Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao is an accomplished boxer with records that may never be broken. He is boxing’s only 8-weight division world champion, the only fighter to hold a title in 4 different decades and the oldest fighter to win a welterweight title.
What more should a 41-year-old legend do at this stage in his career? Perhaps he should retire for good with his faculties intact. Pacquiao is such a competitive person that he hungers for the chance to prove himself against these young lions, but also he needs the money because he spends it like crazy so he keeps on fighting.
As a fan of Pacquiao, I don’t want to see him get hurt or wind up like the other all-time-greats who suffered physically from the brutality of boxing.
The sport of boxing is one of the most brutal sports. The human head is not supposed to be hit multiple times and the brain can only take so much damage. If Pacquiao were advised by the right people who have his best interest at heart they would tell him to avoid WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford and get him fights where he has a higher chance to win like the Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas fight on February 29.
I believe Pacquiao’s team already advised him to stay away from Errol Spence Jr. long before his car accident. When Spence beat Mikey at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, he called out Pacquiao to a fight and the two shook hands in the ring.
Pacquiao didn’t fight Spence, he opted to fight undefeated WBA champion Keith Thurman instead who was arguably the number one welterweight before his long layoff due to injuries.
After Pacquiao beat Thurman, he acknowledged the power and size of the young American fighter. Pacquiao said he never felt that type of power since his fight with Antonio Margarito back in 2010. The reason Pacquiao felt the strength of Thurman is due to the fact that Thurman was cutting down from 180 pounds.
Pacquiao is a naturally small man. He walks around probably weighing 140 pounds tops and has to eat a lot of calories just to weigh 147 pounds.
In the Thurman fight, Pacquiao was hit with many power shots. It was remarkable how he withstood the power of a man ten years his junior and with a significant size advantage.
I’ve been saying since 2016 that Pacquiao should avoid Terence Crawford. Crawford is a special fighter and he has a ferocity and mean streak in him when he gets hurt.
Crawford has a high ring IQ, he has punching power, and he is a switch hitter who can fight southpaw and orthodox making it difficult for Pacquiao to find his rhythm and timing.
Crawford can offset you when he switches stance. Pacquiao is a rhythm fighter and he has to adjust to your movement so he can let his hands go. Crawford will not let that happen because he will switch stance and use his long legs and arms to counter Pacquiao as he comes in.
If you compare Pacquiao and Crawford’s fights with Jeff Horn, you can see how much stronger Crawford was against Horn who walks around in the 170’s. Pacquiao lost a controversial decision and his WBO title to Horn and had extreme difficulty with the strength and grappling of Horn. Crawford was able outmuscle Horn and stopped him capturing the WBO belt that once belonged to the Pac-Man.
Crawford can outmuscle Pacquiao and he can also fight him from a distance. This would be a very difficult task for Pacquiao overcome at his age and size.
I believe Pacquiao should avoid fighting guys who are significantly bigger than him at this stage of his career.
It’s not that Pacquiao is afraid, we know he is a warrior who never backs down from a challenge, but for his health and safety he can’t keep fighting this brutal wars with younger stronger men at the age of 41.
Leave the younger guys to fight each other and go for the winner of Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas for a boatload of cash in Saudi Arabia instead.
Erwin Lastimosa is a long time boxing fan and enjoys boxing discussion with his peers. Some of his favorite fighters are Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Flash Elorde, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.