Rumors of Pacquiao’s decline greatly exaggerated

BRISBANE, Australia – “Senator, you’re being challenged by a schoolteacher. Aren’t you nervous about getting educated in the ring?”

The rehearsed question, thrown Pacquiao’s way prior to Tuesday’s media workout, drew laughter from the reporter gaggle, breaking up the monotony of brief answers that typify these gatherings. Pacquiao, who is as economical with his words as he is unselfish with his punches, rarely offers any insight into the aggression which rests behind his ever-present smile.

“Good, he’s a teacher. Also, I’m a teacher in the ring,” said Pacquiao, contrasting Jeff Horn’s past occupation as a schoolteacher with the lessons he’s handed to opponents in the ring over the past 22 years.

Pacquiao’s often spoken of dismissively these days, like when unified welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman said the 38-year-old Pacquiao has “had his hurrah” and was “kind of dying out” as younger talent moved into the division.

Let’s get some things straight: easily defeating two top 10 welterweights last year, including the much younger Jessie Vargas to win the title in his spare time while working as a senator is not to be minimized. Pacquiao showed last November that he was still quick, could attack from perplexing angles, and had enough pop to drop Vargas for the first time ever.

He may be treated as an after-thought following the loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr, but Pacquiao is no one’s stepping stone. He’s still a handful for anyone in the division.

He’s won 11 world titles in a record 8 divisions, and defeating the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Erik Morales, it’s hard to live up to the standard he’s set.

That’s the quandary Pacquiao finds himself in ahead of his fight on Sunday, July 2, against Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The bar had once been set at fighting legends each time out, then it became a 10-year streak of fighting exclusively against fighters who were former or current world champions. 

Horn is the first opponent Pacquiao will have fought in 10 years that didn’t fit that criteria, and the matchup was panned outside of Australia, though the fight being shown for free on ESPN in the United States has taken the edge off the criticism.

Prior to being floated by promoter Bob Arum as a potential opponent, Horn’s was just a name you’d see in the rankings and think “who the hell is that guy?” Arum told the story Wednesday of how Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan, while negotiating with him for the WBO heavyweight title fight between Andy Ruiz Jr and Joseph Parker last year, told him to keep an eye on Horn. 

Horn was rated number two by the WBO at welterweight, and scored a technical knockout of Ali Funeka on the Ruiz-Parker card.

Horn earned his seat by bringing 50,000 fans and the backing of the Queensland government to the table. And it can’t hurt the sport to pack a stadium in a town that doesn’t often have big-time boxing.

The criticism surrounding this fight pretends that Muhammad Ali never gave the underwhelming Jean-Pierre Coopman a shot at the title, or unnecessarily rematched Joe Bugner when he needed a dance partner in Malaysia. Like an old rock band rebuilding from a hit album hangover, sometimes it takes going on the road to freshen the act up.

It’s not as if Horn has nothing to lose (other than his unbeaten record), and Pacquiao has nothing to gain (other than $10 million). Pacquiao’s pay-per-view buy rates have steadily dipped after the letdown of the Mayweather fight. And after 8 years without a knockout, Pacquiao’s career is in desperate need of a facelift. Jeff Horn, with his relative inexperience coupled with an aggressive style, may be just what the doctor ordered.

Keeping the Horn fight off pay-per-view, and maximizing visibility by putting it on ESPN gives Pacquiao the chance to be seen in front of an audience of millions in primetime. Arum estimates that the fight – the first time Pacquiao has fought on basic cable in the United States – will attract a televised audience of 5 to 10 million in the United States, and set the lofty expectation that the fight will be the most watched boxing match in America since Ali defeated Leon Spinks in their 1978 rematch.

Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Justin Fortune believes Horn is the perfect opponent to end his stoppage drought against, and Pacquiao’s head trainer Freddie Roach said, he expected the fight to be “short and sweet.” If Pacquiao can remind people of the carnage he once brought to the ring, he’ll find himself back in demand.

“This is a real showcase fight for Pacquiao,” said Arum.

“If he gets by this fight, maybe [junior welterweight champion] Terence Crawford would be a possibility, [IBF welterweight titleholder] Errol Spence would be a possibility.”

“That’s why Manny and I had spoken and it was Manny who insisted this fight in America be put on free TV,” Pacquiao’s advisor Michael Koncz said. “Because we need to build his credibility back up.”

Will Pacquiao be back on pay-per-view again? It depends, said Arum. “I think there is room for pay-per-view but it has to be used very judiciously. You can’t expect people to pay money to see a fight just because it has a name or two involved,” said Arum, who last had Pacquiao off-PPV in 2005 when he fought Hector Velazquez.

Arum told ESPN that fighting in America next wasn’t likely, and that he’s considering partnering with one of the emerging casinos in the Philippines to bring a Pacquiao fight to his home country, perhaps against unbeaten Russian Konstantin Ponomarev (32-0, 13 KOs). Koncz said he’s spoken to Pacquiao about doing a fight in the Philippines, but that it’d take the right deal to make it happen.

“We know people will turn out,” Koncz told Rappler, adding, “I need more than that. I need to have a substantial amount of money from some sponsors.”

Koncz said Pacquiao will fight again in late October or November, and that, despite a deal falling through earlier this year to face Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates, he wants to revisit Dubai as an option.

“I’m still looking at Dubai and I’ve been there and I’ll probably go there shortly after this fight,” said Koncz. Arum, however, is hesitant about fighting in the Middle East for now, after “this whole nonsense started with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

Horn is younger, bigger and has a right hand that is best avoided. And if Pacquiao is able to do a number on him, he’ll remind people of why they loved him in the first place.

“I don’t want to predict the fight, but we did a lot [in training],” said Pacquiao with a smile. – Rappler.com