Pacquiao Vs Golovkin Why? Or Why Not?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 07 Jun 2020
I have been asked many times about my take on the possibility of Manny Pacquiao taking on Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin for the latter's IBF world middleweight title in his comeback fight this year.
My first impulse was to ask, why? For what reason?
To break his own record of eight world division championships by winning a ninth? In the first place, that current, standing record appears safe even beyond foreseeable time. No other man outside of Pacquiao has won even seven. Oscar de la Hoya once held the old record of six.
It seems impractical, even a little crazy for Manny to go on another record setting drive this late in his career and at his age, never mind that Gennady is also old or aging at 38.
But the hopelessly romanticist boxing fan in me is saying, why not?
There was indeed a time that this writer and I am sure many others have fancied a real confrontation between Manny and Triple G. That was back in 2010-2011 when Manny was terrorizing the welterweights and Gennady was seen as the bogeyman of the middleweight. And guys as Floyd Mayweather and Sergio Martinez were avoiding them like the plague.
Indeed, why not?
But kindly indulge me with this lengthy preface:
There was sound logic when boxing's original eight weight divisions, namely: flyweight, (112 lbs), bantamweight (118), featherweight (126), lightweight (135), welterweight (147), middleweight (160), light heavyweight (175) and heavyweight (above 175), were established.
During that time where championship bouts were set at unlimited number of rounds later limited to just 15, there was not much issue about the weight difference or disparity. Especially in fights involving fighters vying for titles in the next higher weight class. The main reason was that the official weigh in was held in the morning of the fight. Another equalizer was the level of skill and physical conditioning, courage, determination and dedication particularly of the smaller fighters.
Hence it was normal and customary to see fighters as Harry Greb, Mickey Walker, Sam Langford, Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson fighting and usually besting bigger and heavier opponents, with or with no titles at stake.
Armstrong, in fact accomplished a rare still unduplicated feat of winning and holding world titles simultaneously in three weight divisions in a single year. He even won the welterweight title straight from featherweight and later moving down to also annex the lightweight crown. What more, Armstrong nearly captured a fourth world title at middleweight if he was not held to a draw by Filipino defending champion Ceferino Garcia (He weighed just 142 lbs when he fought Garcia who came in at 154 lbs).
As late as the 60s, I even read about fighters as flyweight Fighting Harada beating Eder Joffre for his bantamweight championship, featherweight Sugar Ramos challenging Carlos Ortiz for his lightweight title, welterweight Emile Griffith beating Dick Tiger for his middleweight title and the same Tiger beating Jose Torres for his light heavyweight belt.
But even then, boxing authorities later found the need to create more weight classes, reduce the duration of championship to 12 rounds and change the official weigh in to the morning of the day before the fight, giving fighters more than 36 hours to rehydrate.
Ironically, all these happened at a time of improving sports science and medicine, to include the training, diet and nutrition of boxers. Which to these days have continued to prevent serious ring injuries and fatalities, the very reason these so called reforms have been instituted in the first place.
Since then we have been witnessed to fights and fighters making a mockery of the so called rationalized weight division system that has been threatening to consign boxing to the status of a niche sport.
Fortunately, we have also been witnessed to fighters who have in their own way, carried on with the fine tradition of the true pound for pound great warriors of old, bucking the odds in winning world titles in as many weight divisions as their abilities take them.
Foremost of these is our very own Manny Pacquiao who has been a full fledged welterweight for nearly a decade and hence could very well be physically mature enough to fight beyond 147 lbs.
He has done it before in 2010 against Tony Margarito for the vacant WBC super welterweight title in a fight where Tony came in as a full middleweight and yet was thoroughly thrashed.
He has fought against virtual super welters or even middleweights masquerading during weigh in as welterweights. The likes of Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Shane Mosley, Floyd himself, even or more so, Jeff Horn and self admittingly Keith Thurman.
But the middleweight can also prove to be a bridge too far for Manny.
So if I may offer an unsolicited advise to Manny, I say go for it at a catchweight of 155 lbs under a day of the fight weighin rule. Take it or leave it, Gennady.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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