Who’s is going to face Pacquiao?
So it’s not going to be Floyd Mayweather Jnr, that has now been thoroughly established. Yet the November 13th fight remains, which begs the question, just who will be the brave warrior prepared to duel with Manny Pacquiao, sans random drug testing?
Here are the candidates.
Miguel Cotto
A rematch with Miguel Cotto is the early favourite purely because, like Pacquiao, he fights out of Bob Arum’s Top Rank stable. That’s about the only reason why you could see him in the ring with “Pacman” again and everybody knows the way Arum’s mind works.
Sure Cotto is a first-class boxer, he is a gritty and tough individual, but it was only last November Pacquiao obliterated him, and nothing suggests the same thing won’t happen again.
It was one of those fights that could have done lasting damage to a fighter, Cotto cuts easy now and should really be looking elsewhere for a challenge; he’s arguably on the slide and his best days maybe behind him.
Since that fateful night Cotto has reinvented himself as a light-middleweight and took a one-legged Yuri Foreman to school to secure his fourth world championship in three weight divisions. It’s unlikely he will stay at that level as it’s a bit of a reach for him, but he is a warrior and will want someone like Kermit Cintron or Sergio Martinez at a catch-weight or a young prospect like Julio Caesar
Chavez Jnr.
Arum and “Junito” will fancy the rematch, but it could be another disastrous night for the Puerto Rican.
Antonio Margarito
If Antonio Margarito gets this shot it’s a disgrace. Another of Arum’s stooges, Margarito is currently unable to even fight in Las Vegas after being caught with plaster in his gloves prior to the Shane Mosley bout and having his licence revoked.
It would really sum up the way boxing has gone if he gets this opportunity. He has always proclaimed his innocence and said he didn’t know about it, but ignorance isn’t an excuse. Any boxer who gets caught with loaded gloves shouldn’t be allowed to fight again. Who knows how many fights he fought like that?
This would not be a popular decision with many boxing fans.
Timothy Bradley Jnr
Right now Timothy Bradley Jnr is the biggest prospect in town. “Desert Storm” tried welterweight out for size on the weekend, with mixed results. His opponent was Luis Carlos Abregu who is a decent fighter, certainly no journeyman and he put on a stern challenge for the WBO light-welterweight champion over the course of 12 rounds.
Bradley is a very tactical fighter, a real thinker. The obvious problem going up is always going to be height and reach and although at times Bradley looked to be struggling with Abregu’s jab, he still worked a way round and took a hard fought but comprehensive decision after landing some decent shots.
Bradley will probably be reluctant to move up to welterweight for good right now. He has the likes of Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana and Amir Khan to beat at light-welter first and will probably look at making the permanent move up in about two years at which point a fight against Pacman could be a viable option, if Pacquiao is not prime minister of the Philippines by then.
Andre Berto
The undefeated American is apparently good friends with Pacquiao which may put the skids under this one, but it would certainly be a great match-up.
Berto is tough and fast and would certainly not be another Joshua Clottey. In fact the contrast in styles would be fantastic, “The Beast” and Pacquiao would go toe-to-toe and it would be a thrilling spectacle.
The only worry is Berto is still lacking a bit in big-fight experience. His biggest wins have come against Juan Urango and Carlos Quintana while a prospective bout against “Sugar” Shane Mosley fell apart after Berto had to go to Haiti to visit family and help after the earthquake struck two weeks before the bout was scheduled.
This would certainly be a popular decision among the boxing fans.
Amir Khan
Amir Khan is seen as "mini-Manny" in many people’s eyes. A fellow speedster and member of Freddie Roach’s Wildcard gym often sparring with Pacman and sighting him as a major influence and role model, he is more Pacquiao’s successor than opponent.
Despite being around for a long time and holding the WBA 140lbs title, Khan has yet to fight anyone you would describe as “the elite” of the sport. However he now seems ready to embark on that stage of his career and looks likely to take on the winner of Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz.
It’s too soon for Khan to face Pacquiao right now, but perhaps a passing of the flame bout in the future could be an outside possibility.
As well as these guys there’s the likes of Sergio Martínez who has said he would be interested, Paul Williams will fight anyone, but will get over looked again, while on the outside Zab Judah’s back and Shane Mosley will want to prove he can still mix it up after being flattened by Mayweather in May.
It’ll be a massively underwhelming match-up again Cotto or Margarito though. Good old predictable boxing never lets you down.
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