Manny had expressed his desire to assist the people of Tacloban even before the fight, but was talked out of it by Freddie Roach, who was concerned about the risk of the fighter getting stranded or having his health affected by the conditions in Tacloban.
For his future in the ring, the eight time champion in the world has many options for his next fight, but some options are more interesting than others. One possibility is a fifth match-up between himself and his arch-nemesisJuan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez. Fiscally this fight makes sense. Their fourth match-up resulted in 1.15 million pay-per-view buys, and with the fireworks that resulted in the fight, people would expect much of the same and would be more in favor of purchasing the fifth part of their trilogy. Another possibility is a rematch between himself and undefeated Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley.
While this fight may work from a boxing standpoint, fiscally, this match-up might not sell all that well. Their first meeting had only 700,000 buys and the fight was not the most exciting of Pacquiao’s historic career. This fight would, however, give Manny a chance to finally get that win over Bradley.
It is a risk though, because Bradley has obviously embraced his boxing style and is one of the best in the sport at movement, something Manny often has problems with. Finally, a third option would be to finally broker a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
While this fight would not hold all of the significance it once had, it would still create a serious buzz in the boxing world, and may even cross over to the mainstream sports media. The fight still makes sense from the business standpoint, and would possibly break the pay-per-view record set by May- weather and De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. While Mayweather would be the best choice concerning legacy and money, the question is “Would Mayweather and Arum be able to broker a deal?”
By Rey Fortaleza