Miguel I. (Tampa, FL): Manny Pacquiao’s recent statements to Don King and Floyd Mayweather jr. were pretty shocking. Do you think that this has more to do with his impatience with Floyd? Or do you think he has changed?
Vivek W. (ESB): I had a very difficult time swallowing those HUGE words shouted from Pacquiao, myself. At a distance, I have always admired his ability to stay calm in the midst of a ‘storm’. Even recently, when Mayweather Snr. called him a number of bizarre expletives, his response was well measured and non-retaliatory. To here these particular words, unprompted, was a far cry from the humble warrior we’ve come to know and love and I wonder if they were truly even his. Remember, these were excerpts from a column he does ever-so-often in a Filipino tabloid (Abante), and in an era filled with ghost-writers, there’s no way to tell who actually penned this piece while a very busy congressmen tended to other, more pressing matters. Personally, I believe one of three theories were at play:
Either (A). Pacquaio delegated authority to someone he felt he could trust, and subsequently learned perhaps that he can’t. (B). The downside to being a politician is beginning to take an early toll on Pacquiao, as the last few weeks have privately been an uphill battle for serenity. Few outside of his homeland know this, but Pacquiao’s older sister, Isidra, was recently part of an alleged gambling circle that led to her temporarily hiding from the law, and subsequently having her house raided by the authorities who alleged to find gambling paraphernalia, and a large sum of cash. She was later arrested, but is now free on bond. The raid caused a huge riff in the Pacquiao family, as Pacquiao’s Mother threatened to sue the local media for displaying pictures and identifying the other daughter, (Liza), who had done no wrong, and played no role in the matters.
Pacquiao was actually on hand to see the raid conducted and did not intervene, only telling officers that “he will not take sides”, and that “if she violated the law, she should pay for it”, according to local news sources. With his position of new found power, it’s safe to say that he and his family are both under intense scrutiny like never before. Such pressure has been known to ‘burst pipes’, and it should be noted that Congressman Pacquiao has quite a bit to contend with. One other unlikely possibility that can’t be ruled out is that this could be words from a changing ego of a man who has seen his stock rise greatly, lately. Many remember the odd comments leading up to his congressional election where the normally ground-leveled Pacquiao went on record stating that he hopes to win, because if he does, he “would be known around the world and everyone would know [his] name”.
Then there was the statement a few days later where he told those in attendance at his election rally “I want you to idolize me, not just in the ring, but above all, in public service”. I can’t speak for everyone, but idolatry on ANY level is a no-no where I’m from, and this statement gave a totally different effect to the comical moniker, “St. Manny”, which radicals have used in various forums around the sport. At the end of the day, I don’t know what the root cause of these comments are, but I think they were totally out of character for a man known to have such a good one. With Mayweather, we expect this type of thing. It’s who he is and always has been. For Pacquiao, this is a not-so-welcomed deviation that could begin a process to slowly change the perception of who we see him to be. Like all other things in life…..perhaps time will reveal!
Anthony B. (Atlanta, GA): It seems that the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight is once again a possibility with Don King involved. Could you explain what benefit would Floyd get from working with King, and how would they be able to get Margarito to step aside after being promised a shot?
Vivek W. (ESB): I think Mayweather has quite a bit of upside to working with King, contrary to what most believe. Arum and Oscar are amazing at what they do and what they’ve done for Floyd, but there’s a totally different element to this potential King/Mayweather tandem that few talk about because it treads sensitive territory (for whatever reason). When it comes to Latin fighters tapping into the Latin market, it’s an open subject. When it comes to Filipino or European fighters tapping into their respective markets, it’s an open subject. For whatever reason, when it comes to African American fighters, (or even Caucasian-American fighters), and their ability to tap into their respective demographics, the tablets in the media rooms close, the laptops are powered down, and the invisible mute button gets stuck-on-hold, as NO ONE dares to even go there. (Or at least until I came along – Evil Smile)!
There have been multiple “Latin-Fury” PPV’s tapping into the Mexican and Spanish base. There have been multiple “Pinoy Power” PPV’s catering to the Filipino base. If Floyd feels it’s time to be presented by someone who “speaks his language”, as long as it doesn’t change the end-product that we see in the ring, as a fan first, media personality second, I could care less. The good thing about King is that he has the ability and clout to tap into ALL of these markets, except maybe the Asian sector. Few took note of the fact that both Kotelnik and Alexander were fighting under his banner last Saturday night. With that one event, he took a young American fighter, exposed him to Germany; and took a German fighter and exposed him to America. That’s a textbook promotion, but his preceding reputation prevents many from seeing this. His influence around Mayweather’s talent could tap into promotional endorsement opportunities that other promoters potentially leave on the table. Which means more ‘bling’ for the ‘blingers’!
