By Julian-Rey Fortaleza
When it was announced that Manny Pacquiao would be getting back in the ring my first thoughts were about another exhibition or gimmick fight.
Wrong.
He’s coming back and fighting for a title right away. A bigger, younger, champion in his prime.
Historically, against taller fighters Pacquiao has used his generational speed to overwhelm. De La Hoya, Clottey, Margarito, Algieri, Vargas. All taller fighters that couldn’t handle Pacquiao’s unique combination of movement, speed, and power.
A pessimistic viewpoint could be that all of those qualities have faded with Pacquiao’s age. This assumption might be held by a lot of fans after his last performance vs Yordenis Ugas. Subsequent appearances against questionable opponents since that have not dispelled that notion very much either.
However, as the legendary Larry Merchant said of George Foreman’s comeback against heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, “George is a star and stardom, like age, has its privileges. There are many many champions but very very few stars. That’s why he’s here.”
Pacquiao is still a star, and that’s why he’s here.
ReyFort Media 
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