“Once you stop benefiting their interest, you become an eyesore.” –Chayan Tain
Among the four reigning world welterweight champions of the primary governing bodies for boxing, newly-crowned World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Manny Pacquiao is the most divergent – if not antipodal, or opposite. At 39 years old, with a record of 60 wins (39 knockouts), seven losses, and two draws, Pacquiao is the “eyesore” of the weight class.
His ascension to WBA champion, after dethroning defending titleholder Lucas Matthysse over the weekend, was a sort of mockery of “the sweet science.” While we will not deny him the splendor of victory as he put away the defrocked Argentine impressively, but, compared to the concurrent welterweight climate, Pacquiao miserably pales in comparison.
If his counterparts in the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO), and International Boxing Federation (IBF) were paraded alongside the Filipino boxer, striking differences would be exposed.
Undefeated
WBC champion Keith Thurman is 30 years old and undefeated with 28 wins (22 knockouts), IBF champion Errol Spence, Jr. is 28 years old and undefeated with 24 wins (21 knockouts), and WBO champion Terence Crawford is 30 years old and undefeated with 33 wins and 24 stoppages; the WBO champion took the title last month following a violent 9th round against Australian Jeff Horn, who defeated Pacquiao in an earlier title bout.
After taking home a WBA belt, the Filipino boxer was condemned and exposed as a “carpetbagger champion.”
In his first title defense, Pacquiao will likely avoid the top three contenders, American boxers Jessie Vargas, Jamal James, and Jose Luis Benavidez. He would never defend his title in an American ring due to tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service (the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the United States), especially with his estranged relationships with former trainer Freddie Roach and former promoter Bob Arum.
In addition, if ordered to face Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania, Pacquiao risks another Horn situation as the Lithuanian is 30 years old and undefeated with 20 wins (16 knockouts).
“Less dangerous”
Pacquiao’s likely opponent will be the “less dangerous” 31-year-old Amir Khan of Great Britain, who carries a record of 32 wins (20 knockouts) and four losses, and, after fighting in Australia and Malaysia, his next bout may take place in London – or even Lithuania; no more glitzy MGM Grand Garden Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas or AT&T Stadium (Cowboys Stadium) in Arlington, Texas.
With the Filipino boxer now “his own man” and no longer beholden to Arum’s Top Rank or under the tutelage of Roach, he can dictate his own terms and continue to ignore the calls for retirement.
Pacquiao’s latest win does not mean he should stay in the sport, with him turning 40 in December, there are safety issues to consider; however, it did boost his ego, allowing him to regain confidence to collect more contributions for a possible presidential run in the future.
He may have won the battle after wrecking Matthysse, but he is a lonely WBA king – a strange bedfellow and “eyesore” in the welterweight kingdom./WDJ