Manny Pacquiao, the 8 division world champion who has risen from poverty to financial freedom is not one of the greatest fighters all time. The key word here, is “one” of the greatest. Pacquiao is not one of the greatest fighters of all time because he is THE greatest of all time. I for one am not afraid to voice my opinion on this matter. Many boxing scribes and fans are comfortable with saying that Pacquiao is “one” of the greatest, but how many will say that he is “the” greatest?
It’s all a matter of opinion and mine happens to be that Pacquiao has done enough to be considered as the greatest. There are a lot of fighters that qualify for the title of, ?one of the greatest. ?
Does Manny Pacquiao, an 8 division world title holder deserve to be in the same category as the rest of the lot? My answer is no. I believe that Pacquiao has done enough throughout his career to have earned the solo top spot.
On top of his inside of the ring achievements, his outside of the ring accomplishments are amazing as well. How many elected congressman do you see that take off 8 weeks to train and fight on a world class level? How many congressman do you see that do anything even remotely close to that?
Pacquiao has single handidly lifted the sport of boxing and with the rise of the UFC, he’s a boxing blessing. The UFC has Silva and guys like Uriah Faber, boxing has Manny Pacquiao. What would boxing have if Manny Pacquiao had not taken the sport over? Floyd Mayweather? Yes, Mayweather is a great fighter, but his behavior outside of the ring is nothing to write home about. Pacquiao has achieved greatness both inside and outside of the ring.
Mississippians that I have spoken to about this have mixed feelings. For some reason (which I will address in another article) some fans are hesitant to say that Pacquiao is the greatest. Most say he’s ONE of the greatest, but they won’t say that he’s THE greatest.
John Moore, a Pacquiao fan that I ran into at the Last Call Sports bar in Jackson said it best, ” If Manny Pacquiao isn’t the best ever, then there will never be a best ever.” I asked another boxing fan, Steve Freeman of Vicksburg, MS , he disagrees, ” Pacquiao is one of the greatest, but he’s not the greatest. He may be the greatest of his era, but he’s not the greatest fighter of all time.”
It’s an open debate, and everyone has an opinion on the matter. I happen to feel that Manny Pacquiao is not one of the greatest, he is indeed THE greatest fighter of all time.
