The boxing world witnessed the shock of a lifetime Saturday evening as pound-for-pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao was knocked out cold by arch rival Juan Manuel Marquez.
Although “Pac-Man” was coming off a loss to Timothy Bradley back in June, the bout was quite controversial and fans and analysts alike expected the Filipino pugilist to bounce back with a definitive win over his rival.
UFC co-owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta took to Twitter to express his reaction to the epic upset:
Gotta strike when the iron is hot boxing!Lost manny/Floyd 4ever.#gspvssilva #silvavsbones #superfights!
— Lorenzo Fertitta (@lorenzofertitta) December 9, 2012
Prior to the June loss to Bradley, Pacquiao hadn’t lost since March 2005 and had won an incredible 15 fights in a row. He is also the first and only boxer to win titles in eight separate divisions.
This led to talk of a superfight with undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. heating up by the day, but neither side could ever come to an agreement on stipulations for the fight, including drug testing and how to split the fight purse.
On the UFC end of things, superfights have not been any easier to come by. A matchup between welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and middleweight title holder Anderson Silva has been discussed since 2009, but it has yet to come to fruition.
A recent announcement by UFC President Dana White stating that GSP will likely fight Nick Diaz next further cast doubt on a GSP-Silva showdown.
Silva stepping up and fighting UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is not anymore likely, as “The Spider” indicated that he’d want 50 percent of the UFC in order to face “Bones.”
Will the Pacquiao loss make the UFC more diligent in setting up some superfights of their own, or is this just a knee-jerk reaction by Fertitta?
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