PACQUIAO AMONG THE TOP 5 FIGHTERS OF ALL-TIME
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 05 Sep 2012
Even as ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao still hasn?t picked his opponent for a planned December 8 fight, renowned boxing and pool emcee John McDonald has ranked Pacquiao as one of the five top fighters of all-time.
With the options narrowed down to a rematch with Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley who grabbed Pacquiao?s WBO welterweight title in a roundly condemned split decision and a fourth fight with Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz told the Manila Standard on Tuesday no decision has yet been made but he expects one ?in a day or two? adding that he is ?working on a couple of things.?
McDonald who is emceeing the World Cup of Pool which opened Tuesday in Manila said ?As a fighter Pacquiao is certainly among the top five fighters in the world and that?s a good club to try and get into.?
While conceding that the word ?legend? is sometimes used a ?bit too frequently? McDonald referred to Pacquiao as ?a legend? who had earned his spurs and said he could sit in Manila quite confidently and say ?Manny Pacquiao is among the top 5 fighters in history.?
Stressing that he believes nobody has a right to tell Pacquiao what to do, McDonald said ?If Pacquiao is happy to continue fighting, if he?s medically sound to continue, if he wants to continue there should be no reason why he shouldn?t.?
He said if Pacquiao ?is a little bit tired and could do with a break? nobody should begrudge him that.
McDonald pointed out that ?as you grow older it becomes harder and while the youngsters of today won?t appreciate that, there will come a time when they can?t quite fly up the stairs as they think they can and it happens to a fighter too, although the older they get, the more mature they get.?
McDonald said he?d like to see Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather Jr noting that ?they are both ideally at the pinnacle of their careers arguably and we don?t have an old against the young. In materialistic terms they have done exactly the same. It?s the fight of the century, that?s clear, and monetary-wise it will blow box office records because it?s the fight you want to see.?
The popular emcee said he is sure they both want the fight and ?at the end of the day the egos will take over . I would like to think the fight will take place but I?m not sure when.?
McDonald expressed the hope that Pacquiao does not retire at least until after a Mayweather fight because ?he certainly entertains a great number of Filipinos and given them a great amount of pride. You can really hold your head high when one of your countrymen is the boss.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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