When Manny Pacquiao gave Oscar dela Hoya the beating that would send the latter into retirement, many viewed the match as a symbolic “passing of the torch” from dela Hoya, boxing’s most recognizable superstar, to Pacquiao, a younger pugilist who has already taken the boxing world by storm and is on his way to becoming a transcendental star himself.
But with a Pacquiao retirement looming at the horizon because of politics and all, who is that young fighter that deserves to be the other half of Pacquiao’s last professional match? Who should be worthy of the privilege to fight Pacquiao in that figurative passing of the torch?
This writer gathered the thoughts of some of the sport’s known insiders and movers and here’s what they say:
Gary Andrew Poole, TIME Magazine contributor, award-winning journalist, and author of PacMan: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao–the Greatest Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World
If Pacquiao does not fight Mayweather, I want his last fight to be with Juan Manuel Marquez. As for the “passing of the torch”, I don’t think there is an obvious answer.
Does Berto fit? Not really. Bradley. I don’t think so. Amir Khan? No. That’s not to say that there aren’t good prospects. This Frankie Gomez kid has impressed me, but he is really young and only had a handful of fights. These are all good fighters, sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment