By Norm Fraunheim-
He’s been Pac-Man and Congressman. Honorific titles and belted ones are all part of his resume. He been called just about everything, including a few that are four-letters long. Hey, nobody wins them all, and Senator Manny Pacquiao hasn’t. He has heard it all, and some would say done it all.
But an eight-time champion in boxing’s various weight classes and a two-time Filipino office-holder is not finished. His comeback continues July 20 against Keith Thurman. Maybe, we shouldn’t be surprised. Pacquiao’s evident generosity and his day job as a Filipino politician seemingly needs an inexhaustible revenue stream. That means boxing. It’s what he has known for just about as long as he’s been alive.
It fed him when he was a starving teenager fighting for a few pesos on Filipino streets. Then, it made him rich enough to run for office. For a couple of years, he was one of the highest-earning athletes in the world.
Of course, he is back for more and he’ll be there for as long as his dangerous craft produces the kind of money he couldn’t get anywhere else. But here’s reason to fear the second part of that equation. The bigger the bucks, the bigger danger.
By all accounts, Pacquiao will collect a $20-million guarantee against Thurman in a PBC bout at Las Vegas MGM Grand. That’s more than enough money to convince Pacquiao to seek some more if he beats Thurman. Will he? Maybe. Can he? Definitely. At last check, Pacquiao is a slight underdog to Thurman, who is about a decade younger than the 40-year-old Filipino.
But odds for this welterweight fight are hard to judge, despite Thurman’s bold words. He has promised to end Pacquiao’s career in much the same way that the Filipino finished Oscar De La Hoya’s long run in a 2008 stunner. Actually, Thurman has done more than promise. He’s gone biblical.
“I know he likes to quote Bible verses,’’ Thurman said to his elder this week during promotional stops in New York and Los Angeles. “So, I’ll let you know:
“He’s getting crucified.’’
Maybe, but don’t bet on it, not after Thurman’s uninspiring performance in winning a majority decision over Josesito Lopez January 26 in his first bout in nearly two years. Maybe, it was just inertia, the so-called rust from extended inactivity. Still, the bout left question about whether the welterweight called One Time was beyond prime time because of injuries.
To be fair, it’s also hard to judge Pacquiao. He beat Adrien Broner in his last outing January 19. But Broner didn’t throw many more punches than a ring post. He posed and postured. In terms of aggression and willingness to fight, Pacquiao looked good. But Broner offered nothing. It was an exhibition of a Pacquiao still mobile and quick. But it wasn’t a fight.
It’s hard to say what might happen if the “One Time” Thurman shows up. He might connect with Pacquiao’s jaw the way Juan Manuel Marquez did in that stunning 2012 KO. If so, he might be doing Pacquiao a favor. For now, there’s no sign that Pacquiao will ever get a rematch with a guy closer to his age. Pacquiao keeps mentioning Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him in the much-hyped revenue record-setter in 2015.
But Mayweather has not said or done anything that indicates he’s interested. Like him or not, Mayweather is still the smartest guy in the room.
Without the Mayweather possibility, a Pacquiao victory puts him in line for Errol Spence Jr., the PBC star who scored a dominant decision over pound-for-pound contender Mikey Garcia in March. Spence might not be the world’s most skilled welterweight. From this perspective, the most varied skillset at 147 pounds still rests in Terence Crawford’s dangerous hands. But that’s a different argument for a different day.
There’s no debate about size and power. Spence has more of that than anybody in the division, more than enough to really hurt Pacquiao. It’s not worth the risk, no matter how big the reward.