A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Manny Pacquiao’s decision to retire early last week is both good and bad.
The announcement was good because it’s time for the 42-year-old to step away. He looked solid in his unanimous-decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in August but he can no longer fight to the standards he established for himself. And he will not have taken a beating on his way out the door, which has been the fate of so many other great fighters.
The Filipino icon’s retirement is bad because we’ll never seen him fight again. I don’t know whether another fighter in my lifetime has provided fans with more thrills, including legends like Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and others of that ilk.
That’s how it works, though. Fighters are human. They get old and move on to the next chapter in their lives, which is politics in Pacquiao’s case.
I’m grateful that Pacquiao wasn’t forced to retire as the result of a horrible beating, the kind he delivered against Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. It doesn’t matter how good you were at your best. If you stick around too long, you get burned. I always think of Muhammad Ali and Leonard as the best examples but there are many others.
I wish all fighters could go out like Carl Froch, who knocked out rival George Groves in front of 80,000 wild fans at Wembley Stadium and never fought again. It was the ultimate mic-drop retirement.
However, Pacquiao did well. He earned a decision over then-unbeaten Keith Thurman to add one final world title to his massive collection in July 2019 and then gave a credible performance against Ugas, who won clearly but had to work hard to do so.
Thank goodness Pacquiao recognized that it made no sense to tempt fate any further. He made the right decision at the right time. Now let’s hope he doesn’t make the mistake of coming back one day.
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BAD
Pacquiao arguably accomplished more than any other fighter of his generation. Victories over a long list of current or future Hall of Famers. Titles in eight divisions. Elite status for more than two decades. The list is long.
I have only one regret for him: He didn’t fight Floyd Mayweather when they were closer to their peaks.
I would never have picked Pacquiao to beat Mayweather, who was simply the better fighter. Anyone who has Pacquiao higher than Mayweather on all-time pound-for-pound lists is placing too much emphasis on volume of victories and not enough on what we know were their abilities.
Mayweather defeated Pacquiao handily in 2015, after about five years of frustrating dickering. However, the result doesn’t mean much to me. Mayweather was 38, Pacquiao 36. The event had the feel of a baseball old timer’s game even though the principals were still excellent fighters.
The fight should’ve happened around 2010, when Pacquiao was a tick quicker than he was in 2015 and threw more punches. I would’ve picked Mayweather to win because of his superior boxing skills but the younger version of Pacquiao might’ve had a chance.
Of course, the legacies of both fighters are strong as it is. They’re considered all-time greats.
However, a victory by Mayweather in 2010 would’ve carried more weight than his unanimous decision in 2015 does. And Pacquiao, with a win over Mayweather, could’ve legitimately claimed to be the best of the past generation.
The fact the fight didn’t happen earlier than it did is one of those what-ifs in boxing that I will bemoan as long as I live.
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WORSE
News item: An investigation has determined that boxing bouts in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were fixed by “complicit and compliant” referees and judges.
That’s per The Associated Press, which reported that as many as 11 bouts might’ve been affected by the scandal. McLaren cited a specific case in which a Kazakhstani referee allegedly asked for around $250,000 to ensure a Mongolian boxer defeated his French counterpart. No bribe was paid.
McLaren couldn’t determine who orchestrated the match-fixing scheme but cited a “culture of fear, intimidation and obedience in the ranks of the referees and judges,” The AP reported. It wasn’t clear which bouts were affected. And there was no indication that results would be changed in light of the findings.
“Key personnel decided that the rules did not apply to them,” McLaren said.
McLaren was hired by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), which was in charge of boxing in 2016 Games but suspended before the Tokyo Olympics this past summer. The competition was conducted by a committee put together by gymnastics officials.
AIBA is now run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, who told The AP that the system of officiating and scoring amateur fights has been overhauled.
I hope Kremlev proves to be a competent, clean caretaker and that the investigation puts some distance between the current version of amateur boxing and its unsavory past.
It might be too late as it applies to the Olympics, though: The IOC reportedly hasn’t decided or won’t say whether boxing will be a part of the 2024 Games in Paris.
