| |
|
Supreme honor for Manny Pacquiao
By Recah Trinidad PhilBoxing.com Wed, 03 Jun 2020
Thomas Hauser.
THE eminent boxing scholar and authority Thomas Hauser, a Hall-of-Fame writer, said very few of today’s fighters have earned the right to be called great.
He blamed blind, excessive commercialism and loud, shallow publicity.
“The business of boxing today is as much about publicity and hype as it is about merit,” Hauser stated in an exclusive commentary for BoxingScene.
Greatness has to be earned, he said.
**
So how is greatness (in boxing) achieved?
“Greatness is forged in adversity,” Hauser said.
What else?
“It takes a body of work,” he added.
**
So does this make Floyd Mayweather a certified greatest of all time with his magnificent unbeaten record?
“No, a fighter doesn’t have to be unbeaten to be great,” Hauser stressed.
He readily added that Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard proved that.
**
Hauser pushed hard and referred to the great Angelo Dundee, trainer of Muhammad Ali.
“It’s what fighter does after he loses that makes him great,” Hauser quoted Dundee as saying.
Rating a fighter before his career is over is a perilous exercise in quantifying greatness, Hauser explained. Being immensely talented is different from greatness.
**
Hauser, who wrote the iconic Muhammad Ali biography, considered the greatest book on The Greatest, said not every fighter who has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame was great.
“He must possess the inquisitors that are necessary to prove greatness,” Hauser said, before zeroing in on the core of his thesis:
“Among active fighters today, Manny Pacquiao clearly meets the standard for greatness. In many ways, he’s a throwback fighter. Pacquiao has boxed almost 500 rounds over the course of 71 professional bouts. He has fought 18 times against ten fighters (including Floyd Mayweather and Oscar dela Hoya) who are either in or will be in the Hall of Fame.”
Great, indeed.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Recah Trinidad.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Crawford Aims For Greatness Vs Canelo; Inoue Takes Path of Least Resistance By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 15 Jan 2025Carzano beats Balquin for Pagadian chess crown; pockets P15,000 By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 15 Jan 2025World Title Contender Oscar “La Migraña” Duarte Scheduled to Collide with Former Two-Time Super Lightweight World Champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis , Wed, 15 Jan 2025OTX and Top Rank Announce Groundbreaking Co-Promotional Deal with First-Time Professional Fighter Julius “JuJu” Ballo , Wed, 15 Jan 2025World Champions Sadam Ali & Richard Commey To make ring comebacks Feb. 23rd in Brooklyn , Tue, 14 Jan 2025Houston Nips Memphis, 120-118, Wins Current Season Matchup By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Tue, 14 Jan 2025WBC orders World Cruiserweight Champion Badou Jack to make mandatory defense against Canadian Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki , Tue, 14 Jan 2025January 24: Undisputed Super Bantamweight King Naoya Inoue to Face Late Replacement Ye Joon Kim LIVE on ESPN+ , Tue, 14 Jan 2025GAB aims for more Pinoy world champs By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 14 Jan 2025Mark Sales is First Pinoy Boxing Casualty Abroad By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Tue, 14 Jan 2025Boxing’s Next Mega-Fight: Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford Set for a Historic Clash in Las Vegas By Dong Secuya, , Tue, 14 Jan 2025“Zurdo” Ramirez, “Scrappy” Ramirez, and Darius Fulghum leading LA-based 3Point Management into a huge 2025 , Tue, 14 Jan 2025Cavs Blow Early Leads in Loss to Pacers; Boston Barely Escape Home Loss to Pels By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 13 Jan 2025The Past Week in Action 12 January 2025: Jai Opetaia Stops David Nyika to Retain IBF Cruiser Title By Eric Armit, , Mon, 13 Jan 2025Filipino Remark Bartolome wins The Rooky Monthly Standard FIDE Rated chess tournament in Thailand By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 13 Jan 2025Kevin Arquero wins Pozorrubio rapid chess tilt By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 12 Jan 2025Kingsley Ibeh wins 10th straight, Austin Brooks defends WBA title , Sun, 12 Jan 2025Villacastin to fight Marcos in RFL Kickboxing By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 12 Jan 2025Boxer Eumir Marcial Faces Cheating, Abuse Allegations from Estranged Wife By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 12 Jan 2025Sans Curry and Green, Warriors Bow to Pacers; Boston, New York Lose to Western Foes at Home By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Sat, 11 Jan 2025INDIAN OLYMPIAN NISHANT DEV PENS DEAL WITH MATCHROOM AND DEBUTS IN LAS VEGAS , Sat, 11 Jan 2025Registration opens for IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2025 in Niš , Sat, 11 Jan 2025DYBL to revive league on Jan. 25 By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 11 Jan 2025SPORTS RECORDS 8: BERNARD HOPKINS JR., THE OLDEST CHAMPION IN ANY WEIGHT DIVISION By Maloney L. Samaco, , Sat, 11 Jan 2025BISUTTI VS NATTAPONG READY FOR BATTLE FOR IBF ASIA HEAVYWEIGHT BELT IN THAILAND , Fri, 10 Jan 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|