SOURCE: Kate V. Pedroso
MANILA, Philippines—If Manny Pacquiao is surfing the Web, he just might want to duck for cover.
Criticisms of the Filipino boxing king’s May 7 fight with 39-year-old American Shane Mosley are rising like a tsunami on the Internet, with ring experts and fans alike denouncing it as a slap on boxing.
Some fans urged Pacquiao to pick another opponent while one Facebook user launched a page calling for a boycott of the fight.
The attacks were triggered by Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum’s announcement earlier this month that boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter would defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown in Las Vegas against Mosley, a former champion in three divisions.
Arum called Mosley “the most accomplished and famous boxer in the field of candidates.”
Other boxers considered for the title fight were Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico and World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Andre Berto, an undefeated American.
On his blog on ESPN.com, Dan Rafael, ESPN.com’s boxing writer, wrote: “From day one Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had an agenda when it came to making Manny Pacquiao’s next fight. He wanted to match him with Shane Mosley, and that is what he did, and he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”
In his entry titled “Pacquiao-Mosley a bad fight for boxing,” Rafael said: “Arum doesn’t care. He only wants to do what is best for himself, certainly not for boxing.”
Rafael described Mosley as an “aging fighter” who does not have “a great chance to win” against Pacquiao. He called the fight “a disservice to real boxing fans who actually care about match-ups and not just a famous but faded name.”
Rafael said Mosley “couldn’t pull a trigger at all” when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May and that his fight with Sergio Mora in September ended in a “putrid draw.”
“A one-sided loss and a draw in an awful fight are not supposed to be how you land a fight with the pound-for-pound king and the sport’s most popular fighter,” Rafael said.
He said Pacquiao “should have put his foot down and demanded a better fight.”
User The Heat1960 wrote: “As a boxing fan and huge Manny Pacquiao fan, (I’m) seriously disappointed.… It is Juan Manuel Marquez who deserves this opportunity, not Shane Mosley.”
“I am disgusted and I will boycott this and I hope others follow suit! Fans need to stand up and tell Arum and Pacquiao we will not stand for this!”
Another user, l2daro, commented, “I’m a huge Pacquiao fan but this is a slap in the face for boxing fans.”
Articles slamming the May 7 match have been posted on other websites.
In an article on boxing fansite Badlefthook.com, Scott Christ wrote: “I really don’t think [Mosley] has a shot.… It’s not even just that Shane isn’t what he used to be; it’s that Manny Pacquiao is too good for him anymore.”
Pierre Grimm, in an article posted on Nowboxing.com, said: “Manny Pacquiao is someone I enjoy watching fight, and supported, but I cannot support this fight with Shane Mosley, because we want to see someone who deserves a shot at Manny to fight Manny, not just someone with a big name who will bring in the big dollars.”
Pacquiao, now a congressman and three times a billionaire, earned about $25 million—or P1.1 billion—when he pummeled Mexican Antonio Margarito for 12 rounds in November. That translates to $694,000, or P30.5 million, per minute of boxing.
A fan site dedicated to Pacquiao—www.mannypacquiaovs.com—also expressed opposition to the Mosley fight. Its header, in big, bold letters, reads: “The fans worldwide have spoken. No to Mosley fight!”
The Twitter page of the website @mannypacquiaovs said: “We’d rather see Pacquiao retire (than) go to a b-sh-t fight with [Shane Mosley].”
Social networking site Facebook has also been buzzing with comments.
On HBO Boxing’s “Shane vs. Pacman” discussion board on Facebook, user Ed Jordan wrote: “I think Shane is damaged goods. Pacman wins easy. And Uncle Bob, I will not pay for it.”
Another user, Marco Angelo M. Garduque, shared the same view: “I guess this will be a one-sided game to Pacman.”
User Eric Garcia demanded another opponent for Pacquiao. “I don’t like this fight. I prefer seeing [Pacquiao] against Berto,” he said.
A “Boycott Pacquiao-Mosley” Facebook page has also been created. As of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, 25 people have “liked” the page.
Amid all the criticisms, some Pacquiao fans have remained undaunted.
One boxing fan site, theboxingpost.com, said: “Should we get excited about [Pacquiao] taking on Mosley? In a word—yes! In the same way we loved to watch [Muhammad] Ali, [Sugar Ray] Leonard and [Mike] Tyson, because they were fighting, we now just want to see Manny Pacquiao, the opponent is secondary.”
