SONAHR: April 13, 2014 – Included in my huge collection of boxing magazines is the Summer 2006 issue of World Boxing, a publication that sadly disappeared from the newsstands only a few years later. The cover features a young, determined-looking Manny Pacquiao. The blurb on that cover reads: ?Pac-Man to the Rescue! Can a 130-pound Filipino Carry Boxing on His Back??
As it turned out, the answer was a resounding ?Yes,? even as Pacquiao grew into a 147-pound Filipino and gathered title belts the way a philatelist collects stamps. During a time when the heavyweights were no longer interesting due to the dominance of the Klitschko brothers, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s obnoxious behavior earned him as many haters as he had fans, Pacquiao was a breath of fresh air. He was personable, articulate, and generous to a fault. And more than half-a-decade, all he did was win, win, win ?
Until 2012, when he lost a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley and was then knocked out by rival/nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. Even though Pacquiao won a comeback bout against Brandon Rios late last year, it seemed that the fire that flared within the Manny of 2006 didn?t burn as brightly as before, when he annihilated the likes of Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, and Miguel Cotto. Going into his Saturday rematch with Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao might have even been something of an underdog. Bradley was still young, and still undefeated ? at least in the record books.
Even though Manny was not in his best form in his first fight with Bradley, It still appeared that he had done enough to earn the decision. But two of the three judges thought otherwise, and the verdict in Bradley?s favor raised more howls than you would hear at a wolves? convention. Despite Pacquiao?s disastrous fourth fight with Marquez, Pacquiao-Bradley II was inevitable. These two had some serious unfinished business between them.
That business was settled Saturday night with a vengeance ? Pacquiao?s vengeance. This time out, he did more than enough to win, by scores of 116-112 twice, and a wide 118-110. The fire from Manny?s earlier years ignited again, and he was able to offset Bradley?s speed and cleverness with a higher work rate and cleverness of his own. One would like to think that even those who actually thought Bradley had won the first fight would have leaned in favor of Pacquiao this time.
Not only did Pacquiao regain his WBO welterweight title and erase the ?0? on Bradley?s record; he also regained much of the standing he had lost after 2012. I would put Pacquiao back at the top of the pound-for-pound list, right alongside Mayweather. Why? Because Bradley is a far better fighter than Mayweather?s last victim, Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez. Bradley is also better than Mayweather?s upcoming opponent, Marcos Maidana.
There are really only two meaningful bouts left for Pacquiao. If Mayweather gets past Maidana, as expected, then Pacquiao-Mayweather will again be the fight that fans demand. The other is a fifth meeting with Marquez. The shock of the kayo in their last fight obscured the fact that Pacquiao ? despite getting decked earlier ? was winning that battle, having scored a knockdown of his own before running into Marquez?s potent right hand.
Unlike that fresh-faced young guy on the cover of World Boxing eight years ago, Pacquiao is no longer expected to carry boxing on his back. He can now share that load with the likes of Mayweather, Andre Ward, Gennady Golovkin and Danny Garcia, among others.
But when he had to carry the sport on his own, he did it well ? perhaps better than anyone else could have. Regardless of how his career ultimately ends, that will be Manny Pacquiao?s greatest boxing legacy.
