It has been established that Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao, 44-3-2, 35 KO?s, is a fighter for the ages. He is strong, aggressive, powerful and willing to brawl. He is as close to fearless in the ring as I can imagine. The first time I saw him was on an HBO telecast a few years back and I told my cronies, ?Who is this guy?? The pure energy that is he exhibited was overwhelming; and, he was just standing in the corner waiting for the bout to commence. It got better.
The fight was literally over before it began. The ?Pacman? destroyed his opponent with his whirlwind all encompassing style. Most people in the crowd looked like I felt, mesmerized! To this day, his opponent that night remains nameless. In my memory, Manny Pacquiao stands alone. Such was his presence that night; he stood center stage and held his position like royalty. Manny?s star has shined even brighter since that first viewing. Major confrontations, mostly victories, against the elite feather and super featherweight fighters of the world have confirmed my first impression.
I really don?t know how he would have fared against the top fighters of his weight division from the past; however, there could have been some dream match-ups. Focusing on the super featherweight division, a few of the champions have been such immortals as Johnny Dundee, Kid Chocolate with 136 victories, Barney Ross, Flash Elorde, and Hector Camacho. There was also, Azumah Nelson, Wilfredo Gomez, and Roger Mayweather. Each, a gifted fighter. At least two dream fights have become realities with Manny soundly defeating former champions Erik Morales in two of three meetings and Marco Antonio Barrera in their one definitive encounter.
While I would have appreciated being able to see Pacquiao against any past champions, three matches would have been of particular interest. Alexis Arguello, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Floyd Mayweather, JR. These fighters vacated their super featherweight titles to compete in higher weight divisions and are all-time greats. The contrasting boxing techniques could have made for truly memorable encounters.
Alexis Arguello, 82-8, 65 KO?s WBA Featherweight Champion WBC Super Featherweight Champion WBC Lightweight Champion
Alexis Arguello met fourteen champions in his career. He held titles in the featherweight, super featherweight, and lightweight divisions. The punching power he had was devastating, particularly at the lighter weights where his height, 5?10?, reach, and balance, provided him the leverage to obliterate most opponents. His straight right hand was a thing of beauty. Arguello was definitely at his most powerful and quickest at this weight and the ?Pacman? seems to be equally at home as a super featherweight. Could Pacquiao have taken the best Arguello had to offer and had enough left to win? Would Arguello have been able to handle the never stopping, hard punching, Filipino Superstar? Either man may have won. Standing room only for this fight would have been assured in a pick?em fight for sure.
Julio Cesar Chavez, 107-6-2, 86 KO?s -WBC Super Featherweight Champion -WBA & WBC Lightweight Champion -WBC & IBF Light Welterweight Champion
Julio Cesar Chavez was a relentless, punishing fighter who won ninety-one fights before tasting defeat. He won the super featherweight title in Sept. of 1984, stopping Mario Martinez in eight rounds to gain his first championship belt. It was an elimination contest for the title vacated by Hector Camacho. Chavez then proceeded to defend his crown on nine occasions before winning the lightweight and light-welterweight championships. Julio Cesar fought from 1980 until 1994 without a loss. One of the most amazing records in boxing history.
Could Pacquiao have given Chavez a fight? Could the ?Pacman? have defeated Chavez at his zenith? Pacquiao is very fast and hits hard, however, he does not hide. He?s in your face and that was often fodder for Chavez. I believe the answer to these questions is affirmative. This undoubtedly had the makings of a great fight, these two fighters in their prime, at the perfect weight, would have been explosive. It would be a tall order for Manny, however.
Floyd Mayweather, JR., 38-0, 24 KO?s -WBC Super Featherweight Champion -WBC Lightweight Champion -WBC Light Welterweight Champion -IBF & WBC Welterweight Champion -WBC Light Middleweight Champion
Floyd ?Pretty Boy? Mayweather, JR., is an incredible athlete. Unbeaten and almost unscathed in a career that has taken him through titles in the super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light-middleweight divisions. He is currently holding the light-middleweight championship. He won the 130-pound world title and the Ring Magazine ?Fighter of The Year Award? at the tender age of twenty-one. He made eight successful defenses of that title before moving up to the heavier divisions. Many consider him the top all around boxer in the ring today. At twenty-eight years of age and only nine years of professional ring experience, he is a phenomenon.
It is not beyond the realm of possibility that this dream fight could still develop, but not at super featherweight. Like the others, if this fight took place at the 130-pound weight, it would have the ingredients of a classic. Mayweather, with his superb defense versus Pacquiao with his incredible offense, highlighting the contest.
I believe the Pacquiao would break through Mayweather?s vaunted defense and we would have an old-fashioned donnybrook on our hands. Conditioning and heart would determine the winner of this bout with any pre-fight plans being dispensed with by the early part of the contest. Regardless of who won, the ?Pretty Boy? would be marked and weary and the ?Pacman? would be battle scarred and depleted. This has the makings of a fight for the ages. This is another difficult prediction to make, but what a fight it would be.
A man once told me, as he thrust his hands out lustily, ?Wouldn?t it be nice to have a gold nugget as big as your hand?? Greed won out as I replied, ?Yes. Where, where can I find that?? This man, in his infinite wisdom, said, ?I don?t know, but wouldn?t it be nice??
Wouldn?t it be great to see any of these dream fights?
