Consider this: It’s not Muhammad Ali nor Joe Frazier who had the greatest rivalry in sports history as they
fought three brutal matches, two of them with heavyweight on the line. It’s not even Rocky Marciano who retired
in 1955 with a record of 49-0, including six successful title defenses. And it’s not John L. Sullivan, the first recognized heavyweight boxing champion. And it’s not Joe Loius who held the heavyweight title for over 11 1/2 years , defending it an incredible 25 times. Having named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and also the three-time BWAA and The Ring “Fighter of the Year” in 2006, 2008 and 2009, it’s Manny Pacquiao versus Sugar Ray Robinson.
Pacquiao, the seven-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win nine world titles in seven different weightdivisions and the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes, will still have to out-rank Robinson who fought 202 professional bouts between 1940 and 1965 and failed to go the distance only one time.
Pacquiao has won 51 (KO 38) + lost 3 (KO 2) + drawn 2 = 56 total professional fights.
On the other hand, in one memorable match against Britain’s Randy Turpin, Robinson demonstrated his amazing quickness by throwing 31 punches in 25 seconds. He claimed his first championship in 1946 when he defeated Tommy Bell in a 15-round decision for the welterweight title. He defended that title successfully for four years, and then added the middleweight title in 1951 by scoring a technical knockout in the thirteenth round over “Ranging Bull” Jake la Motta. He ended up losing the middleweight title six times and winning it back five over the next decade, and also making an unsuccessful challenge for the light heavyweight title in 1952.
Pacquiao, still, is far from the pigtail of Robinson. But, he can possibly outrank the 1990 International Boxing Hall of Famer in a different fashion.
Will Pacquiao be able to throw more than 31 punches in 25 seconds upon Antonio Margarito just before the final stoppage?
Let us see how he will stop Margarito in the ring of madness.
