Pacquiao's Next Opponent

Panic E

Mayweather, Marquez, Khan, Cotto, Crawford, Thurman, Porter are some of the names being listed thus far. Who should his next opponent be?

barney4001

khan probably for me

Panic E

x2. Obviously he wants Mayweather but I think we can all safely say he may forget that. Then Marquez, who has already denied a rematch since their last bout despite being offered a career high payday (poor form also a la Mayweather). Khan for me also, I think I would prefer to see him than another Marquez bout tbh.

walshb

I'd love to see him face Khan or Thurman. Khan for me would pose serious issues for the smaller Manny. Barring a KO win for Manny I can't see a points win. He comes up too short all the time. He could tackle Cotto and get to call himself a MW world champ should he win...

TheNap

Pacman with anything left in the tank knocks Khan out IMO

walshb

TheNap wrote: »

Pacman with anything left in the tank knocks Khan out IMO

With one shot? He isn't really that type of fighter now, and apart from the Hatton hail Mary, he never was. He is a good puncher who hurts you and breaks you down with volume and combinations. Trouble is that against the taller and rangier Khan that tactic won't be easy. Khan's chin is not great, we know this, but it's not brutal either.

Deiseboy01

Cotto. Manny could call himself the MW champ which would be mental irrespective of the debate about Cotto s genuine credentials at the weight.

Cotto has been reborn lately and while overstated it makes for an interesting rematch.

TheNap

walshb wrote: »

With one shot? He isn't really that type of fighter now, and apart from the Hatton hail Mary, he never was. He is a good puncher who hurts you and breaks you down with volume and combinations. Trouble is that against the taller and rangier Khan that tactic won't be easy. Khan's chin is not great, we know this, but it's not brutal either.

Not with one punch . Wouldnt completely rule it out. I can see where you are coming from with your points but i think Pacman will hurt him and i dont think Khan has the ring IQ to stop being hurt turning into a knockout . Would really like to see the fight though and it would sell well.

Talib Fiasco

I think it'll be Crawford

Miccoli

Floyd rematch or retire hopefully.

Dick phelan

I'd really like to see either Pacquiao vs Khan or Crawford. Don't see Cotto happening because i fancy Canelo to beat him and Cotto then retires imo.

HigginsJ

Pacquiao has recovered from his "rotator cuff surgery" without any rehab, just some salt water swimming & God. If I were the sort of person who thought it sounded like a BS ready made excuse at the time then this would really add weight to those claims!!

smurfjed

Having met Khan years ago, I would love to see him get demolished by Pacquiao.

Henno30

Would like to see Crawford beat a significant J.Welterweight first as that could be a real passing of the torch fight.

Manny smashing up Khan would be tremendous fun. As for Cotto etc, that's not happening. Manny will never fight above 147 again, unless he's semi-retired, shot, and broke. All three of which are possible of course.

Dick phelan

I honestly don't see why he wants to come back, he's earned what 120m against Mayweather, he's a congressman and basically a god in his home country so it's not like he has nothing else after boxing. He's done everything in boxing and has zero left to prove and it's very unlikely he will add much to his legacy if he returns, I want to see him fight on one hand but on the other i want him to retire i'd hate to see someone like Khan or Crawford guys who wouldn't live with him in his prime.

Panic E

Deiseboy01 wrote: »

Cotto. Manny could call himself the MW champ which would be mental irrespective of the debate about Cotto s genuine credentials at the weight.

Cotto has been reborn lately and while overstated it makes for an interesting rematch.

Anything like their first matchup I wonder?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_raYl-tZyxo

Brutal. Such as a wasp!

Deiseboy01

Panic E wrote: »

Anything like their first matchup I wonder?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_raYl-tZyxo

Brutal. Such as a wasp!

Brilliant. Freddie would have a difficult decision to make if it ever came to pass.

Talib Fiasco

Jees I remember watching that...that Manny who fought Cotto and Hatton was scary good.

walshb

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Jees I remember watching that...that Manny who fought Cotto and Hatton was scary good.

Scary good because he couldn't miss one man when he threw, Hatton, and the other guy folded after he got dropped the first time. For 4 rds Cotto was holding his own.

Panic E

"Look at Pacquiao, isn't he a beautiful machine?" -Steward

"He's a typhoon!" -Merchant. Awesome performance

Talib Fiasco

walshb wrote: »

Scary good because he couldn't miss one man when he threw, Hatton, and the other guy folded after he got dropped the first time. For 4 rds Cotto was holding his own.

Aww yeah beating Hatton and Cotto is a complete walk in the park alright, I forgot....

walshb

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Aww yeah beating Hatton and Cotto is a complete walk in the park alright, I forgot....

It was a walk in the park. He destroyed them. I have said it before, Manny's wins over some foes showed Manny to "appear" invincible.

Styles make fights, and Manny looked superb against those styles. When you break down the wins, and the men he beat I don't think it was invincibility.

Decent wins, but exaggerated. JMM showed this, as did Timothy Bradley. Hatton walked face first into Manny. He had nothing to offer. Cotto did rather well for 4 rds and the got caught heavy, and retreated for the remaining 6-7 rds.

