MANILA, Philippines — It used to be just his left hand that can send foes to dreamland. Now, with a solid right hook to boot, Manny Pacquiao is an even more potent knockout artist.
He can do it with a single punch, a 1-2-3 combination or a barrage of blows done in blurring succession and hard to count.
This was evident in Pacquiao’s demolition of Erik Morales in November and his eighth-round stoppage of Jorge Solis on April 14 in San Antonio, Texas.
Not surprisingly, the Filipino ring superstar is considered one of the world’s top 12 knockout artists.
In an article, titled The Art of the Knockout: Boxing’s Best KO Artists, that appeared in “The Sweet Science,” David Avila gave a glowing description of Pacquiao (44 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws, 35 KOs).
“Pacman is like his nickname,” wrote Avila. “He just gobbles up opponents with his blistering speed and left-handed power. Now the Filipino superstar has developed a solid right hook and seems more devastating. It doesn’t matter if the opposition is world-class or not, his left hand is a tremendous equalizer.”
Pacquiao was lumped with WBA junior lightweight titlist Edwin Valero, 21-0, all by knockouts. The Venezuelan is being groomed to face Pacquiao in two years’ time.
Others in Avila’s list: are Diego Corrales, 40-5, 33 KOs, of Las Vegas; Acelino Freitas, 38-1, 32 KOs, of Brazil; Edison Miranda, 28-1, 24 KOs, of Colombia; Kelly Pavlik, 30-0, 27 KOs, of Ohio; Vic Darchinyan, 28-0, 22 KOs; Alex Munoz, 29-2, 27 KOs, of Venezuela; Rafael Marquez, 37-3, 33 KOs, of Mexico City; O’Neil Bell, 26-2-1, 24 KOs, of Jamaica; Kermit Cintron, 27-1, 25 KOs, and Daniel Ponce de Leon, 31-1, 28 KOs.
