Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first Olympic gold medal. Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam were also able to replicate Diaz’s 2016 campaign by scoring two silver medals. And then Eumir Marcial gained a bronze medal to cap off what is said to be the best Olympic campaign from the Philippines.
Oh yeah, Manny Pacquiao is also going to face Errol Spence in Las Vegas on August 21.
Wait...
Now it's Yordenis Ugas!
Regardless...
It’s a shocker that the Pacquiao fight isn’t as hyped as it usually is. Maybe this is a good thing because for some time now, we’re used to seeing Pacquiao on a farewell tour… that’s not really a farewell tour?
If he is 42 during the time when his rivals are 30, this is going to be a problem. However, Pacquiao feasted on Jessie Vargas, Adrian Broner, and Keith Thurman at the prime of their careers. Timothy Bradley couldn't capitalize on the spot he got when he defeated Pac-Man in 2012.
He was about to turn 30 at that point.
I know boxing is a dead sport in terms of box office gains but the young stars of the sport aren’t as great as the secondary stars of a decade ago. In some ways, you can’t blame Pacquiao for still trying. Jeff Horn may have defeated Pacquiao in Australia in 2017 but Horn has since alternated wins and losses (3-3) and four of his last four are Australians… fighting in Australia.
Pacquiao is still one of the biggest draws of the sport after… Jake Paul?
However, I doubt if Pacquiao’s name and the money he’ll gain would be as big and as awesome as it was during his heyday.
Maybe politics got in the way. At the moment, it looks as if he wants to succeed Rodrigo Duterte as Philippine president. In typical Pinoy politics, his match earnings are now in question.
Did he really pay the correct taxes?
I am not going to go political on this blog.
With that said, the buzz for Pacquiao-Spence is awfully quiet.
Again, maybe it’s a good thing.
The thing about the Pacquiao fights nowadays is that we as a country can still flex our relevance. Maybe it’s a surprise visit from Klay Thompson. How about a random spot in ESPN or Fox Sports? Even with a mere mention from a random late-night talk show, we can still say that we are relevant in the global scheme of things. We might have our first gold medal… but others had theirs as well for a very long time.
It’s good for us… but not for the sport of professional boxing though.
Every time Pacquiao beats a potential game-changer, it sends the sport star-less and future-less. Let's not forget that Eumir Marcial had one pro fight with Manny Pacquiao's MP Promotions before he was lured back to the Philippine Team. Back then, it was unheard of for a boxer to return to amateur competition because there is more money in the pros than the cash incentives the government brings out.
Pacquiao at the moment is pretty much a double-edged sword and it's not really his fault.
This lack of future stars is so messed up that more than five years after their match, people are still thinking that a 44-year-old Floyd Mayweather, Jr. can team up with the 42-year-old Pacquiao to just have another megafight bout.