Pacquiao wins, but what’s next?

Alexander the Great famously wept because he had no more worlds to conquer; he died at the age of 33 in Babylon, having brought his men from Greece to India (not to mention halfway back again). Manny Pacquiao is 32, and neither weeping or indeed dead, but there was nonetheless a certain sense of frustration evident following his latest victory in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Filipino superstar, who enjoys massive popularity stateside (see right, and marvel), dominated a Shane Mosley who only dealt with questions over his having faded with age by practically refusing to fight back at all.

In the end, the fight was a one-sided affair. Both men were feeling each other out in the early rounds, before Pacquiao stepped in towards an over-advanced Mosley and knocked him down with a left hand that appeared to take “Sugar” Shane completely aback. The knockdown completely obliterated any gameplan Mosley may have had, and the veteran, who is known for his heart and general willingness to trade shots, was reduced to simply trying to stay out of Pacquiao’s way, not seeming to care that he was throwing away round after round. Pacquiao’s movement was enough to dominate Mosley in every stanza, and despite a trip in the tenth round being erroneously ruled to have knocked Pacquiao down, the Filipino champion won out by a wide margin of 120-107, 120-108 and 119-108 on the scorecards, defending his WBO welterweight title.

Before the fight itself, many had raised Mosley’s advanced age of 39 as marking him as an unfit opponent for Pacquiao, and referring to his uninspiring performances in his two previous fights. The gunslinger-turned-greybeard had precious few moments outside of some second-round success against Floyd Mayweather in May of last year; ‘OK’, one might think, ‘there’s no shame in that’, and that would be true.

His next outing, however, was not against a bona fide genius like Mayweather; he instead faced off against Sergio Mora in October, coming out with a draw that few would really take issue with. Mora, to put it into context, has never been among boxing’s true elite, to put it into context, despite winning the US TV show “The Contender” and, I’m sure, being a lovely man. Mosley’s draw with him was seen as proof that Pacquiao’s latest opponent was never going to be any problem for him.

Still, defenders of the fight pointed to Pacquiao’s come-forward style as being tailor-made for Mosley, as opposed to the defensive, stick-and-move tactics employed by Mora and Mayweather. The question remained unanswered by Mosley’s unwillingness to fight, which means that Pacquiao’s choice of opponent cannot really be criticised, because we simply cannot know how much Mosely has left in the tank; a case of won’t fight, rather than can’t fight.

As to Manny’s next opponent, all the boxing world wants him to fight Floyd Mayweather, in a fight that would unequivocably determine the best boxer on the planet, and the first between boxing’s two definite best in over 25 years. Unfortunately for the viewing public, the fight continues not to be made, with public opinion being more on the “Floyd is ducking Manny” side than “Manny is using performance-enhancing drugs” side at this moment in time.

Pacquiao instead looks likely to fight Juan Manuel Marquez, a man whom he has fought twice, taking away a split decision victory and a draw. Marquez gave Pacquiao great problems stylistically in both fights, and is deserving of a shot at the pound-for-pound king, but the fact that the match will take place at a catchweight of 145 lbs (10 stone 5 lbs), far above Marquez’s ideal weight, means that any victory for Pacquiao could instantly be criticised.

Boxing fans, therefore, must hope that Mayweather gets his head together and summons the courage to risk his undefeated record, and prove that he is what he says he is, namely the greatest fighter in the world. For Floyd needs Manny, but the reverse is not necessarily the case.

In Other News:

David Haye’s fight against Wladimir Klitschko is hotting up nicely, with a war of words currently doing the rounds over the internet and in the national media. Haye has lambasted Wladimir as a “wannabe German” who “needs a chin transplant”, while Wlad says “it will be a pleasure to knock David Haye out”. They fight on July 2, and with the stadium already almost sold out and a record amount of money being bet on the fight, it looks to be a gala night for the sport this year.

Coming up this Saturday is a bill promoted by Frank Warren that is topped by undefeated Welshman Nathan Cleverly trying to emulate his former gym-mate Joe Calzaghe and win Jurgen Braehmer’s WBO light-heavyweight title, but the main interest will be provided by Olympic gold medallist and British super-middleweight champion James DeGale’s showdown with former amateur nemesis and Commonwealth champion George Groves. Both are undefeated as professionals and the enmity between them has bubbled over into genuine hatred, founded upon an age-old rivalry. DeGale (right) is favourite, but anything could happen. Sky Sports is showing this one; you’d be a fool to miss it.