Another perfect performance by boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao at a Las Vegas theater once again captivated millions across the globe. If those who had witnessed called it the product of art, then Pacquiao must be an artist with unparallel brilliance.
The world was amazed by Pacquiao’s brutal execution of World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in the greatest extravaganza of boxing this year. So vicious was the onslaught that referee Kenny Bayless had to stop the fight 55 seconds into the last round.
Cotto was supposed to be the bigger and powerful fighter, being a natural welterweight. But during the fight, he looked like an ordinary challenger. The fight has become lopsided as it progressed, with the Filipino throwing punches from different angles, dizzying the Puerto Rican.
After the fight, Cotto was such a bloody mess that cuts were everywhere in his face. He then admitted to reporters that the Filipino ring icon was the toughest fighter he had faced.
Pacquiao’s latest display of his extraordinary skills reawakened the debate as to where his rightful place in boxing should be. Boxing pundits rank him as the greatest fighter of his generation.
But for his promoter, Bob Arum, Pacquiao is the greatest fighter he has ever seen. Arum, who promoted such ring legends as Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard, said Pacquiao is the Tiger Woods of boxing.
There has been no doubt that Pacquiao has earned his place in the bloody sport of boxing. He is not only one of the greatest gladiators ever to grace the ring. He is one of the best.
While many will argue that he is not the greatest, his accomplishment of seven championships in seventh weight classes has been one for the record. From a one-dimensional flyweight to a two-fisted welterweight, his ring exploits are unprecedented that it takes ages before they can be duplicated.
Pacquiao has come a long way in his quest for boxing immortality. And given his young age, he still also has a long way to further cement his one-of-a-kind legacy in the history of the sport.
