PACQUIAO, LINARES ON COLLISION COURSE?
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 23 Jul 2007
Yesterday's 'Coming To Fight' boxing event in Las Vegas which was headlined by Bernard Hopkins vs Winky Wright, Golden Boy Promotions had introduced two new faces to the American audience that they hoped to build into future stars.
One is the Greek-Australian all-action slugger Michael Katsidis 'The Great' (23-0 20KOs) who himself proclaimed to inject 'new blood' into the sport and the Japan-based Venezuelan featherweight Jorge Linares (24-0 15KOs).
Of the two, it was Linares who passed with flying colors dazzling the audience and Oscar Larios with fine boxing skills before knocking out Larios in the 10th.
Katsidis, on the othe hand, had indeed introduced 'new blood' into the sport -- but it is the blood dripping from his badly swollen face courtesy of Filipino upstart Czar Amonsot's accurate snipings. The fight between Katsidis and Amonsot was for Amonsot to lose and Katsidis looked very ordinary in the fight. If faced with a busier fighter with good technical skills like Juan Diaz or Joan Guzman, it is highly doubtful if Katsidis will go the distance.
Now the talk of the town is GBP's new fair-haired boy, the 'Ni?o de Oro' (Golden Boy) Jorge Linares. At 21 years old with dazzling good looks and great boxing skills, it is no wonder why he is called this early as the new Oscar de la Hoya.
And this early, talks have already begun for a possible matchup between the Filipino firebard Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao -- arguably the planet's most exciting fighter today who defeated Oscar Larios in July last year but Pacquiao failed to stopped Larios within the distance -- and Linares, who finished off Larios in the 10th round.
But even before this possible matchup came out in the open, owing to Linares' successful U.S. debut yesterday, Team Pacquiao had already acknowledged this fact. According to an insider, Pacquiao and Linares had a serious and spirited two-round chance sparring at the Wildcard Gym two years ago. Linares was also previously being eyed to become Pacquiao's spartmate but Team Pacquiao reportedly rejected the idea because of the possibility that the two will face each other in the near future.
Top photo: Manny Pacquiao posed with Venezuelan Jorge Linares for a souvenir photo when they bumped into each other at the lobby of the Hotel Grand Palace in Tokyo in Sept. 2005. Following Linares' impressive knockout of Oscar Larios yesterday, the unbeaten and youthful Japan-based South American might end up being tapped to face Pacquiao sometime in the near future. Photo by Nick Giongco.
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