"I'm a huge Pacquiao fan. I mean, he's my favorite fighter out there outside of myself, so I love Pacquiao. I believe he's a guy that brings a lot of excitement to the sport. When he comes, he don't play around. He brings it. Win or lose, he's a true fighter and for me, that's what boxing should be about," stated former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson as he shared his thoughts on Manny Pacquiao. Johnson was a guest on the OnTheGrind Boxing podcast yesterday and as he discussed the current state of boxing, he shared his opinion that fighters should be more like Manny Pacquiao and less like Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"Boxing now is all about being undefeated, undefeated, undefeated and I think that might have a lot to do with the network just wanting to promote undefeated fighters. But what happens is the best fights don't happen because a guy don't want to take any chance of losing his undefeated record, so his biggest challenge, he don't take on that challenge because he's afraid his 0 will go. It does not create the best fights," Johnson remarked as he discussed the current state of boxing. While Johnson agrees that records are important, he also thinks that some fighters are unwilling to face a tough opponent for fear of losing. As such, it's no surprise that the man they call "The Road Warrior", who's always been willing to face anyone at any place and any time, is such a big fan of the Filipino superstar.
"When I see a guy like Pacquiao, who's willing to fight anybody, came up like 4 or 5 weight classes, just taking on the best fighters in each division, come on, how can you not be a fan of that guy. It's impossible," he continued. Given his belief that the focus on fighters with unblemished records is hurting the sport, it's also no surprise that Johnson does not share the same opinion of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter, you know? Am I a huge fan of Floyd? No, I'm not. I think there's plenty of good fights that's out there that he's not taking part in. And for what? I don't understand why he's not...that's what we're missing in boxing. Boxing has a lot of draws, but it doesn't have a lot of great fights. And that's my problem with the matchups," Johnson added.
For much more with Glen Johnson and his thoughts on Chad Dawson, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr. and more, be sure to check out OnThEGRiND BOXiNG Podcast #112 and tune in every Thursday and Sunday for your opportunity to speak live to more guest fighters and the entire OnThEGRiND BOXiNG Team.
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