Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol ? There is no denying that eight-division champ and Filipino pride Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao now belongs in the pantheon of the all-time greats. He has done that even before he took care of the highly oversized, but immensely overmatched Antonio Margarito of Tijuana, Mexico. The only debate left to argue at this point in time is to how he ranks among them. No disrespect to the other greats who came before him, but the ?Pacman? is, without a shadow of doubt, the greatest in my book! Boxing purists are expected to raise their eyebrows with this rather definitive pronouncement, as names like Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, and/or Henry Armstrong, to name a few, would probably rank higher than Pacquiao in their respective lists. In this highly opinionated piece (be wary about that), however, we are going to provide some indispensable arguments that prove them otherwise, thereby supporting Pacquiao?s induction as the greatest boxer to ever lace them up? so sit back and relax. If you are against it, don?t get too affected. You can make your counter-arguments in the comments section below, anyway? and if you are a diehard Pacquiao fan, gorge yourself up with this sumptuous banquet of your idol?s fistic feats.
SEVEN WAS THE MOON? EIGHT IS MARS!
In a two-year span since edging Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC super featherweight plum, Pacquiao has collected four world championship belts, ranging from lightweight to junior middleweight. He has done so while moving up in weight and facing bigger opponents. That achievement alone is nothing short of phenomenal. Just about a year ago, Pacquiao?s move to lightweight (135 lbs) was considered by some as a stretch, especially when he did that to face a champion, not to mention coming off a hard-earned split decision victory five pounds south. Then less than six months later, he did what many others considered as the unthinkable ? beating former middleweight champion Oscar De La Hoya to a pulp, forcing the ?Golden Boy? to quit on his stool. Another five months passed and he massacred the supposed king of the 140-lb weight limit Ricky Hatton of Great Brittain in less than two pulsating rounds, on the way to becoming the first person to beat ?The Hitman? in his own turf. Just as everybody was about to believe Pacquiao would slow his pace down even just a bit, he then went on to manhandle the erstwhile WBO welterweight champion in a methodical beatdown that inevitably ended by way of knockout in the 12th and final round. By doing so, Pacquiao did something comparable to what USA?s Neil Armstrong did on the 20th of July, 1969 ? set foot where nobody else has. He became the first man in history to win seven world championships in as many weight divisions. The person closest to also achieving that, De La Hoya, is conceivably retired. Less than a week ago, despite having what renowned trainer Freddie Roach would consider as ?the worst training camp ever,? Pacquiao bludgeoned Antonio Margarito, a fighter who weighed almost 20 pounds heavier during fight night and towered five inches over the Pacman, for yet another magnificent feat. All in all, the Pinoy punching dynamo has collected a staggering total of eight world championships in eight weight divisions. Beat that!
EPITOME OF A POUND-FOR-POUND KING
I can sense eyebrows of old school boxing enthusiasts and Pacquiao critics raised once again. Perhaps, they have a point when they speak about the legitimacy of the Ring Magazine, IBO, and even the WBO championship belts because probably, the WBC, IBF, and WBA sanctioning bodies are the only ones they recognize as legitimate. Well, let me break this to you, my fellow boxing fans, all these boxing governing bodies are a bunch of craps! Come to think of it. Was David Diaz (WBC) at lightweight more deserving of a champion tag than Miguel Cotto (WBO) and Ricky Hatton (IBO) were at welterweight and light welterweight, respectively? Or was Lehlohonolo Ledwaba (IBF) at super bantamweight more legitimate than Marco Antonio Barrera (Ring Magazine) was at featherweight, vis-a-vis? You see, all this talk about legitimacy or the lack thereof is nothing but absolute nonsense! These awfully conservative boxing buffs don?t get it. Times have changed. The alphabet soup groups nowadays are basically just there for the sanctioning fees, nothing more, nothing less. That?s a sad fact. The basic point about Pacquiao?s rise in ranks in the eight weight classes he?s fought in is not about the belts he won along the way. What really matters is that Pacquiao transcended every conceivable weight class that one could expect of a human being. He came? he saw? and he conquered!
FOUR LINEAL TITLES IN FOUR WEIGHT CLASSES
Now, if I have failed to convince you just yet, let?s try to deviate a little bit from my contemporary standpoint and examine Pacquiao?s achievements the old-fashioned boxing purist?s way. Speaking of which, the lineal championship, which is sometimes called the ?true championship?, is considered by a handful of boxing experts as the true gauge of boxing greatness. For the benefit of the vast majority who don?t know what lineal championship means, simply put, it basically connotes being the man, who beat the man, who beat the man. It?s some kind of lineage of champions achieved only by beating the champion who beat the earlier champion and so on and so forth. Manny Pacquiao is a four-division lineal world champion (112 lbs, 126 lbs, 130 lbs, and 140 lbs) by beating Sasakul, Barrera, Marquez, and Hatton who were all recognized as the true champions of their respective divisions before Pacquiao wrested those distinctions from them. Once again, Pacquiao is the only person to have done that as well.
AMERICAN BIAS AGAINST NON-AMERICANS
It can?t be denied that the United States is the established home of big time boxing. There?s no arguing to that. It can?t also be denied that majority of the great boxing legends considered as all time greats like Ali, Robinson, Moore, Tyson and Leonard are of American descent. Ethnic and cultural bias, whether we like it or not, are major factors that influence one?s convictions. American boxing media are hesitant to let go of their nation?s grip of prominence in the annals of boxing, especially to a little third-world guy who started his professional pugilistic career as a 106-pounder. I for one, am probably biased for my fellow Filipino in this case and yes, I am indeed insinuating something here? but this is not to judge the achievements of those names mentioned above as ones of less magnitude. They deserve the utmost respect for what they have achieved inside the four corners of the squared circle? but so does Pacquiao!
REMEMBER, HE?S NOT DONE YET!
Manny?Pacman? Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) has continued to exceed expectations. Over time, he has proven his critics wrong. He has conquered champions from every major continent in the globe. But then again, the Pinoy pride, albeit on top of the world for quite sometime already,is definitely not done, yet! There?s still some more fish to fry.
