Given how Manny Pacquiao's past two fights have unfolded, there's a strong possibility that Saturday night could be the last time boxing fans get a chance to watch one of the all-time greats take to the ring.
Pac-Man is currently in the midst of the longest losing streak of his career, having dropped back-to-back fights with Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. But unlike those bouts, the 34-year-old enters this weekend's showdown with Brandon Rios as an overwhelming favorite.
While the American challenger boasts an impressive 31-1-1 record that includes 23 knockout victories, he's still seen as a tune-up for the much more dangerous Pacquiao.
We'll have to wait until Saturday night to find out for sure, but that leaves us with just enough time to review the critical info for this weekend's fight.
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2013
Time: 9 p.m. ET (11 a.m. Sunday in Macao)
Where: Cotai Arena in Venetian Resort in Macao, China
Watch: HBO Pay-per-view
Pacquiao's Boxing Career on the Line?
Many experts have speculated that Pacquiao should retire if he's beaten by Rios on Saturday. After all, a loss would signal three straight and with Pac-Man set to turn 35 in December, it's hard to believe he would be able to return to elite form in 2014 or beyond.
Even Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach has admitted that he will talk to his fighter about the possibility of retirement if he looks unimpressive against Rios, per ESPN.com:
It's really hard to say until we see the fight, but I will be the first one to tell him to retire. We have an agreement that as soon as I tell him that, he will retire.
Pacquiao has 61 professional fights under his belt since 1995 and had his 15-fight winning streak snapped in controversial fashion in June 2012, when judges awarded Timothy Bradley a split decision victory.
Pac-Man's most recent defeat was much more definite, though, as he was brutally knocked out by long-time rival Juan Manuel Marquez. Obviously, Pacquiao is at a crossroads heading into this fight. Consequently, anything less than a win will likely make his future plans that much more clear.
Should Rios Be Taken Seriously?
Challenger Brandon Rios is coming off the first loss of his professional career and has already admitted that he feels many are treating him like a "joke" ahead of Saturday's fight, per Yahoo Sports via ABS-CBNnews.com: "They're treating me like I'm some sort of joke and that I'm just showing up to be the victim for Manny Pacquiao."
But Rios' reaction to the seemingly endless amount of doubt is hardly surprising, and it's difficult to see him as a real threat to a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber. The 27-year-old Bam Bam lacks the speed to truly threaten Pac-Man and take advantage of his lackluster defense the way Marquez did 11 months ago.
The one adjective that seems to pop up again and again when talking about Rios is his toughness. Unfortunately, toughness guarantees neither success nor victory.
The majority opinion is that Pacquiao's superior speed and power will overwhelm the less experienced Rios. Therefore, it'll be up to Bam Bam to prove he's no joke and shock the world this weekend.
Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment