Every Wednesday ESB will feature a new published letter directly from hardcore fight fans just like you! For those fight fans who don’t like what the average boxing scribe has to say, there’s only one way to get your point across…..SPEAK UP! Send all ‘Open Mic Fan Mail’ letters to wallace@boxing247.com, and remember, there are 3 simple rules to the game: Keep content short and concise, profanity free, and don’t be shy…..just shine….the mic is yours!. Today’s segment comes from DARRYL A. of ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, who takes a look at Manny Pacquiao/Top Rank:
Vivek,
Back in 2006, there was an offer from the Antonio Margarito Camp for a fight with Floyd Mayweather. Floyd chose to fight Carlos Baldomir, who was coming off his career best win for a lineal title. Fast forward to 2010, and 5 top-shelf, elite-level fighters (most holding belts) have “called out” Manny Pacquiao for a fight. Those men were Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley, Paul Williams, Andre Berto and Juan Manuel Marquez. All are willing to fight Pacquiao at 147lbs, all will be free come November, all have never mentioned anything about additional drug testing and ALL WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH PACQUIAO RECEIVING THE “BIGGER PURSE”; Yet “Team Pacquiao” chose to fight an opponent coming off a suspension and a devastating loss (to a man Pacquiao opted not to face) for a VACANT 154LBS title. Can someone please explain why some view Mayweather as a ducker, while the man everyone calls a P4P king who takes on all challenges is blatantly avoiding the best fighters who are willing to concede damn near everything for a fight with him?
RESPONSE:
Darryl,
My spin on this matter may sound cliche-ish, but the bottom line…….”it’s a business”! Not only is it a business, but every business owner is in business to make money off of their investments, not lose money. Margarito is not only the in-house fighter which allows Top Rank to avoid having to split the ‘pie’, but aside from Marquez, he’s (Margarito) the oldest, slowest, and judging by what Mosley did to him, more likely to wilt under the heat that Pacquiao brings. This option makes perfect sense, in the sense that the business owners investment is protected, the ‘cash cow’ lives to die another day, and the critics can’t scream too much, because after all, this guy (Margarito) did raise hell in the sport at one point in his career. That addresses the business aspect. Now, from a direct standpoint……
Pacquiao fans have bashed Mayweather at all cost, but no matter which side of the fence you reside, here’s the reality: You, Darryl, are absolutely correct! Each of the 5 fighters you named will be free in November, and none have asked for special concessions which should make them more than eligible. The troubling thing is that EVERY LAST ONE of those men are winnable fights for Pacquiao, yet the acknowledged risk is strong enough to sour the potential reward, (in a Mayweather fight), so none of them will ever see the opportunity. Arum says Pacquiao needs a ‘draw’ that can bring in big money to guarantee him a sizable purse? Well, Margarito’s PPV #’s from his last fight netted a whopping 15,000 PPV buys, (no, that’s not a typo, it was estimated at between 12K and 15K). If that’s a ‘draw’, Arum needs to sharpen his pencil because the picture he’s trying to paint still isn’t clear!
I’ve always said that it makes no sense for fans to point the finger at fighters they don’t support, because in this sport, ALL the marquee players play the same set of cards! The name may change, but the games the same! Perfect example: Pacquiao supporters will downplay Floyd’s decision to face the lineal champ in Carlos Baldomir, but if Mayweather fans were able to get away with that same thing, Pacquiao’s victory over lineal champ Marco Antonio Barrera would be deemed meaningless, suddenly reducing his feat of 7 titles in 7 weight classes to 6, which would remove his incredible accomplishment from the the record books. No one can deny him that hard-fought victory, and no one can deny Mayweather’s either. Just like Mayweather made the unpopular business decision, so did Team Pacquiao.
VERDICT:
We may not like what Pacquiao/Top Rank did by choosing Margarito, but if you were the businessman running the business, what would you do? Protect your investment, or make a decision that you know could remove you from the game? This truth makes both men equal, so if one is viewed as a ‘ducker’, both men are. You can make the argument that Mayweather is ducking Pacquiao, but if you do that, you have to be honest about the fact that Pacquiao is probably ducking these other men, too, because he’s essentially doing the same thing. We’ve gotten Darryl’s take, now you’ve got mine…..now lets hear yours!
Vivek Wallace can be reached at 954-292-7346, vivexemail@yahoo.com, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), Facebook, and Myspace).