Para kay dating WBO heavyweight champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs, itinuturing niya si dating pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao na isa sa pinakadakilang boksingero sa buong mundo dahil sa kagilas-gilas na pagbabalik nito mula sa nakatatakot na 6th round knockout kay Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez noong 2012.
Sa panayam ni Jenna Jay ng On The Ropes Boxing Radio, sinabi ng boksingerong nagbalik mula sa pagreretiro at nagtala ng anim na panalo, lima sa knockout noong 2014, na wala nang patutunguhan si WBC at WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. kundi harapin si Pacquiao.
“I personally think when he (Mayweather) said he wanted to do testing, he had concerns about the testing, about a guy taking performance enhancement and fighting him with an edge. Obviously he had concerns and maybe those concerns didn’t let the fight happen or maybe there’s other things that we don’t know about,” ani Briggs na hahamunin si world heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko sa taong ito.
“All I know now is that the fight’s gotta happen sooner than later because who else is left Mayweather and who’s next for Pacquiao? They need each other, it’s a great time,” diin ni Briggs. “That boy, Amir Khan, he’s sharp. That boy is getting better, he looked good the other night, I’m very impressed with Amir Khan.”
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Nang tanungin kung sino ang magbibigay ng problema kay Mayweather kina Khan at Pacquiao, aminado si Briggs na mahihirapan ang walang talong Amerikano na dating magka-stable sa Wildcard Gym.
“Both of those are tough fights in my opinion. Amir Khan right now looks good, he looked phenomenal, he’s getting better. Pacquiao is a hell of a fighter, he’s probably one of the greatest fighters in history because he is a man who got knocked out by Marquez so viciously that you would have thought he was dead,” ani Briggs. “You would have thought Pacquiao would never box again, this man came right back and fought Brandon Rios, came back and beat Bradley for the title. Come on man, what kind of man is this? What kind of human being is this? He literally almost got killed and he came back and he’s fighting like it never happened, that’s a hell of a man.”
Naniniwala rin si Briggs na puwedeng maulit kay Pacquiao ang naganap sa huling laban kay Marquez kung matitiyempuhan ni Mayweather.
“I don’t know because if Mayweather boxes him straight off the ropes for twelve rounds, he could catch him. Can Pacquiao deal with that in the middle of the ring?” dagdag ni Briggs. “That’s a great fight, it’s really a fight that we got to see happen because I really want to see how Floyd deals with Manny’s speed, foot speed and hand speed, and how Pacquiao deals with Floyd’s boxing ability. Can Floyd stay off the ropes? It’s a tough fight to call. Can Floyd catch him? Floyd might catch him and put him to sleep, who knows.”
