How would Manny Pacquiao have fared if he fought all-time greats like Alexis Arguello, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Pernell Whitaker, Rafael (Bazooka) Limon, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Sugar Ray Leonard, Salvador Sanchez and Roger Mayweather?
Richard Poche, a boxing scholar, recently came out with a study on fantasy bouts based on a computer simulation program pitting Pacquiao against 47 champions. The program is called Title Bout and rates fighters in categories like punching power, defense, boxing ability and susceptibility to knockdowns. Poche matched Pacquiao against fighters in their prime at the same weight division. The study is chronicled in a book entitled ?Manny Pacquiao vs. The Modern Greats.? Poche has authored other boxing books and produced documentaries on the fight game so he has a track record to be proud of.
Boza-Edwards and Roger Mayweather are both trainers in Floyd Mayweather?s Money Team so it was interesting how Poche speculated on what could?ve happened if they fought. Boza-Edwards was the same Ugandan who was knocked out by Rolando Navarrete to wrest the WBC superfeatherweight title in Viareggio, Italy, in 1981.
In the computer simulation, Boza-Edwards took an early lead but was eventually overwhelmed by Pacquiao?s power. ?His aggressive ways in round four get him caught with a left cross from Pacquiao,? wrote Poche. ?Edwards arises on unsteady legs and the Filipino swarms all over him. A picture perfect right hook followed by a straight left down the pipe drops Edwards flat on his back where he is counted out at 2:22 of the round.?
Roger Mayweather, who was nicknamed the Black Mamba long before Kobe Bryant took the nom de guerre, wasn?t given much of a chance in the computer simulation. ?Mayweather?s chin issues manifest themselves early on here,? said Poche. ?Pacquiao probes and paws with the right jab while Mayweather pursues. He rocks Manny with a right but is met with a crushing right hook coming in. Mayweather barely beats the count and arises on wobbly legs on the count of nine. The ref looks into his eyes and waves this one off at 2:32 of the round. Pacquiao wins by a first round KO.?
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Poche was more generous in his assessment as he gave Mayweather until the eighth round before losing by knockout. ?Pacquiao would dart in and out and score a sudden knockdown in the middle rounds,? said Poche in his own evaluation. ?It would set the tone for the rest of the fight as Mayweather would go into a defensive shell and try to survive. He would be hurt by Pac?s power but succumb to his speed as Pacquiao wins by an eighth round knockout.?
Poche also matched Pacquiao against Limon who dethroned Navarrete and later lost to the Bad Boy from Dadiangas on points in a rematch at the Araneta Coliseum. Both the computer simulation and Poche saw Pacquiao stopping the Mexican in the 10th round.
Other champions whom Pacquiao knocked out in the computer simulation were Meldrick Taylor, Kostya Tszyu, Arguello, Barry McGuigan, Whitaker, Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini, Aaron Pryor and Wilfredo Gomez.
The computer simulation had Pacquiao beating Edwin Valero, Antonio (Kid Pambele) Cervantes, Greg Haugen, Vinny Pazienza, Wilfred Benitez, Carlos Palomino and Jeff Fenech on points. In 2000, Fenech was in Nedal Hussein?s corner when the Australian faced Pacquiao at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. Hussein dropped Pacquiao in the fourth round and Fenech protested referee Sonny Padilla apparently stalling to allow the Filipino time to clear the cobwebs in his head. Pacquiao recovered to halt Hussein in the 10th round with Fenech frothing in the mouth.
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Poche disagreed with the computer simulation in the outcome of several fights. For instance, Poche picked Pacquiao to beat Nelson by a unanimous decision but the computer simulation chose Nelson winning by a seventh round knockout. The computer simulation selected Eusebio Pedroza beating Pacquiao by a unanimous decision but Poche picked Pacquiao the winner by a majority decision. The computer simulation called it a majority draw between Pacquiao and Naseem Hamed but Poche saw Pacquiao scoring a sixth round stoppage. Poche picked Pacquiao to beat Bobby Chacon by decision but the computer simulation found Chacon stopping Pacquiao in five rounds. The computer simulation had Hector (Macho) Camacho beating Pacquiao by unanimous decision but Poche saw it the reverse. The computer simulation also chose Jimmy Paul knocking out Pacquiao in two but Poche chose Pacquiao winning on points. Poche picked Pacquiao to beat Don Curry by decision but the computer simulation chose Curry to win on points. The computer simulation picked Jose Napoles to knock out Pacquiao in nine but Poche chose Pacquiao to score a seventh round disposal.
The champions whom the computer simulation and Poche both chose to beat Pacquiao were Julio Cesar Chavez, Duran, Hearns, Sanchez, Leonard and Felix Trinidad. Poche and the computer simulation had opposing takes on Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather. The simulation saw Pacquiao winning by a split decision while Poche picked Mayweather by a unanimous decision, claiming nine of 12 rounds.
Poche proved to be quite a soothsayer in his pre-fight narrative: ?Mayweather would be all wrong for Pacquiao. He has every bit the boxing ability of the prime Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez and is exponentially quicker. His own foot movement negates a lot of what Pacquiao does to create angles. He?d fight the smart fight and limit the exchanges to an occasional potshot. If Pacquiao does land cleanly, it will be in the early going. Mayweather would adjust to Pacquiao?s ambushes and would be able to evade the Pacman?s right-lefts by backpedalling at just the right time.?
For Poche to write a book on Pacquiao matched against the all-time greats is a testament to the Filipino ring icon?s impact on the sport. Despite his loss to Mayweather last month, Pacquiao will forever be revered as a people?s champion and an inspiration to anyone striving for a better life.
