Barry McGuigan has said the long-awaited fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is a decade too late and will not live up to the Rumble in the Jungle or the Thrilla in Manila. The former world champion also criticised the proposed bout between Shakur Stevenson and 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao, which is intended to give the bill some high-end American flavour.
A Long Time Coming
McGuigan congratulated the organisers for finally getting Fury and Joshua in a ring, noting that Cardiff is a fantastic venue. He said walking to the ring at 10.30pm would have been preferable, but given it has taken 10 years to get to this point, most will take one in the morning.
He pointed out that the money guaranteeing £75million to each fighter is coming from another part of the world, with broadcast giant Netflix stumping up for the event. As a result, he said we have to accept timings targeting an American broadcast audience more than four times greater than the UK's. At least it's cheaper to get to Cardiff than New York.
Not the Biggest Fight in History
McGuigan acknowledged that the banner headlines proclaiming this the biggest fight in history are already out there, and in economic terms it might be, with plenty of noise surrounding it. But he said, "Let's not kid ourselves. I think the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manila will survive the hyperbole."
Neither Fury nor Joshua are what they were, he said. As a purist, you would have wanted them to have met a decade ago. But even this is better than the proposed fight between Stevenson and Pacquiao.
Pacquiao's Age a Concern
McGuigan noted that Pacquiao is 47 years old, while Stevenson is almost 20 years his junior. He accepted that Stevenson is a formidable champion, arguably the greatest defensive fighter since Floyd Mayweather Jnr, though he does not necessarily float his boat.
He said the guys you remember are the explosive fighters, like peak Pacquiao. He suggested Stevenson should unify the titles at super lightweight, fight WBC champ Gary Russell, challenge Dalton Smith for the WBA crown, or face interim champion Isaac Cruz.
Pacquiao has been an amazing fighter but he is not that guy anymore, McGuigan said. He broke a four-year fast to fight Mario Barrios to a draw for the WBC welterweight crown 14 months ago, but that says more about his opponent than him. Pacquiao is even registered as a promoter with the Box-Rec website, which tells you all you need to know.
Though Stevenson is very much like Mayweather, super-talented, fast hands, southpaw, hard to hit, McGuigan asked, "Show me a barnburner he's been in." If he wants to be remembered like Roberto Duran, Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Pacquiao, etc, fighting a middle aged version of the Pac Man is hardly the way forward.
