Seven world titles in seven different weight divisions would certainly be the stuff of legends. The current six isn’t shabby either. Five is already Hall of Fame worthy.
Does it rank as high as Henry Armstrong’s four titles in four different divisions at the same time? Sure, why not?
Armstrong is one of the five all-time greats Freddie Roach believes Manny Pacquiao could become.
Armstrong’s time was back in the good old days of only eight core weight divisions and one sanctioning group and that was organized crime. The first “alphabet group” was known as the MOB. There were no ‘super this’ and ‘junior that’ back then.
Today you have the Big Four sanctioning groups: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO; a couple of minor world groups: IBA, IBO; and beneath that you have international, national, regional, continental and state titles along with 17 weight divisions and now “catchweights,” and more.
Today in Part One, let’s look at two of Manny Pacquiao’s six titles in six different divisions. Part Two, will be the other four titles, we’ll look into on Sunday.
First Title: Lets look at Pacquiao’s featherweight 126 title awarded to him by Ring Magazine on November 15, 2003 at the San Antonio Alamodome.
Is Ring Magazine even credible? In its history it has been guilty of a ratings scandal or two. The Ring doesn’t go by who’s the best, but who is the lineal champion. How do you like that?
Yes, Pacquiao’s featherweight championship was the 11 – round demolition of the heavily – favored Barrera in San Antonio. I don’t have to say I know Pacquiao to get my point across. It was a dominant performance.
It was his true breakout effort and it left no doubt who was the top dog at 126. But it wasn’t sanctioned by any of the (il) legitimate Big Four sanctioning groups.
But seriously back to Barrera in San Antonio: Does having no recognized sanctioning body there diminish the victory? Heck no, fighters make the titles, not the other way around. I’m just raising the question.
Second Title: The IBO Light Welterweight title seems somewhat bogus. Yes Ricky Hatton was popular and took Floyd Mayweather, Jr. into round 10 in their fight, but I can’t name one other IBO champion except Manny Pacquiao, for beating Hatton.
After losing to Mayweather, Hatton dropped back down to 140 and immediately fought and beat Juan Lazcano for the vacant IBO Light Welterweight title and destroyed Malignaggi in his one defense before facing…. Manny Pacquiao.
Freddie Roach just said Hatton wasn’t very good.
Now, while Miguel Cotto is a great, proud fighter, he picked his WBO Welterweight belt out of a garbage can. It was a title once held by Paul Williams.
But Williams vacated and it sat vacant until Bob Arum saw the opportunity for his fighter, Cotto, to grab the title without breaking a sweat against one Michael Jennings of England that no TV network would buy.
That was a good plan by Bob Arum.
Cotto certainly defended it with integrity by beating Joshua Clottey. But he beat a simple journeyman (Jennings) to get the vacant title Pacquiao fans now covet like seventh heaven.
So are two of Pacquiao’s six titles now questionable because they weren’t for Big Four sanctioning group titles?
Of course not. Sure they are real and keep the Big Four on edge.
How did things get so complicated and convoluted?
I checked usually reliable http://boxrec.com/ and found Manny Pacquiao has four world titles from different weight divisions from the Big Four sanctioning groups. Who he beat for the title is off to the right.
They are:
WBC Lightweight 135 David Diaz WBC Super Feather 130 Juan Manual Marquez IBF Super Bantam 122 Lehlo Ledwaba WBC Flyweight 112 Chatchai Sasakul
Pacquiao has one world title from one of the two smaller world groups:
IBO Light Welterweight 140 Ricky Hatton
And the aforementioned Ring Magazine Featherweight Championship makes six.
I believe the two titles discussed here are legitimate because Pacquiao fought the best fighters out there at the time, not because of who sanctioned it.
I’m not as much questioning the validity of these two titles as much as saying you should have fun and enjoy the nostalgia along with a hint of truth retelling the tales of Manny Pacquiao to your children and grand children.
Look for Part Two either Saturday or Sunday examining the other four titles Pacquiao holds from the Big Four sanctioning groups.
