MUST Manny Pacquiao fight again?
If no, why?
If yes, why?
He must not fight again because Father Time has slowed down Pacquiao’s footwork and body movements, not to mention that age has dulled his boxing skills and has diminished his knockout power.
He hasn’t knocked out a foe the last eight years, right?
His 38-year-old knees now boldly betray him and he must heed the counsel of the years—gracefully.
But, on the other hand, fight he must again because he needs to avenge his pricked pride.
Although Pacquiao did not totally bow to Jeff Horn—in fact, he won in my scorecard 116-112—the loss was ego-shattering, considering that Pacquiao was the heavy favorite at 10-1.
Worst, Horn’s win was not convincing.
All Horn did was to wrestle, strangle and lock Pacquiao down.
The Aussie appeared more like a UFC fighter than a boxer.
After Horn was through with his illegal tactics, he would unleash his arsenal, making it appear like he was raining punches on Pacquiao. But in truth, his barrage of shots weren’t exactly pinpoint hits.
The computer showed Horn throwing more than 400 punches, but only 73 were deemed power punches for a low 17-percent rating.
In contrast, Pacquiao unloaded 380 punches and 123 of which were power shots for a high 32-percent rating.
So that the three judges had gotten themselves deceived, willingly, as to give the fight to Horn?
Same with the fight referee, who never warned Horn even just once for his dirty tactics virtually all throughout the Aussie’s farcical, illegal, strategy fit only for MMA/UFC action.
And, finally, Pacquiao must face Horn again because the fight contract stipulated a rematch should Horn win.
In their return bout, Horn is assured of a $2-million purse, a far cry from the $500k (or is it $200k?) he earned in Sunday’s “Battle of Brisbane” in Australia.
As for Pacquiao, well, it won’t be a surprise if he pockets another $10 million like he did in Fight One. No doubt his name could still draw the crowds, as proven in that sellout crowd that showed up at the 55,000-seat Suncorp Stadium.
The rematch could be in November and, should Pacquiao win, another trilogy might in the offing to replicate the trilogies of Pacquiao-Morales, Pacquiao-Marquez and Pacquiao-Bradley.
In all those three-act plays, Pacquiao was the winner.
And should a Pacquiao-Horn trilogy materialize, can Horn hack out another spoiler?
THAT’S IT With San Miguel Beer finally clinching the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday 4-2, SMB’s ultimate target of bagging a second Grand Slam after the first Triple Crown in 1989 is now within sight. The key, of course, would be the correct choice of import. With SMB having the league’s most lethal starting five the last three years, an import’s job is virtually half done.