Pacquiao has said he was not taking the Mosley fight lightly. “This is not an easy fight. I need at least eight weeks to train for the Mosley fight,” he said.
The attacks were triggered by Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum’s announcement earlier this month that boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter would defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown in Las Vegas against Mosley, a former champion in three divisions.
Arum called Mosley “the most accomplished and famous boxer in the field of candidates.”
Other boxers considered for the title fight were Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico and World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Andre Berto, an undefeated American.
On his blog on ESPN.com, Dan Rafael, ESPN.com’s boxing writer, wrote: “From day one Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had an agenda when it came to making Manny Pacquiao’s next fight. He wanted to match him with Shane Mosley, and that is what he did, and he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”
In his entry titled “Pacquiao-Mosley a bad fight for boxing,” Rafael said: “Arum doesn’t care. He only wants to do what is best for himself, certainly not for boxing.”
Rafael described Mosley as an “aging fighter” who does not have “a great chance to win” against Pacquiao. He called the fight “a disservice to real boxing fans who actually care about match-ups and not just a famous but faded name.”
Rafael said Mosley “couldn’t pull a trigger at all” when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May and that his fight with Sergio Mora in September ended in a “putrid draw.”
“A one-sided loss and a draw in an awful fight are not supposed to be how you land a fight with the pound-for-pound king and the sport’s most popular fighter,” Rafael said.
He said Pacquiao “should have put his foot down and demanded a better fight.”
User The Heat1960 wrote: “As a boxing fan and huge Manny Pacquiao fan, (I’m) seriously disappointed.… It is Juan Manuel Marquez who deserves this opportunity, not Shane Mosley.”
“I am disgusted and I will boycott this and I hope others follow suit! Fans need to stand up and tell Arum and Pacquiao we will not stand for this!”
Another user, l2daro, commented, “I’m a huge Pacquiao fan but this is a slap in the face for boxing fans.”
Articles slamming the May 7 match have been posted on other websites.
In an article on boxing fansite Badlefthook.com, Scott Christ wrote: “I really don’t think [Mosley] has a shot.… It’s not even just that Shane isn’t what he used to be; it’s that Manny Pacquiao is too good for him anymore.”
Pierre Grimm, in an article posted on Nowboxing.com, said: “Manny Pacquiao is someone I enjoy watching fight, and supported, but I cannot support this fight with Shane Mosley, because we want to see someone who deserves a shot at Manny to fight Manny, not just someone with a big name who will bring in the big dollars.”
Pacquiao, now a congressman and three times a billionaire, earned about $25 million—or P1.1 billion—when he pummeled Mexican Antonio Margarito for 12 rounds in November. That translates to $694,000, or P30.5 million, per minute of boxing.
A fan site dedicated to Pacquiao—www.mannypacquiaovs.com—also expressed opposition to the Mosley fight. Its header, in big, bold letters, reads: “The fans worldwide have spoken. No to Mosley fight!”
The Twitter page of the website @mannypacquiaovs said: “We’d rather see Pacquiao retire (than) go to a b-sh-t fight with [Shane Mosley].”
Social networking site Facebook has also been buzzing with comments.
On HBO Boxing’s “Shane vs. Pacman” discussion board on Facebook, user Ed Jordan wrote: “I think Shane is damaged goods. Pacman wins easy. And Uncle Bob, I will not pay for it.”
Another user, Marco Angelo M. Garduque, shared the same view: “I guess this will be a one-sided game to Pacman.”
User Eric Garcia demanded another opponent for Pacquiao. “I don’t like this fight. I prefer seeing [Pacquiao] against Berto,” he said.
A “Boycott Pacquiao-Mosley” Facebook page has also been created. As of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, 25 people have “liked” the page.
Amid all the criticisms, some Pacquiao fans have remained undaunted.
One boxing fan site, theboxingpost.com, said: “Should we get excited about [Pacquiao] taking on Mosley? In a word—yes! In the same way we loved to watch [Muhammad] Ali, [Sugar Ray] Leonard and [Mike] Tyson, because they were fighting, we now just want to see Manny Pacquiao, the opponent is secondary.”
Pacquiao has said he was not taking the Mosley fight lightly. “This is not an easy fight. I need at least eight weeks to train for the Mosley fight,” he said.
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