Chris Algieri’s school of thought: WBC should not encourage Manny Pacquiao

It may be Manny Pacquiao – a living legend whose career speaks for itself – but after a three-year break, one should not ask the 45-year-old to overtake all opponents and march straight into a fight for the world title.

It wouldn’t be fair to the other welterweights. It would also further undermine the ranking systems we often believe. If a former fighter can get into a world championship fight under these circumstances, why do active fighters have to work so hard to climb the rankings?

George Foreman was 42 years old when he challenged Evander Holyfield for the world heavyweight title in 1991, but this fight was the 25th of his comeback. His name and previous fights with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier weren’t going to immediately secure him that chance – and not only was that the right way for him to climb the rankings, it was also the most responsible approach with regard to his health.

Aging fighters are at an increased risk of brain damage. This risk is further aggravated if the aging fighter, like Pacquiao, has not been in the ring or even in the gym. Lennox Lewis once said that after a long period of inactivity, a fighter will suffer a concussion the first few times they are thrown, and I have heard many other fighters speak similarly. The human body gets used to not taking hits – especially if it has not even been involved in lower level fights.

Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC who supports Pacquiao so much, drew the comparison with Vitali Klitschko, who came out of retirement and beat Samuel Peter in 2008. Klitschko was forced to retire due to a knee injury. Pacquiao ended his career after a poor performance and a loss to Yordenis Ugas – and that was three years ago. He stopped fighting because he no longer fought like the fighter we recognized as one of the greatest of all time. What reasons are there to expect him to be better in 2021 than he was against Ugas?

Pacquiao was a great fighter in the 126-pound and 130-pound divisions; his fights with Juan Manuel Marquez were phenomenal. He was equally impressive at welterweight, dominating and stopping Miguel Cotto in 2009. That means his most recent appearance at the peak of his career was 15 years ago.

If Pacquiao’s great rival Floyd Mayweather was encouraged to return, it might be relevant that Mayweather had a less grueling career and had a fighting style that can still be effective even as he ages. Even more relevant is the fact that Mayweather has stayed active by competing in exhibition matches. Those exhibition matches may have been little more than glorified sparring sessions, but he still took punches and blocked others with his gloves – and even then, I wouldn’t like to see him go straight back into a world title fight.

The last big night of Pacquiao’s great career came when he beat the then-unbeaten Keith Thurman in 2019. He took a lot of hits that night – he had to, because he was fighting an aggressive world-class fighter. When Pacquiao fights Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title, he won’t suddenly be a defensive genius – he’ll have to fight.

The night we fought in 2014, he was still a fantastic fighter. I was so surprised by his boxing skills – his footwork, his ability to change pace, his use of broken rhythm, his situational awareness. I had thought of him as more of a forward fighter who was explosive and physical, but that night he showed a ton of boxing skills. When he fought Ugas, he was completely different – to the extent that it was difficult to watch. Ugas was a very, very good fighter – world class for many years. But a fighter with Pacquiao’s skillset should not have lost to him. Especially given the fact that he beat Thurman and then retired, it would have been close to how Roy Jones Jr. retired after beating John Ruiz.

At 29, Barrios is a good, improving and dangerous fighter who is at his physical peak. He looked very good when he beat Ugas a year ago – he delivered his most complete performance yet, showed a very good jab and hit hard – and he is youthful and energetic enough to force the tempo of a fight. His trainer, Bob Santos, also speaks very, very highly of him.

Sulaiman speaks the way he is to shock. Much like Jake Paul fighting Mike Tyson, he seeks notoriety. Sulaiman knows that mentioning Pacquiao’s name will attract attention. He will consider a WBC title fight with Pacquiao to be good business. But the WBC should care more about its rankings and the other fighters in it.

The world’s top welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis defends his title for the first time on Saturday against David Avanesyan at the Wells Fargo Center in his hometown of Philadelphia. Each of his fights is a spectacle, so the fact that Matchroom is bringing him back not only to his hometown, but to a place with such a great boxing history, is incredibly positive. It’s also something the sport should be doing more of – as long as Ennis performs as expected of him.

Avanesyan is a strong contender, but even though he is a bit past his prime, he represents a litmus test for Ennis. What will be relevant is how Ennis’ performance compares to Terence Crawford when he beat Avanesyan in 2022. I expect Ennis to win in the middle rounds.