Manny Pacquiao weighed 106 pounds in his professional debut in 1995. On Saturday in Dallas, he’ll try to win the WBC light-middleweight title, fighting Antonio Margarito at a weight of 150 pounds. How long can he keep packing on pounds and beating bigger champions? History says it’ll end soon.
Mr. Pacquiao is seeking a title win against an opponent 41.5% heavier than his own debut weight, a feat some of the greatest boxers failed to accomplish. Roberto Duran debuted at a slender 119? pounds in 1968 and hit the ceiling 21 years later when he beat 159-pound Iran Barkley for the middleweight belt (a 33.3% increase). He would later fail to win a title as a super middleweight. Likewise, Sugar Ray Robinson began as a 134?-pound lightweight in 1940 and won the middleweight title over 159-pound Randy Turpin in 1951. But like Mr. Duran, he wilted at the next level, trying to take 173-pound Joey Maxim’s light-heavyweight crown in 1952.
If Pacman wants inspiration, he may have to look back more than 100 years. Georges Carpentier, who started as a teenager like Mr. Pacquaio, made a flyweight debut at an estimated 112 pounds in 1908. By 1920, Mr. Carpentier bulked up and won a title off the 175-pound Battling Levinsky, a remarkable 56.3% jump.
