Three words that all boxing fans dread hearing became a reality recently when the following headline sprung up all over the web: Manny Pacquiao Hospitalized.
One of the two biggest stars in his sport, Pacquiao, was hospitalized recently as a result of his reoccurring battle with acid reflux. The Filipino champion reportedly spent one night in Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan, Philippines before being released the following morning. Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee Pacquiao, cited her husband’s tendency to skip meals as a possible cause of this repeated situation.
Pacquiao, of course, was famously hospitalized for acid reflux in May of last year as well.
The big question surrounding all of this, however, is – how does this impact his upcoming November 12 bout versus Juan Manuel Marquez? Does Marquez now have a better shot at proving all of the doubters (read: experts, oddsmakers, etc.) wrong and pulling off the upset victory?
Absolutely not.
Pacquiao could lose two hands and a leg before November and he’d still be the odds on favorite to beat Marquez in the third and final part of their trilogy. This fight, frankly, is coming at least a year too late and is really more of a stopgap/payday for Pacquiao than anything else. At this point, Pacquiao is just kind of walking around in circles, stalling and patiently waiting for his arch nemesis, Floyd Mayweather Jr., to come around and drop lawsuits. Assuming that Pacquiao’s nonsensical court games don’t push Mayweather away, that bout actually seems possible now.
But who knows, maybe Marquez will get a little boost of confidence or something as a result of this latest happening. Maybe he now sees at least one chink in Pacquiao’s seemingly infallible armor.
Or maybe Marquez is smart enough to know that not even lightening striking Pacquiao would change the unavoidable proceedings scheduled for November 12.