For those who may not know, or care, Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring this weekend to face Jesse Vargas.
If you were unaware of the Pacquiao fight happening this weekend, then you’re also probably unaware of who Jesse Vargas is as a fighter and why he was selected as Pacquiao’s opponent. Vargas is the current WBO welterweight champion and boast a 27-1 record, the only loss coming at the hands of top welterweight Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao ran over Bradley during their fight this past April and that has led many to ask why Jesse has been chosen as Manny’s next opponent?
That answer is simple, Top Rank needs Manny to excel.
Two of Vargas’ last junior welterweight bouts, against Khabib Allakhverdiev and Anton Novikov in 2014, could’ve gone either way and many feel that Jesse was on the losing ends of those match ups and he is 1 for 2 since moving up to welterweight. The judges felt differently and Jesse went on to higher profile fights. His only true test came against Bradley and he was outclassed in all aspects.
Yet, he finds himself in a position to fight one of the best fighters of the past decade because he now holds a major title. It’s the definition of right place, right time. Vargas won’t generate the PPV numbers that Manny is used to but Bob Arum and Manny okay with that because it is all part of a much larger plan.
Arum has been seen smiling ear-to-ear as he arrived in Las Vegas this week. This from a man that couldn’t find a network to pick up this fight and had to produce it as an independent PPV. Why is he so cheery?
That question is also easy to explain.
It’s because this weekend’s fight was never for the money, well not immediately at least, it was a showcase for Manny Pacquiao and the set-up for something larger in the spring.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old Manny Pacquiao is no spring chicken and his life in politics is slowly pulling away from the boxing ring but Bob Arum knows that the money is the easy way to pull Manny back in. With the clock ticking down on his career, it’s imperative that Arum gets Pacquiao a few more marquee fights because there’s no signs of Arum developing another star with the earning potential of Pacquiao anytime soon.
That’s why this Vargas fight is important to not only Manny Pacquiao’s career but the future of boxing.
A dominating victory over Vargas will position Pacquiao for two possible must-see fights. One benefits him more than the other but both benefit Bob Arum greatly.
Let’s get the obvious out-of-the-way, the biggest fight in front of Manny Pacquiao is a rematch against Floyd Mayweather.
A strong performance against Jesse Vargas will be enough to get the media sensationalist and casual fans to hype a rematch between the now 49-0 “retired” Mayweather and the miraculously healed Manny Pacquiao. The seeds of a rematch were planted immediately after their first fight when Pacquiao publicly complained about a long-existing shoulder injury.
It won’t be enough to charge people the insane $100 PPV price but it is possible for it to do a respectable 2 million PPV buys at the normal $60 price, which is larger than any other boxing match can draw.
If Floyd walks away with $100 million and Pacquiao $50 million it’ll be considered a huge success. The only problem is Floyd’s willingness to participate in the rematch. He’s been away from boxing for over a year and he may be enjoying the riches of retirement (rest, traveling, women) more than the riches that come from fighting.
No worries though, if the Mayweather rematch isn’t on the table then Manny is prime for a match-up with Top Rank youngster Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. The 29-year-old Nebraska product is currently 29-0 and is considered the next big star of the 140lb/147lb divisions.
The junior welterweight is dangerously close to clearing out the 140lb division and there’s much of the marquee talent at 147lb resides on rival promotion PBC. The lack of Top Rank opposition means it’ll be hard for Crawford to boost himself into the Canelo stratosphere of superstardom, that is unless he is Pacquiao’s 2017 opponent.
A fight against the still spry PacMan isn’t easy but a victory would give casual fans a reason to watch Bud Crawford moving forward and a loss to Manny won’t derail his career. In fact, a loss still gets his name out to the masses, and much like Canelo’s loss to Mayweather, it’ll allow Crawford to reach a higher level of boxing fans.
Manny has the chance to add a young star to his resume and Bob Arum ushers in his next star.
Who would’ve thought that in 2017 Top Rank’s future would still rest upon the shoulders (fully healthy) of Manny Pacquiao?
