With Pacquiao on the way out, "Who's got next?!"

Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner | Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

Unless he loses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and/or a rematch clause is in his contract, his proposed bout against "Money" on March 13 may very well be Manny Pacquiao's last fight. It may be too premature but it's fair for any fan to speculate and with Pacquiao himself expressing the desire to hang the gloves up after one last fight, one has to wonder the aftermath.

Lets say Pacquiao beats Mayweather convincingly by KO and decides to ride into the sunset as one of the greatest ever, who will take over boxing's top spot? Also, what becomes of Philippine boxing, a franchise Pacquiao singlehandedly built up?

In the words of hoopheads and basketball's blacktops, "Who's got next?!"

Losing to Pacquiao will definitely almost disqualify Mayweather to even contend for boxing's top spot. Much of his mystique is built on his undefeated record and his antics outside the ring. Despite being one of the sweetest scientist the sport has ever seen, his fights have failed to captivate fans the way Pacquiao's fights have. So is anybody really fit to carry boxing's mantle after Pacquiao leaves?

Lets run through a quick-list. You got Sugar "Shane" Mosley who is pretty much on his last leg and is set to retire soon, so forget about making him the face of boxing. Same goes with Bernard Hopkins and the rest of the older fighters out there like Juan Manuel Marquez. There's a lot of promise with the younger core though and allow me to throw Andre Ward's name in the mix. He still has a lot to prove, but I think he has the charisma and skill to crossover into being one of the marquee names of the sport. Some other promising youngins although on the rebound trail are Victor Ortiz, Kelly Pavlik and you can say Paul Williams after a close call with Sergio Martinez a couple of weeks ago. With that said, I don't see anybody who can take over Pacquiao instantly the way he took over from De la Hoya and wowed boxing fans almost dispatching The Golden Boy's memory quickly. Perhaps, 2010 will not only be the year when the fight of this era takes place, it also begins the search for next era's boxing superstar.

And what happens to Philippine boxing? The franchise that Pacquiao himself singlehandedly built and made the world notice. Who's going to take over Pacquiao's spot? Luckily, they might not have to look too far. Just around the corner, Ring Magazine's #6 best Pound for Pound fighter in the world Nonito Donaire Jr. is chomping at the bit for his turn to put his country on his back. Now, don't get me wrong, there will never be another Manny Pacquiao, just like there will never be another Michael Jordan, but Donaire provides promise for a bright future ahead the way rising stars such as Kobe Bryant and Grant Hill did when Jordan left the game. Donaire's talent is on swine flu- it's sick! He can counter, he can move his feet, he can bang and also has knockout power for his division. The only problem is, how compelling can he really be with the lack of marquee names in his division? And as it is, his promoter Bob Arum may be sleeping on his career just a tad bit. That might change though when Pacquiao leaves.

One thing is certain, Philippine boxing will never have a shortage for talent. You have Rodel Mayol, Marvin Sonsona, AJ Banal, Milan Melindo, Donnie Nietes and recently crowned WBO Interim light flyweight champ Johnriel Casimero among a long list of world class fighters. As for the fans, they're here to stay as well. It's not like they ever left, since the country has followed boxing for as long as I can remember. It's no accident why there's so many Filipino fighters ready and capable to fight and win on US soil- they've been there, nobody just paid them any mind in the past. Pacquiao simply focused the spotlight on them and now they're getting opportunities they only wished they did a decade ago.

Plus, it's the internet age. All these fans that have been drawn in by Pacquiao will remain fans even at a casual level since access to the sport ins't as hard as it used to be. The reason why boxing went down is because they stopped televising the big fights on network TV and even on newspapers and network news like ESPN. Thanks to the internet, the word is being spread once again. If only boxing can fully embrace this new media and realize the true value of internet media and perhaps start catering to a younger crowd as well, then the sport will flourish once again. It'll be easier for Filipino boxing fans to keep tabs with boxing since you can see fights through streams online and discuss it on forums on top of getting all the news online. The fans have always been there, so to say they will leave with Pacquiao, is damn straight ignorant.

Source: Examiner.com