The reality here is that Oscar and Arum did wonderful jobs promoting Floyd when they worked with him, but neither EVER got Floyd a promotional cover story in the Black owned Jet or Ebony Magazines, or any where in the Afro-centric circuit? Why? Because they marketed him globally more than they attempted to tap into his personal demographic. On a grand scale, it was a smart business strategy, and I’m sure it paid major dividends, but the reality is that there’s only one promoter today that has been able to truly tap into the core African American demographic, and that’s the one Floyd has been courting lately. Some may scratch their heads, but the reality is that the 3 largest grossing African-American fighters in the history of the sport (Ali, Tyson, Holyfield) all did their biggest business under one tent. That tent owner gave boxing a few of its highest grossing fights, as well as the music world’s unprecedented Jackson 5 “Victory” Tour. For Mayweather, it all makes sense, (and tons of Dollars)!
Now, how will they get Margarito to step aside? EASY WORK! For a small fee, along with a shot at the winner, (once rematch clauses have been exhausted), Margarito would step aside quicker than Barry Sanders with two defenders in his face! Truth is, he doesn’t deserve the shot anyhow. He can’t get licensed, and if you consider his last two fights, he got smashed against by a man (Mosley) who lost to the person Pacquiao would be facing (Mayweather); and his most recent fight netted a pathetic 15,000 PPV buys, despite being staged in his own backyard. The only reason Margarito was even a remote possibility is because Arum keeps the goods ‘in-house’, and there was no one left on the roster after both Clottey and Cotto bit the dust! Once Margarito proves himself a draw, and a worthy opponent by defeating a few solid contenders in this post-plaster era of his career, he should get a shot at these guys. Not a moment before.
Charles O. (Chicago, IL): I wasn’t too impressed with Alexander’s performance against Kotelnik. I know you have touted him hard, but do you really think he’s still the best of the 140lb crowd?
Vivek W. (ESB): I have two separate perspectives on Alexander’s performance, and like always, they tread all angles rather closely. For starters, we can’t take one fight and apply it to an entire body of work. Few in the U.S. know much about Kotelnik, but he’s far from a cupcake. The kid has a lot of heart, and if he were a bit faster, you’d see a very credible skillset, as well. I don’t think it’s totally fair to be completely critical of any fighter who was barely standing, yet escaped with an uncontested victory. In my book that means he gave it his all! The flipside to this is that Alexander proved to be closer to the center of the pack, (140lb division), rather than the head of it. For a fighter with his youth and athleticism, it was very troubling to see a much slower fighter continuously hit him with shots.
What was even more troubling is that like Timothy Bradley last month against the also slower Abregu, Alexander failed to make in-fight adjustments to take that shot away. Cunningham is a quality chemistry guy for Alexander, but their next fight will tell me exactly how good of a tactical guy he is for Alexander. There needs to be more emphasis on defense, particularly as it relates to avoiding so many face shots. A quicker fighter with great reach like Khan would have landed the jab like a Boeing 747 on an international runway……all day long. Oddly enough, though, despite being 3 inches smaller, he has Khan’s identical reach, so the southpaw stance could make it interesting. Alexander has never been dropped in nearly 310 amateur fights, and 21 professional fights. Flaws and all, whoever he faces will be in for a long night. I look forward to seeing the 140lb group hash this all out!
Matt R. (Boca Raton, FL): Chad Dawson or Tavoris Cloud. Who do you like to win if they fight, and why?
Vivek W. (ESB): Excellent matchup. Very good matchup. I think Dawson has the greater set of skills, but styles make fights, and to be honest, Dawson would have NEVER defeated Johnson the way Cloud did, because Dawson would have never been able to sit in the pocket like that all night long like Cloud did. That’s what makes Cloud an intriguing proposition for Dawson. Cloud has the same grit as a Glen Johnson, but he has the youth to stay fresh a bit longer, perhaps. I think Cloud’s power, strength, and mindset make him a huge challenge for Dawson, because Dawson likes to stay somewhat ‘finesse’, while Cloud will bang with you and isn’t afraid to do the dirty work over the full 12. Many people haven’t seen much of Cloud, but being a Florida native myself, his talent is NOTHING NEW! I would love that fight. We may be closer to seeing it than we realize. Stay tuned.
(Starting Wednesday, I Will Begin A New Weekly Segment Where I Will Post An “Open Letter” From A Random Fight Fan, Give My Take, And Open It Up For Response From The Biggest Fight-Chat Community In The Biz….TUNE IN)
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), FaceBook, and Myspace).