The Final Score: Pacquiao’s Search for His Joe Frazier

While a still bouncy yet beaten Cotto trotted around the ring, the thought ran in our minds. When will Pacquiao face the ultimate foe? Cotto, clearly, wasn’t it. Pacquiao deserves an opposing force that will push Pacman to the limits of suffering, endurance, understanding and resolve. We always scream for a first round knockout. There is, after all, satisfaction in Pacquiao domination. Deep inside, however, we crave for an experience more visceral. The theater of a lopsided 100-meter dash dominated by just one lightning bolt pales in comparison to the saga of a 42-kilometer Olympic marathon disputed by two tortured souls. Pacquiao is already a fighter for the ages. But at the peak of his career, in the most vivid phase of his growing legend, we secretly hope to see Manny win a classic war of attrition. A one-sided fight just won’t do. A fighter for the ages deserves to win a fight for the ages.

I’m reminded of a difference between basketball and boxing. In basketball, we normally don’t choose who we play against. In most cases, the teams we dread are teams we end up meeting in critical circumstances. In boxing, we choose the foes we face, by virtue of personal choice, team decision or business proposition. Pacquiao’s jousts with Oscar dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto weren’t accidental. They weren’t blind dates. These were meticulously planned engagements. As such, it is up to Team Pacquiao to find an opponent who’ll reveal the mastery of Manny or seek a rival who can cement Pacman’s legend by pushing the pound-for-pound king to the very edge of sanity. Muhammad Ali needed a Joe Frazier. Liston and Foreman forced Ali to the ropes. It was Frazier, however, who sent Ali to the brink of surrender. Without Frazier, Ali wouldn’t have his “Thrilla in Manila". In that bloody mess, amidst 14 rounds of hell, gods were born. Unfortunately, some strongly suggest that in that grand collision of broken bones and slashed flesh, brains were also fried. And so Pacquiao now stands on a decisive line. He’s no longer searching for worthy adversaries. He’s searching for equals (maybe even someone superior). For some, in wanting to cross that line, in going past the point of no return, Pacquiao is simply looking for trouble. A sage once said that quitting while you’re ahead isn’t the same as quitting. A variation of which must’ve been shared with Ali, Larry Holmes, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Reggie Jackson, George Foreman and countless other sporting greats. Legends are often stubborn. The very thing that makes them great is what forces them to press on, even when they’re already running on empty. So while Pacquiao currently enjoys being hotter than the sun, I hope his team prepares for the final, triumphant homestretch. In Team Pacquiao’s search for the Fraziers in Manny’s career, I pray Bob, Freddie et al. plan for Pacquiao’s safe passage into retirement and triumphant entry into boxing immortality. A fighter for the ages deserves nothing less. - GMANews.TV