From the start, the ill-conceived Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight made very little sense.
Well, scratch that. It made sense from the standpoint that it offered the Filipino champion a shot at walking away with a big payday with yet another hand-picked punching bag, while not risking a loss. However, it didn’t make much sense for Pacquiao’s legacy.
After all, what is beating down an aging, ineffective Mosley going to do for Pacquiao’s reputation besides hurt it?
Now, after Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum’s latest comments, it all makes sense.
"Manny Pacquiao, with all due respect, never has fought a fighter of the ability and the skill set of Mosley. Mosley is the epitome of an African American fighter with a style,” Arum told AOL FanHouse.
Suddenly, the picture becomes clear. This stupid fight wasn’t just about the acknowledged greediness of both Top Rank and Pacquiao. No, it was about something bigger. It was racially motivated, and planned out with the Filipino superstar’s legacy in mind.
They’re getting desperate.
Everyone knows that Pacquiao has never defeated an African-American fighter. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was supposed to be the Filipino superstar’s chance to silence Bernard Hopkins and everyone else who said that he would never have the same success against a black American boxer that he had against others. However, rather than manning up, taking the appropriate drug tests and fighting the real pound-for-pound king, Pacquiao weaseled out of the potential bout and fought a PR war against Mayweather instead.
His fans took it hook, line and sinker – but one problem remained: he still hadn’t beaten an African American boxer.
Knowing this little fact would always come back to haunt him, Pacquiao and Arum plotted a way to get past this hurdle. All they needed was a big-name, shameless black American boxer who didn’t care that he was essentially be used as a stepping stone to building someone else’s legacy.
Mosley fit that bill.
Even Hopkins must be gritting his teeth at this dog-and-pony show now. He was right in his analysis of Pacquiao’s resume, but he wasn’t expecting Arum and Pacquiao to take this route.
When asked about it by AOL FanHouse Hopkins kept it short and sweet:
"No matter what happens when Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao fight, until he fights a Floyd Mayweather, who I think represents not only the style but the community I come from when it comes to the slickness and the boxing and the knowledge that Shane Mosley has also."
Translation: Why doesn’t Pacquiao act like a big boy and challenge an in-his-prime African-American fighter?
Anyway, Arum and the paper champ will do as they please. This isn’t the first time they’ve tried to hustle the public with their nonsensical PR tricks, and it won’t be the last. The sheep will fall for it and continue to bow down, but the true fans know better.
Pacquiao can beat Mosley to every color of the rainbow come fight night. It won't matter. This fight will only serve to hurt his legacy, not help it.
Source: opposingviews.com
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