Add in his wins against two complete punchbag, Clottely and Margarito, and you may well get sucked in. I was sucked in. He looked tremendous, but when the foes are just standing there like mummies that will likely happen against Manny.

Talib Fiasco

walshb wrote: »

It was a walk in the park. He destroyed them. I have said it before, Manny's wins over some foes showed Manny to "appear" invincible.

Styles make fights, and Manny looked superb against those styles. When you break down the wins, and the men he beat I don't think it was invincibility.

Decent wins, but exaggerated. JMM showed this, as did Timothy Bradley. Hatton walked face first into Manny. He had nothing to offer. Cotto did rather well for 4 rds and the got caught heavy, and retreated for the remaining 6-7 rds.

Add in his wins against two complete punchbag, Clottely and Margarito, and you may well get sucked in. I was sucked in. He looked tremendous, but when the foes are just standing there like mummies that will likely happen against Manny.

But isn't that a mark of the calibre of the fighter Manny was. I mean Hatton and Cotto are very aggressive fighters by default, and Manny made in particular Hatton look completely sterile. Bradley did well but he still didn't win that first fight. JMM just is Manny's boogie man, no shame in losing to a great like that.

Granted Margarito was an old punching bag, Manny was tiny in comparison and fought through a cracked rib. Again he couldn't miss but there are very few smaller men who would have taken the fight on.

walshb

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

But isn't that a mark of the calibre of the fighter Manny was. I mean Hatton and Cotto are very aggressive fighters by default, and Manny made in particular Hatton look completely sterile. Bradley did well but he still didn't win that first fight. JMM just is Manny's boogie man, no shame in losing to a great like that.

Granted Margarito was an old punching bag, Manny was tiny in comparison and fought through a cracked rib. Again he couldn't miss but there are very few smaller men who would have taken the fight on.

He deserves a lot of credit for the wins. I just think that the hype that followed the wins was OTT. Hatton is aggressive, but that night he was stupid/reckless aggressive. Credit to Manny for closing the show. Funny, as wow as the KO was, it was a hail mary type of swing.

Margarito was already a crushed fighter. Mosley destroyed the man. JMM is a tough style for Manny, but so was Bradley. Movement and angles and real boxers will present problems to Manny, who can fall into his shots against them, and leave himself open.

Deiseboy01

walshb wrote: »

He deserves a lot of credit for the wins. I just think that the hype that followed the wins was OTT. Hatton is aggressive, but that night he was stupid/reckless aggressive. Credit to Manny for closing the show. Funny, as wow as the KO was, it was a hail mary type of swing.

Margarito was already a crushed fighter. Mosley destroyed the man. JMM is a tough style for Manny, but so was Bradley. Movement and angles and real boxers will present problems to Manny, who can fall into his shots against them, and leave himself open.

I thought he won the first Bradley fight and he comfortably won the second one, plus he did beat JMM three times.

walshb

Deiseboy01 wrote: »

I thought he won the first Bradley fight and he comfortably won the second one, plus he did beat JMM three times.

Yes, he won the Bradley fight. But he did not look like the invincible machine like he had looked vs. others. Styles.

Deiseboy01

walshb wrote: »

Yes, he won the Bradley fight. But he did not look like the invincible machine like he had looked vs. others. Styles.

Just thought from the tone of your post you were running down his record a bit. He had more trouble with some fighters than others, that is to be expected, but he still beat them. Do you rate Floyd less because he struggled v Maidana?

walshb

Deiseboy01 wrote: »

Just thought from the tone of your post you were running down his record a bit. He had more trouble with some fighters than others, that is to be expected, but he still beat them. Do you rate Floyd less because he struggled v Maidana?

Yes, kind of do rate him less. Floyd of late has just not impressed me. Maybe it's age, maybe it's fear of really taking chances, but he put on pretty weak offensive shows against Maidana, who is a pretty crude slugger. Floyd should have been warned an awful lot in fight 1 for fouling. He couldn't negate Maidana with skill and inside in the pocket offense. I rate him less for his pretty woeful show vs, Manny, a smaller man who really he should have dominated, not tickled and ducked and dived from. He had a clearer win vs. Guerrero, but again, the promises of going toe to toe and beating Guerrero up. Floyd did a lot of running that night. He should have had the balls to really beat Guerrero up. Guerrero is good, not great. That was a pot shot victory.

I rate him less because we are not talking about your average WC, we are talking about the game's biggest name. A global product, one who claims to be TBE, as well as the world's highest paid athlete.

Regarding Manny. Yes, of course some men will present more difficult fights. I just think that the praise and adulation heaped upon him for some wins, although somewhat deserved, was a little too much. Perspective needed to be factored in.

Panic E

Pacquaio fought a p4p opponent every year of his career. When he moved to WW he entered the ring at the same weight he did as a LW.

All the awe-inspiring performances we witnessed, including the one I posted above, he was effectively fighting at a full weight class above his own (and more)

His career is a legendary one the likes of which we won't see again. So I don't understand all of the criticism for criticisms sake, but hey.

Dick phelan

I still will strongly argue that despite loosing to him Pacquiao has a better record then Mayweather and still ranks higher for me.