Manny Pacquiao has done more for boxing in recent years than several other ‘world’ champions combined.
The Filipino buzzsaw has risen briskly through the weight divisions with a succession of thrilling, meaningful fights against the best opponents available, regardless of ‘alphabet’ titles.
In the modern age of over-protected professional records and politicised promoting, Pacquiao has shrugged off three defeats and two draws to rise towards the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.
His style is crude but exciting to watch as he ploughs forward seemingly with little method and plenty of madness.
He turned professional in 1995 at the age of 16 and began his career with a series of fights almost exclusively in his native Philippines.
An early defeat by Rustico Torrecampo in February 1996 would have been regarded by many fighters as hugely damaging to their career but ‘Pacman’, as he has become known, carried on regardless.
Like fellow southpaw Winky Wright, he proved to be a late developer.
While Wright spent years as a highly-skilled but relatively low-profile journeyman before finally achieving the recognition and fiscal rewards his ability merits, Pacquiao served a six-year apprenticeship in Asia, a part of the world that historically struggles to attract attention from the influential American fraternity.
His first world title – the WBC flyweight belt won in 1998 with a knockout win over Chatchai Sasakul – did not do much to enhance his global profile and defeat by Medgoen Singsurat hindered matters further.
Cutting a long story short, Pacquiao moved up to super-bantamweight and won the IBF belt in 2001 and immediately sought to unify it with the WBO title, only to draw due to a bad cut against Agapito Sanchez.
But he only really rose to prominence in 2003 when he took on living legend Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight and won with an impressive 11th-round stoppage.
Suddenly brought into the consciousness of the sport’s elite, he immediately took a title shot against Mexican stylist Juan Manuel Marquez, which proved to be as important to his career as the Barrera victory.
His epic war with the WBA and IBF 126lb champion saw him floor Marquez three times in the opening round before being forced to hang on for dear life himself at various points in the fight, with the fighters somehow still standing at the final bell only for the contest to be judged a draw.
Despite failing to win, Pacquiao had arrived on the big stage. Two victories over Erik Morales – having previously lost to the Mexican – and another win over Barrera saw the Filipino climb the rankings before winning a world title at a third weight – super-featherweight – by triumphing in his rematch with Marquez via a controversial split decision in March this year.
Not content with being a three-weight world champion and rated by many as one of the world’s top three pound-for-pound fighters, Pacquiao is now preparing to bid for a world title at lightweight, in a division nearly two stone heavier than the weight he began fighting at.
On June 28 in Las Vegas, where he now almost exclusively fights, he is set to meet WBC lightweight champion David Diaz for a bout in which he will start as heavy favourite.
And he hopes his speed and busy style will foil Diaz’s punch power.
“My lawyer is now in the States and I am just waiting for his call,” said the General Santos City former mayoral candidate.
“Diaz has power in his hands and you just don’t take somebody like him lightly because you might end up crying in the end.”
Diaz is, indeed, a decent puncher but has a heavily padded record, which Pacquiao should exploit.
There is a school of thought that sooner or later all of these wars will catch up with Pacquiao but at 29 he is not finished yet and will be expected to collect another belt in the summer.And with a rising star in Britain called Amir Khan targeting a lightweight world title in the next year and seemingly destined for global super-fights himself, perhaps Pacquiao could swap the bright lights of Vegas for the Phoenix Nights of Bolton somewhere down the line.
