Pacquiao could end knockout drought against Vargas

It has been seven years since eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao scored a stoppage victory. His career went through ups and downs since then, as if his reputation of once being a feared power puncher with blinding speed is nothing but folklore.

On November 5 (November 6 PHL time), Pacquiao will once again step inside the ring following his brief "retirement" earlier this year. He's tasked to challenge Jessie Varges for the WBO world welterweight championship -- a title he held in the past.

And while some observers tend to see this upcoming fight as nothing but a mismatch, the showdown could also be Pacquiao's most exciting matchup since his fourth encounter with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

WHO IS JESSIE VARGAS?

The 27-year-old Vargas was a former amateur standout who had more than a hundred fights under his belt and is an ex-national amateur boxing champion. He turned pro in 2008, and went on a 26-fight winning streak in a span of seven years.

He is a 5'10 orthodox fighter, who does well in putting his combinations together. His fighting style, however, is rather basic to say the least. The current WBO world welterweight champion often comes forward, throws the jab and frequently gets to a slugfest. His defense is suspect too, making him an easy prey for someone like Manny Pacquiao.

Vargas' first competition against an elite opposition was when he stepped up to face Timothy Bradley last year. And while he managed to hurt Bradley once during the fight, Vargas was severely outboxed during their 12-round encounter. Another notable fight worth looking into was his slugfest with Josesito Lopez in 2011. Lopez managed to take Vargas to deep waters but ended up losing by split decision in a bout that many thought Vargas lost.

PREDICTION

Vargas is a decent fighter, but he's a borderline class C boxer at best and is nowhere near the level of Pacquiao. He loves to come forward and brawl while utterly lacking speed and power. He's tall but doesn't fight tall, and his mediocre defense and nothing special footwork often leaves him open for the taking. Come fight night, fans can expect Pacquiao to land his straight left and right hook at will while dazing the poor Vargas with his lateral movement.

Other than his youth, height and reach advantage, Vargas has pretty much nothing to offer against Pacquiao. The Filipino ring icon has the overwhelming advantage when it comes to power, speed, experience, skills set and cornermen -- a package that is quite hard to beat since Vargas isn't exactly known for having a high in-ring IQ. Suffice it to say, the two words that would best describe Vargas are "average" and "ordinary".

The interest surrounding this upcoming fight has proved to be lukewarm since the day it was announced. And why not? Nobody asked nor wanted to see Pacquiao going against Vargas. The Filipino people wanted Pacquiao to get himself in the Olympics in hopes to win the country's first gold medal, instead they got a fight with Vargas, who's widely unknown and is levels below him when it comes to the fight game.

Vargas does not belong in there with Pacquiao. Heck, Vargas and Pacquiao shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. Vargas' come forward style is a horrible matchup for Pacquiao given his weak attributes.

Pacquiao's victory has never been much more imminent this past few years. Should he show force at least 70% on fight night, it would still be sufficient enough to snatch the WBO world title. Pacquiao, however, has also put himself in a situation where he has a lot more to lose than to gain. By picking to fight a weak opposition in Vargas, he had placed himself in a position where he can't afford not to impress.

What makes this fight a bit worth watching though is that Vargas is going to try, he's going to press and brawl and would be made to pay for it over and over. At 37 years old, there's still not too many fighters out there who can trade with Pacquiao, let alone Vargas, who barely has any sting in his punches.

Pacquiao is bound to outbox and do better than Vargas in every aspect of the game. And should he bring out a tiny bit of his old aggressive self, a knockout win is a huge possibility this time around. If the plan is to have Pacquiao retire with a world title around his waist, then his team surely picked the right opponent to fight. — BAP, GMA News