Manny Pacquiao continues to surprise everyone. He defied the odds as the underdog in a fight many labeled an outright mismatch. In fact, roughly 70-80% of the online boxing community picked De La Hoya to defeat him, including yours truly. It was no doubt a tantalizing performance worthy of all its praise.
However, in the aftermath of his resounding victory, we must settle down and put things into their proper perspective. While no one can no longer deny his greatness, the full essence of it won?t be clearly defined until his career is near over. Considering that Pacquiao may only have about 5 solid years left in the tank, he has a handful of world class matchups waiting out there for him. And these matchups will most surely ending up twisting and turning the perception of Pacquiao?s overall greatness and place in boxing history before he finally rides off into the sunset. This is why it?s always best to wait until the end of a fighter?s career to most accurately reflect on just how darn great they really once were. Only then is a fighter truly appreciated.
We must not fail to ignore the power of a convincing loss. If Pacquiao suffers a devastating loss in the near future and is sent spiraling down the path of no return a la Roy Jones Jr., people may even begin to underrate him. If you?ve closely followed the sport for a few decades then you?ve been introduced to the truism that boxing fans are fickle. We?re all guilty of this crime from time to time.
Now let?s put the De La Hoya win into perspective. Pacquiao was the underdog, but in the end it was the 35 year old De La Hoya who turned out to be inferior to his smaller opponent. Within the first several rounds, it became extremely apparent that De La Hoya was suffering the consequences of dropping down to the welterweight class for the first time since 2001. As Freddie Roach so accurately predicted several months prior, ?De La Hoya simply cannot pull the trigger anymore.? He was right on the money and the drop in weight to 145 pounds only made the trigger much rustier.
With the historic victory, many have begun placing the names Pacquiao and Armstrong in the same sentence. But is it much too soon? Do Pacquiao?s feats really compare to Hammerin? Hank?s?
Not quite.
Yes, Pacquiao did manage to notch three victories in three different weight classes during 2008, but unlike Armstrong, he never quite proved he was the very best in any of those divisions.
The boxing world, particularly his most devoted fans, all witnessed him eek out a controversial decision against Juan Manuel Marquez earlier this year for the WBC 130 lb strap.
In his lightweight debut against the rugged yet limited, David Diaz, Pacquiao cruised by as expected. However, Marquez later one upped him at lightweight by knocking out the more formidable, wily veteran, and future Hall of Famer, Joel Casamayor. This time with the names Juan Diaz, Nate Campbell, and Juan Manuel Marquez looming throughout the division, Pacquiao once again failed to prove he was the cream of the crop of this weight class. Instead he maneuvered his way into the biggest money fight he could sink his teeth into. Deservedly, he received his biggest payday in a shockingly easy sparring session.
Now in last Saturday?s fight against De La Hoya, while he faced the biggest opponent of his career, nevertheless, it was a fighter that hadn?t been rated in the welterweight division in close to eight years. If one wants to earn the top spot at welterweight at the moment, you?ll have to get through Antonio Margarito.
Now don?t get me wrong. His victory should be lauded considering he was the underdog, but the point is that he?s no Henry Armstrong. Well, at least not yet. That said, regardless of how the rest of his career pans out, Pacquiao is one for the ages. When it?s all said and done, he?ll more than likely etch himself as one of the top 30 fighters of all-time. And should he fail to make it into the heavenly gates of “Armstrong” territory after he’s retired and sitting back basking in past glories, he can stand proud knowing that not many will reach “Pacquiao” territory after he’s long left the boxing scene.
