When I spoke with former Jr welterweight world champion Paulie Malignaggi last month he made an interesting point. Malignaggi is a pretty polarizing guy, either you love the guy or you hate him. His fans are loyal to him, but those who do not like him voice it loudly. I remember when Malignaggi got robbed in Houston, TX against Juan Diaz. I spoke to Roy Jones Jr about it and he clearly supported Malignaggi, and pointed out just how good of a boxer Paulie is. When I shared what Roy had to say with Malignaggi, he said, “To hear that from a legend like Roy Jones Jr means the world to me. I hear a lot of garbage from some boxing fans that is pretty disrespectful. Most of them never put on a pair of gloves, so it’s real convenient for them to talk that way from a keyboard.” Malignaggi went on to say, “Roy knows what a fighter goes through in order to go into battle in the ring. I pay attention to what my peers say about me, and not what some disrespectful fans have to say about me.”
Manny Pacquiao has the same situation at hand. Most of his fans around the world are extremely loyal and supportive, but even the pound for pound king has his share of haters. Its pretty easy to find out who likes and who dislikes Manny Pacquiao. All one has to do is go into any boxing forum online, and just read what some of the people have to say.
I cover plenty of fights in and around Mississippi, so it’s easy for me to get a feel for how people feel about Manny on the street level as well. When I was in Tunica, MS a few months ago for Jr Middleweight Shawn Porter’s bout, I spoke with him and with some of the fans about Pacquiao. I didn’t find any Pacquiao hate up there, as Porter is a former sparring partner of Pacquiao, and the fans for the most part up there were pro Pacquiao. I do however find some Pacquiao hate online. And for this reason I have been asking some of Pacquiao’s peers (pro fighters) what they have to say about Manny. Most people in Mississippi that I speak with concerning Pacquiao immediately show respect. How can one logically not?
So I wanted to get a feel for what some of Manny’s peers thought about him, and this potential super fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Most recently I spoke with the NABF super featherweight champion Jason Litzau. His last bout against Rocky Juarez was stopped early due to a cut to his eye. Litzau and I spoke about Pacquiao just the other day, and he had this to say about him, ” I believe Pacquiao will win the fight. He has the perfect style to beat a guy like Mayweather. He just throws way too many punches. All that defense isn’t going to work, when a guy throws 500 punches at you, that defense just isn’t going to work. Manny Pacquiao is just unbelievable.”
Former Jr middleweight world champion Sergio Mora spoke with me about this topic as well, and he said the following, “Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao must happen. Floyd is just holding out to amp the fight up more than it already is. I think “Money” Mayweather is a master at what he does. He is super fast, super confident, and he’s in great shape. He looks stronger, and I don’t see anybody connecting more than two shots in a row against him. You’re not going to knock him out, so I favor Floyd Mayweather in this fight. With that said, Manny is one of the greatest fighters of the past 30 years, so you definitely can’t completely count him out.”
Last week I spoke with the current IBF cruiserweight world champion Steve “USS” Cunningham. The champ also favors Mayweather, “I don’t see anybody beating Floyd Mayweather Jr, including Manny Pacquiao. I had Shane to win against Floyd, and Floyd handled himself awesomely. He may have even been able to stop Shane if he would have stepped it up. I learned a lot about Floyd that night. He figures out his opponents by round three, and then it’s over with. Don’t get me wrong, Pacquiao is awesome, he’s super, he’s fighter of the decade, but Floyd Mayweather was born to be what he is right now, and that’s the best.”
The legendary former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and I spoke a few months ago. Lennox chimed in with his take on the fight, ” You have two great boxers in Manny and Floyd. Boxing certainly is not dead like some people think it is. It’s like a volcano, and we are waiting for the eruption between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.”
Read up on D’Source’ latest here – http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Filipino-Sports-Examiner~y2010m6d12-Ivan-Calderon-picks-Mayweather-over-Pacquiao-He-got-everything-to-beat-Pacquiao
Another legend, Fernando Vargas is leaning toward Mayweather, “I picked Mayweather to defeat Mosley, I called that one. Right now I think Mayweather is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He’s from back in 96, my class, a great class. I pick him to beat Pacquiao also.”
A few days ago I spoke with yet another legend, Roy Jones Jr. It was very obvious the admiration and respect that Roy holds for Manny Pacquiao. Roy and Pacquiao have a mutual respect for one another and Roy voiced his the other day, “I love that guy (Pacquiao) he’s my kind of guy, a brother in Christ. I think the fight will happen, both guys are great fighters. The only issue I have is that Floyd is the much bigger man. Then again, Manny is a southpaw so it’s a matter of who wants it the most. Manny has the hunger, and Floyd has the size. I look for a wonderful fight. As a person I love that guy (Pacquiao) to death, and as a fighter I love that guy to death. He’s a spiritual person, and to come from where he came from and to end up where he is now, is amazing. I ranked him in the top 3 or 4 all time.”
So there you have it, Manny’s peers have spoken. These are just a few of the many peers of Manny Pacquiao. It’s a mixed bag when it comes to predictions, but none of the above had anything negative to say about Manny the person. Pacquiao is a true class act, and we should all feel fortunate to have lived during the Pacquiao era.
Listen to all of the above mentioned fighters as they speak about Pacquiao here – http://www.8countnews.com
