To the general public and casual sports fan, this weekend’s superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito is for the Jr. Middleweight championship of the world. To the boxing fan in the know, this is simply a scrap between two stars with a paper belt thrown in the mix. The truth is that the two are only fighting over the paper WBC belt that’s on the line because the real champion, Sergio Martinez, was forced to vacate it when he chose to stay at middleweight. So would beating Margarito make Pac “the man” at 154? Not really. Anyone who really follows the sport knows that the two guys in command at that weight division are the same two on top at 160, or a term more familiar to the casual sports fan ? “Middleweight.”
Most aren’t giving Margarito much of a chance. The common belief is that it will be an easy night for Pac who will dart circles around Margarito all night with no trouble of finding his target. But it’s highly unlikely the feeling be the same if Pac was fighting Sergio Martinez or Paul Williams. The two fighters ? unquestionably the best between 154 and 160 ? go at it just a week later after Pacquiao-Margarito to try to figure out once and for all which of the two are the best. Martinez has the 160 title but Williams has a win over Martinez in a close match between the two just a year ago. Williams and Martinez are generally considered the #3 and #4 pound-for-pound best fighters in the world, respectively, which begs the question ? if Pacquiao can’t fight the #2 guy out there in Floyd Mayweather ? how would he do against #3 and #4?
Nobody would ever blame Pacquiao or diminish his greatness for avoiding a fight with the two. Pacquiao already has the record for titles in the most division, and Martinez is so much bigger and Williams so much taller than Pac that nobody could criticize the Filipino sensation for opting not to make yet another jump in weight. However, there’s no question that the significance of a lineal championship fight at middleweight would have a huge impact toward Pacquiao’s
