CHASING MANNY

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.

Miguel Cotto’s status as front runner in the Pacquiao sweepstakes has not discouraged Shane Mosley from chasing the Filipino IBO/Ring magazine world jr.welterweight champion. This poses an interesting question – Will Sugar Shane be too sweet for the Pacman?

The current WBA welterweight champ does have the best credentials. He is a future Hall of Famer who beat a prime Oscar dela Hoya twice. In his last fight, he gave the feared Antonio Margarito a one-sided beating. Mosley has held world titles at three different weights including unifying the jr. middleweight division five years ago. He is currently ranked number four in Ring magazine’s pound per pound rankings.

Mosley can neutralize Pacquiao’s best asset – his speed. He is a natural welterweight and at 5’9” would have the size advantage. He has the skills to outbox and outmaneuver Pacquiao. He has the power to make Pacquiao respect him and can take a good punch. The last time he was really hurt was seven years ago against Vernon Forrest.

The 37 year old Mosley (46W-5L-1D, 39 KO’s) has indicated that he is willing to concede purse shares and fight at a catch weight He even has an ongoing internet survey as to who the fans want to face the Pacman next. The only thing he hasn’t said so far is that he’ll face Pacquiao in Gen.Santos or Sarangani. Mosley would not be this “desperate” unless he has the unshakeable belief that he can beat Pacquiao.

The current favorite, WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto is ranked number nine in the Ring’s pound per pound list. He beat Mosley by unanimous decision November 2007. Cotto has called out Pacquiao prior to the Ricky Hatton bout and said that he wanted to fight the winner. He does not have Hatton’s porous defense and can take a good punch. The Puerto Rican is also an excellent body puncher. He squeaked past Joshua Clottey in his last title defense and suffered cuts. If negotiations do not hit a snag, he will get to face Pacquiao tentatively in November.

Juan Manuel Marquez chased Pacquiao all the way to Manila after losing a narrow split decision in their second epic contest. All he got was a lot of bad press in the Philippines. He is ranked second to Pacquiao in almost all pound per pound lists. He was on the cover of Ring magazine last month where he declared that he doesn’t think he is the best till he beats Pacquiao.

The Mexican is a three division world champ and holds the bragging rights of having got up four times after being knocked down by Pacquiao and pushed him to the brink for twenty four total rounds. In an ideal and just world, there should be a trilogy.

Marquez’ landed a big fight with the returning Floyd Mayweather, Jr. but the fight is now in limbo after the American’s rib injury.

Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO’s) is the former number one pound per pound best boxer in the world before he “retired”. The undefeated 32 year old has held titles from 130 to 147 lbs. He has not lost since the 1996 Olympics. His outspoken personality has made him a fan favorite to face Pacquiao. His narcissism, however, will make it difficult during negotiations.

Mayweather is a slick boxer and has beaten the best; stars like Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, and Zab Judah. He did beat Hatton and Dela Hoya before Pacquiao did. But he was not a pay per view attraction before he faced and beat Arturo Gatti in 2005. Fans booed him even when he was winning every round.

Mayweather’s speed and skills will be a match for Pacquiao. But he now has to hurdle his injury as well as Marquez. Pacquiao may not hang around long enough as he has made public his plan to run for congress next year.

There are also two Australians who want to fight Pacquiao:

WBO Asia-Pacific Lightweight titlist Michael Katsidis was in Manila last June 5 to issue his formal challenge. He is the only one willing to face Pacquiao in Manila. The only chance he has is if negotiations for the above fighters will fall through and if Pacquiao decides to have a “farewell fight” on home soil. That is pretty slim at this point.

Vic Darchinyan has also called out the Pacman. The unified superflyweight world champ is ranked number 9 in the Ring’s pound per pound list. He is best remembered by Filipino fans for losing to Nonito Donaire by 5th round TKO in what was 2007’s upset and KO of the year. He also suffered a knockdown in his draw against Z Gorres in Cebu. He beat the very popular Jorge Arce last February by 11th round stoppage in a brutal contest. Darchinyan is moving up to bantamweight to challenge IBF Champion Joseph Agbeko. He will still be 22 pounds below Pacquiao’s present fighting weight.

All of these fighters will also have to contend with the fact that Pacquiao will retire in 2010 and pursue his political plans. Will 2009 really be his last year as a prizefighter or will he have a January 2010 bout? Is the Philippines ready to give up its boxing icon to politics? These are intriguing questions that will be answered in the coming months.

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