Politics as Usual for Manny Pacquiao

Columns

After he knocked out Erik Morales in January of 2006, Manny Pacquiao delighted viewers by quoting Peter Parker in his post-fight interview: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

While it was good humor at the time and helped see Pacquiao into the hearts of so many fans, he was speaking the truth, whether he knew it or even meant it.

Unlike just about every other sport, boxing has no central authority. It’s up to the fighters and their promoters to act responsibly by upholding the rules and keep the sport alive and well by giving the fans meaningful fights.

Until this year, Pacquiao had done his part. He fought the big names the fans wanted to see him against, he entertained, and hopefully he stayed clean along the way. His adamant refusal to allow for testing for performance enhancing drugs in the days prior to a fight has a good number of people doubting the last point, but there’s no evidence of foul play to this point.

You can’t say the same about Pacquiao’s November 13 opponent. And no, it’s not Floyd Mayweather Jr., the one everyone wanted to see Pacquiao fight.

Instead, across the ring from Pacquiao will be tarnished former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, a stablemate of Pacquiao’s under Bob Arum’s Top Rank banner.

On paper, it’s a good consolation fight in the aftermath of another failed negotiation – or lack thereof – between the camps of Mayweather and Pacquiao. Margarito is a punch-first, play-defense-never type of fighter who will put on a good show every time he steps into the squared circle. He has a strong Mexican following that will bring vocal support and help to create the big fight atmosphere.

But outside of Mexico, he’s also the most frowned upon fighter in the game today after being caught with illegally loaded hand wraps heading into his welterweight title fight with Shane Mosley last year. Consequently, his punches didn’t so much as make Mosley blink as he walked right through him en route to a devastating knockout.

As punishment for attempting to break the rules and disrespecting the honor of the fight game, Margarito had his license revoked in the state of California. Other state boxing commissions went along with California’s verdict, essentially banning Antonio from competing in the United States for a year.

So other than his style of fighting, Margarito doesn’t bring much to the table against Pacquiao in terms of adding to his legacy. The fact that Margarito looked so awful against Mosley raised questions about whether he’d been knocking out opponents like Miguel Cotto and Kermit Cintron with plaster in his gloves. And since Mosley was so easily dominated by Mayweather three months ago, it’s arguable that the gap in talent between Margarito and Pacquiao is too big to warrant the fight happening at all. But the saying is that styles make fights, and this one is being made regardless.

Keeping the fight between two of his fighters pays well for Arum, but he had to make it worth Pacquiao’s time too. And he’s found a way.

Arum likes to market Manny as the first boxer to win titles in seven different divisions. And if you were to look up Pacquiao’s resume, you’d see those trinkets listed. Manny is indeed a champion of multiple weight classes – six if we’re being honest – but the welterweight title he won from Cotto in November shouldn’t be among those counted.

For that fight, Cotto was denied the right to weigh in above 145 pounds – two pounds shy of the welterweight limit. Yes, Cotto – the champion going into the fight – wasn’t even allowed to follow the rules outlined in the sport. Pacquiao wanted their bout to be fought at a catchweight – and still have the title on the line.

Because Pacquiao is one of boxing’s biggest draws, he got his wish. Cotto decided the money he stood to make from the fight was worth a few pounds. It would be interesting to ask him if he still felt that way while Manny smashed glove after glove into his face for twelve rounds last Winter.

Having missed out on a year’s worth of fight money, Margarito is in no position to negotiate, which makes him an ideal target for Pacquiao. Despite Antonio being a career welterweight and never holding a junior middleweight title, their fight laughably will be for a vacant 154-pound title. Not a bad slap on the wrist for someone who isn’t even legally allowed to fight in the country at this point.

Between the two of them, Margarito and Pacquiao have just one win at junior middleweight in the last decade. The fact that two men who don’t even fight in a weight class can magically appear ranked at the top of the division in just a matter of a few phone calls is reason enough not to support this farce of a fight.

And when you throw in that Pacquiao will demand Margarito weigh-in at no more than 150 pounds for their 154-pound title fight, it’s pure comedy.

Eight-division champion? Why stop there? Surely the World Boxing Council could strip Sergio Martinez of his middleweight strap and make Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., another Top Rank fighter, the number one contender. You think Arum and Pacquiao would have any trouble convincing young Chavez to weigh in at 152 pounds for a 160-pound title fight? That takes care of division number nine by next Spring.

Sure, Manny’s not the first to do this. But no one has decided to rewrite the rule books to the extent that Pacquiao has. Ever since his hard-stance negotiations with Hatton in 2009, the man who once seemed humbled by his own success has taken on a “too big for my britches” air.

Boxing has always been about politics, but Manny’s pushing it to new heights. Using your pull to restructure the system as it benefits you is a tried and true formula for a politician, but a once down to earth boxer out to please his fans could – and should – do better.

Good thing Manny’s a congressman now.