As I sat in the front row of the Manny Pacquiao–Antonio Margarito post-fight press conference, it became evident that most of the media in attendance had already moved past breaking down the Filipino superstar’s latest accomplishment for much more pressing matters.
One by one, as promoter Bob Arum, trainer Freddie Roach, and eventually the new WBC light middleweight champion himself stood at the dais, the questions they fielded took a familiar pattern.
“Bob, what are the chances of a Floyd Mayweather fight still happening?”
“Freddie, Shane Mosley is here and he wants to fight Manny. What about him?”
“Manny, would you be interested in a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez?”
While Pacquiao’s performance against a heavier, taller, and supposedly stronger opponent was one for the ages, one would have to possess the skills to sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman with white gloves to convince the public that Margarito was the man they wanted to see last Saturday night.
References to “Tommy Boy” aside, at this point in Pacquiao’s career, belts take a backseat to bucks. As much as Pacquiao embraced the idea of winning an historic eighth world title in as many weight classes, I would guess that the prospect of making upwards of $25 million—a result of earning the lion’s share of the purse in a Top Rank in-house production—was more of a driving factor in him taking the Margarito fight.
That said, now that the “Pac-Man” has gobbled up another well-deserved gargantuan payday, the real question becomes who will be the next soul to step in the ring with him. I decided to canvas the situation by asking some of the principal decision makers involved in the Pacquiao sweepstakes to find out.
LINK:
http://www.maxboxing.com/news/main-lead/so-mannywhos-next
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