selling pay-
per-views though, this one won’t blow
anyone away. It is generally assumed
that Pacquiao will take Clottey apart
and for most fans watching Pacquiao
fight the guy who was beaten by
Cotto, who Pacquiao just took apart,
isn’t all that appealing, especially
after the promise of a mega-fight with
Mayweather, where nobody would
have any clue who would win.

One of the major criticisms of
boxing these days is that far too many
fighters, unlike their counterparts in
MMA, have their records padded
with easy victories against inferior
opponents and while Clottey is a

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great fighter in his own right, most
would agree that he isn’t even close
to Pacquiao’s level. With Mayweather
now unwilling to fight Pacquiao, the
Filipino would have been able to get
so much more out of his marketability
by taking on someone like the

current WBA super-welterweight and

. sometimes super-middleweight fighter

Yuri Foreman. Would that have been
another step up in weight for Pacquio?
Yes it would, but that has become
one of his biggest selling points, that
he’s the only man in history to win
a championship in seven different
weight classes over the course of his
career. And in today’s world of boxing,
where an alphabet soup of titles at all
classes has severely watered down the
credibility of those belts, Pacquiao
fighting bigger and heavier opponents
makes them mean something again.
Sooner or later, we will see
Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. But until
that historic day comes Pacquiao, and
boxing in general, would be better
served by seeing him fighting boxers
that can be major box office draws.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case with
Joshua Clottey.

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