Long time Pacquiao coach Freddie Roach stirred a flurry of conversation when he said his former ward may go for middleweight banger Gennady Golovkin instead of a unification bout with Terence Crawford.
At this stage of his career, Sen. Emmanuel Paquiao has nothing to prove. Win or loss against anybody will not soil or add up to his legacy.
At 41, Pacquiao is rather old to be still boxing competitively. But Pacquiao is no ordinary boxer. He is an athletic specimen that comes once in a lifetime in a sport that is supposed to be dominated by guys in their mid or late 20s.
Boxing is a brutal contact sport where the greats extend their legacies into their early 30s before slowing down and finally bowing out – many overextending their welcome.
Like many greats that came before him, Pacquiao belongs to the old school of professional boxers who fought and dominated the best in their division. The greats of yesteryears fought like it was the last fight of their lives.
Pacquiao, today, is definitely already past his prime. But he is still very competitive. He may no longer be as tireless as the energy bunny, no longer as quick and as sharp as the Pacquiao that ought the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales (2nd fight), David Diaz, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito nor the devastating puncher who KOed Ricky Hatton in a spectacular fashion.
But he is still good enough to beat the likes of Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman who are in their prime.
Golovkin poses a threatening challenge to Pacquiao.
The Kazakhstan-born middleweight champion possesses an excellent record of 40 wins, 35 of them inside the distance, with only 1 loss and a draw to spoil a record. He is likewise the heavier boxer at a full pledged middleweight between 154 to 160 pounds (70 to 73 kilos). Golovkin is durable. He has not been stopped. He is younger by 3 years at 38.
Pacquiao is now 41 and a small welterweight (147-lb limit). He has suffered 7 defeats, 3 of them by knockouts of the full count variety. The heaviest he fought was when he subdued Antonio Margarito to claim his record 8th world title at a catchweight of 150 pounds for the latter’s154-lb title.
Going after Golovkin is dangerous.
Pacquiao has been into many dangerous challenges before. He fought the heavier Barrera, Morales, Diaz, Cotto, Oscar de la Hoya and Margarito, all of them except Margarito fell by KO from the Filipino boxing great.
But Pacquiao was undoubtedly in his prime when he fought this array of boxers, many of them candidates for Hall of Fame enshrinement.
Will past-his-prime Pacquiao be able to pull off an upset of sort against Golovkin who himself may also be slowing down?
Golovkin’s most notable opponent is Saul Canelo Alvarez who he fought to a draw and lost in a rematch by unanimous decision.
Should he decide to go for another record which he himself established, Pacquiao will forever etch his name in the annals of boxing as being the first and probably will only be the 9-division world champion.
That record will probably not be broken – ever. His collection of 8 world titles is already a very tall order to top or even equal. And only Pacquiao has the chance to topple it, now.
On paper, a Golovkin-Pacquiao header is a mismatch. It is preposterous to even suggest that Pacquiao will beat Golovkin, given the latter’s bulk and heft, strength and length.
At 5’10 ½, Golovkin will be the tallest and the heaviest opponent for Pacquiao since Margarito who stood at 5’11”. Based on record, the 38-year old Golovkin will be the scariest puncher Pacquiao will ever face.
But Golovkin is not without his soft and weak spots.
Golovkin has not faced a quick opponent in Pacquiao even at a diminished speed.
The Kazakhs’ punches are long and he has the tendencies to lower his left hand when lunging with his rights, his killer hand, making him hittable with Manny’s quicker counterpunches. Golovkin does not possess the fastest feet and will find Pacquiao a harder target to hit. However, he has very potent left and right hooks to the body.
Against Golovkin, Pacquiao will be giving up 3 inches in reach and 5 inches in height. At weight limit of 160, Pacquiao will be hard press to knock down or even hurt Golovkin. Pacquiao also has not been knocking down foes beyond the 147-lb limit.
Pacquiao can be hurt. And he had been knocked down several times and in those, he was knocked out cold three times.
The key will be stamina and pace. If Pacquiao can still move around the ring and avoid being cornered or pushed on the ropes, he can punish Golovkin with his speed. Golovkin will have to be in his top shape to be able to keep pace with Pacquiao over 12 rounds.
But first, Pacquio will have to establish early that he can hurt Golovkin. He has to make Golovkin respect his power. Otherwise, Golovkin will just plod his way inside until Pacquiao is forced to commit into a brawl.
In this fight, speed will be the key. Pacquiao will have to do a repeat of his performances against de la Hoya and Margarito – two tall fighters who do not posses the foot speed and the counterpunching skills necessary to catch Pacquiao.
The biggest question will be: Does Pacquiao still possess even half that the speed to beat Golovkin?
Manny Pacquiao speed will rattle GGG….
GGG only packs hard punches and Pacquiao only has to avoid getting hit. GGG is still very slow when compared to a slowed Pacquiao. Yes, Pacquiao has slowed tremendously but still he is much faster than GGG. GGG has stronger punches but when Pacquiao catches him coming in the punches that will hit him will be doubled or even tripled in strength and power and will really hurt GGG even though he has a strong chin. Only thing Pacquiao to do is to hurt GGG’s eyes and that will spell doom on GGG. GGG’s KO’s his past opponents because his opponents were scared, actually really very scared getting hit. Pacquiao is never scared of any boxer. This will spell the difference. GGG will be prompted to think twice to attack after he tastes Pacquiao’s punches especially when GGG is coming in. GGG will be so tentative and this will be his doom.
If the fight does happen, it most likely will be at a catch weight at 155 or somewhere around there to try and dehydrate GGG. If the fight is at 160, GGG will have the power to hurt and even KO Pacquiao, if he can catch him. If I were GGG, I would keep the pressure against Pacquiao and turn it into a brawl especially against the ropes. No punch that Pacquiao will throw will hurt GGG unless it’s a constant accumulation of punches landing on his face over & over again then possibly in the last few rounds the ref will stop the fight. But Pacquiao hasn’t knocked anybody out at 154 or above even at his prime. So Pacquiao will most likely focus on using his hand and foot speed and circling around to avoid GGG’s power similar to how he fought Dela Hoya. However, as the saying goes, a good bigger man will always beat a good smaller man. Although this appears to be a dangerous fight for Pacquiao, he might be better off fighting an old GGG at middleweight than a young at his prime Terrence Crawford at welterweight.