LAS VEGAS — The 28 stitches over his right eye weren’t enough to keep Manny Pacquiao from headlining his own postfight concert, which went on as usual into the early-morning hours on the Las Vegas Strip.
They certainly won’t keep him from his next fight, though that’s the only sure thing when it comes to Pacquiao’s immediate future.
He escaped with a win Saturday night against Juan Manuel Marquez, but that only tells part of the story. Seemingly invincible over the past three years, he looked anything but in scoring a majority decision over his Mexican nemesis in a win that enraged both Marquez and thousands of his supporters who packed the MGM Grand arena.
Somewhere, Floyd Mayweather Jr. had to be watching. Somewhere, Mayweather had to be wondering.
If Marquez could more than hold his own against Pacquiao by counter punching him every minute of the fight, what would stop Mayweather from doing the same?
If Marquez did everything against Pacquiao except win, why not finally take dibs on next and finish the job? It’s boxing, of course, so nothing is ever that simple.
