On May 7th Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight championship against sure-fire hall of famer ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand. While the fight in itself may not be looked at as the most compelling of matches, there is no denying the sensational string of fights that Pacquiao has produced over the past ten years since bursting upon the American scene.
In conjunction with the Mosley bout I will be taking a look back at some of Pacquiao’s most memorable ring conquests, each time interacting with various boxing insiders in an attempt to give readers a unique perspective of each bout. In the first part of this series I will be reflecting on Pacquiao’s American debut against then-IBF super bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba, from Gauteng, South Africa…
<--- Slideshow: Remembering an electric performance from Manny Pacquiao over Lehlo Ledwaba
It’s pretty remarkable when you look at everything Manny Pacquiao has accomplished in his sixteen year career. From winning titles in a record eight weight divisions, achieving international stardom, and even coming face to face with President Barack Obama, it has been quite the ride for the General Santos City, Philippines native.
When looking for an exact point to where Pacquiao broke through to American audiences you need to look back almost ten years ago to the night of June 23rd, 2001 inside of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. While Pacquiao would end up having a breakthrough performance under the bright lights, the event itself gained notice because of superstar Oscar De La Hoya’s fight against then-WBC junior middleweight champion Javier Castillejo.
Back then De La Hoya was the biggest of stars and was looked at as the man who was carrying boxing on his back simply because he had the ability to transcend the sport and reach out to the mainstream public. Wanting to get a better sense of how the boxing landscape was during that time I asked Showtime’s Al Bernstein to take a trip back in memory lane.
“Here’s what was different about the sport back then,” Bernstein opened up. “Except for De La Hoya, and obviously before him there was Roy Jones, but to me the 1990’s, for the most part, was one of the worst decades ever in boxing. Not saying there weren’t great fights sometimes, but it was a decade that hurt boxing badly. After it is when the mainstream media stopped covering the sport because a lot of the matches that people wanted to see weren’t made.
“That decade hurt the sport dramatically. De La Hoya, to his credit, fought everybody, but not so with others. In 2001 the sport was just coming out of that abyss. And it didn’t really go away until about 2003. To me, it’s interesting that Manny Pacquiao was starting to make his emergence when the sport was changing and in the last seven or eight years in my opinion the sport has put on a much better product in terms of competitive fights than it did in the 90’s.”
But how exactly did Pacquiao end up endearing himself to so many people while in the shadows of De La Hoya? Turns out it was a simple case of luck, as he received a call on two weeks notice to fill in for an injured Enrique Sanchez for a shot at IBF super bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba, a move that would forever impact his life.
Weeks earlier Pacquiao had knocked on trainer Freddie Roach’s doors at his Wild Card Boxing Club and the two men began working with one another. A shot against the smooth-boxing and classy Ledwaba, who had the interest of HBO at the time, wasn’t looked at as a realistic opportunity by everyone but the duo was determined to make the most out of their chance.
There were eight bouts altogether at the MGM Grand that night, including De La Hoya’s unanimous decision over Castillejo, Agapito Sanchez stopping Columbian Jorge Monsalvo, and future middleweight champion Jermain Taylor winning a four-round decision over Marvin Smith. A busy night as is often the case in Las Vegas but nobody’s performance resonated as loudly as did Pacquiao’s.
From the outset he applied heavy pressure on Ledwaba, who seemed shocked at the power that was coming his way. For as gamely as the South African dug down, he was simply outgunned and outclassed on this night, with the end result for him being a brutal and bloody sixth round TKO loss.
To say that Bernstein is a student of the game is an understatement but he was quick to admit that he hadn’t heard much of Pacquiao before that virtuoso performance.
“I was on that broadcast,” Bernstein recalled, noting that he was likely doing some international work in relation to the event. “I didn’t know Manny Pacquiao and of course that was a very exciting fight. It was his coming out party kind of. And I remember looking at that and saying ‘Wow, this is some exciting dude’. And that was the beginning, I think, of the Pacquiao legend.”
Reflecting further, Bernstein added a few more touches on Pacquiao’s triumph that night and compared it to his evolution as a fighter, as he has refined his skills late into his career as he has risen up in weight and claimed more belts.
“It was electrifying,” Bernstein said of the Ledwaba thrashing. “Obviously you could see a hell bent-for-leather style. He might get hit but he’s going to hit you. He was very exciting. He’s still exciting to this day even with a different style but in a slightly different way.”
Back then the MGM Grand belonged to De La Hoya, who drove in the masses on seemingly countless pay per view shows in Las Vegas against a wide range of world class competition. But for Pacquiao this was a crowning moment, and through hard work he would one day take the torch of super stardom from De La Hoya after defeating him in the same building in December of 2008.
For Bernstein, to see everything tied together, it seems very just.
“I think that was the beginning and it has become his place, as much as it was for De La Hoya, because it’s the Mecca of boxing in some ways and that’s where he’s always landed. I think it is kind of appropriate.”
For images of Pacquiao’s thrilling victory over Ledwaba please visit the slideshow on the left or click HERE
Expect more from Pacquiao on the coming days, including his shocking upset over Marco Antonio Barrera, his trilogy with Erik Morales, his connection to Juan Manuel Marquez, his rise up in weight and much more…
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
