WeeklySA_AdminPOSSIBILITIES: Pacquiao’s bid for boxing glory may prove a hopeless exercise as age is against him
By Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela
Pacman Manny Pacquiao will be back in the boxing ring in two weeks’ time after a layoff of four years – and the question to be asked, is why does he want to venture back to boxing glory when the possibilities of bringing disgrace and shame to his career loom large?
A defeat will soil an image of an icon revered by the boxing world. Pacquiao has brought so much joy to the game of boxing. He has been a skilful, and an extraordinary talented boxing craftsman.
Over the years, as a younger man, winning eight titles across various divisions has remined a feat that is still to be equalled.
Now, after a hiatus of four years, at the age of 46, he is making another bid for a title fight – a championship bout pencilled for July 19 at the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, US.
The champion, Mario Barrios, who hold the WBC welterweight version of the title world championship, is no big shakes in world boxing circles, an irony of sorts, or a blot, in such a prestigious division known to have been packed with boxing talents of Sugar Ray Leornard, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather, including Pacquiao himself, and many other illustrious pugilists remembered for their class and boxing acumen.
Quite frankly, Barrios is one of the run-of-the mill types, but what happens if he beats the Pacman?
At 46, Pacquiao is no exception to the vagaries of age as they take their toll, this notwithstanding the possibility of exceptions, which by their very nature are far apart and rare.
Few boxers have proved immune to this human sledgehammer brought about by ageing: George Foreman regained in style, knocking out the much younger 26-year-old Michael Moorer in 1994, to regain the title he had lost on eighth round knockout to the legendary Muhammad Ali in the then Zaire, now known as Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1974.
There was also Bernard Hopkins, a highly thought of light-heavyweight champion of the world. He was 46 years old when he won the light heavyweight title of the world, defeating Jean Pascal in 2011, to unify the light heavyweight. He later, at age 48, beat Tavoris Cloud to win the IBF light-heavyweight title.
But even these statistics should serve as unwelcome comfort to the Pacquiao. In general terms, the idea of trying to beat Father Time is onerous, challenging, for physiologically reflexes tend to slow down when human age reaches an advanced stage.
But the one serious consideration that militates against the return to the ring of Pacquiao is that for four years, or 48 months, after a gutsy yet below the par showing against Cuban Yordenis Ugas, his age of 42 age showed. The reflexes were gone; he simply survived by instinct, saved by the fact he was in great physical condition.
Four years down the line, without any fight during intervening years, it is difficult to see him winning the title against Barrios, if we use his last fight against the Cuban, which he lost on a lopsided points defeat, as a yardstick. In his defeat, he was a sorry sight.
Can the Pacman surprise the world, only four years close to 50? We simply do not know. Is he motivated enough to do better than his last fight against Ugas in 2021? That too, we do not know.
The Pacman has visibly slowed down, unable to string, as he did in the past, a combination of blows to slow down his opponents. The defending champion enjoys a huge height advantage, and is 16 years younger than the challenger.
Athleticism in the ring, which was the Pacman’s strength, has eluded him. At 46, the armoury of skills and reflexes, and the punching power he used to display, and to dazzle his opponents, have deserted him. Father Time has intervened.
Boxers, who don’t take heed when Father Time instructs them to quit, often get disgraced, and in some case run the risk of serious injury in the ring.
When great fighters such as Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, among others, continued to trade blows in the ring past their glory years, seeking to defy Father Time, the results of their actions became disastrous.
When Father Time beckons, time ought to be up, this, even for the most brilliant and exciting boxers. Boxing is a dangerous sport. When the reflexes go, the implications of it are that a fighter may be exposed to being hit regularly on the head, something that could lead to brain damage.
Those who advice the Pacman should be cognisant of these realities and possibilities.
My sense is that Pacman’s bid for the title will come to nothing.
