Manny the GOAT?

It's been several hours since Manny Pacquiao methodically demolished Antonio Margarito in their clash for the WBC Super Welterweight championship and I am still in awe at how that fight was won. 


I must admit that I generally subscribe to the boxing adage "a good big man beats a good small man". The fight between Tito Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins a decade ago immediately comes to mind whenever I feel the need to cite an example. That is why despite the overwhelming odds in favor of the PacMan I was a bit worried, particularly when both entered the ring with Margarito enjoying a 17 pound advantage in weight, and 5 inch advantage in height.

Over the course of 12 rounds, Pacquiao dispelled any doubts that I had in my mind. Pretty much the same way he did when I had reservations in his fight against Dela Hoya, against Hatton, against Cotto, and against Clottey. Manny proved once again that he is a phenom that defies traditional boxing conventions, by soundly beating naturally bigger fighters without losing a step.

The way Pacquiao dominated Margarito leads me to revisit a question that I had posed a year ago: "Is Manny Pacquiao the Greatest Boxer of All Time (GOAT)"?

To answer this question I will have to settle a few preliminaries first. Several years back, ESPN.com had come up with their list of the 50 greatest boxers in history. They explained that their list was not a mythical pound-for-pound or a "who would beat who" ranking. I agree with this distinction in the same way that it would be unfair to match up a great center and a great guard in basketball (say, Wilt Chamberlain versus Magic Johnson) and ask who would win in a one-on-one.

Furthermore, it is difficult to compare fighters from different eras side by side, in particular, when the rules aren't exactly the same. Remember that until a couple of decades ago, a boxing match lasted 15 rounds. This inevitably quickened the wear and tear that a boxer of that era acquired through the course of his career. Also, in the days before pay-per-view it was not uncommon to see a typical champion have more than 100 fights. To use the basketball analogy again, it would be like asking: a) who was the more dominant big man between George Mikan and Shaquille O'Neal, when the former played without a shotclock and expanded 3 second lane; or b) who was the better scorer between Jerry West and Michael Jordan, when the latter had the benefit of a 3 point line.

To get around the problem of different eras, I have decided to adopt a "tier-based" system. Thus, instead of naming just one boxer, there will be several who fall under the "Greatest" tier, to distinguish them from those who are simply "Great" boxing champions. ESPN also utilized a set of criteria in forming their list. I will adopt some of these, with slight modifications. Elements that will be used are:

a) Dominance- how dominating a fighter was in the ring
b) Achievements- the quality of fighters faced, and titles acquired
c) Transcendent Appeal- how a fighter was recognized not only within the boxing community, but also by the media and general public

To become part of the "Greatest" tier a fighter has to satisfy all three elements, and absent one, will just be considered an all-time Great. Thus, boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, and quite fittingly, Muhammad Ali, fall under my "Greatest" tier.

Now going back to the original question, has Manny Pacquiao done enough to become one of the Greatest of All Time?

In terms of dominance, Manny has shown his mastery over the best fighters in his weight class. In his career, Pacquiao has fought boxers of all shapes and sizes. From the Mexicans Oscar Larios, Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and now Margarito to naturally bigger opponents such as Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and Joshua Clottey, the PacMan has prevailed and prevailed over them in convincing fashion. The only blip on an otherwise impressive ring resume, has been the bouts with Juan Manuel Marquez, which could have gone either way. Nevertheless, the fights have been tallied as a PacMan win and a draw, for the record.

In terms of ring achievements, it bears noting that all the names mentioned in the previous paragraph were current or former champions when Pacquiao faced them. As a matter of fact, in his last 10 fights (dating back to 2006) the only time he faced a non-champion was when he knocked out Jorge Solis in 2007 for the WBC International Super Featherweight title.  


Then there are the 8 world titles, in 8 different weight divisions. While there are those who will dispute that Pacquiao only has 5 or 6, when you consider that those weight divisions cover almost 50 pounds (from flyweight to super welterweight) the feat becomes really phenomenal, and renders the distinction irrelevant.   

Finally, in terms of transcendent appeal Pacquiao has reached the status, not just of a boxing superstar, but has become the boxing superstar. In the past, such a status has been accorded, almost exclusively, to the champions of the heavyweight division. Boxers such as Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield. But in recent years, the lack of quality fighters have caused the heavyweights to lose some of their luster. If you want to put this assertion to the test, here's a quick mental quiz: name at least one current heavyweight champion (there are three). No? Thought so.

In the absence of a dominant heavyweight champion, focus has now shifted to the so called "Pound-for-Pound Champion". And guess who has that title?

Some analysts have also opined that Manny Pacquiao can be considered as boxing's "savior" from it's declining popularity. I completely agree. Aside from the above-mentioned problem with the heavyweights, boxing has also faced stiff competition from the recent rise of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Pacquiao, almost by his lonesome, has caused a renaissance in boxing. He attracts worldwide media publicity and has showed the general public that the lower weight classes can be as, if not more, exciting than the heavier divisions.

It seems clear to me that at this point in his career, Manny Pacquiao has done enough to be included among the Greatest Boxers of All Time. But there is just one more persistent question that needs to be answered: "How about Floyd Mayweather?"

Pacquiao has confidently declared that he doesn't need to fight Mayweather, and on the contrary, it's Mayweather who needs him. That may be true from a financial standpoint. It has been reported that his fight with Margarito could possibly earn Manny as much as 20 million dollars or about 1 billion pesos. To put this in proper perspective, that is more than what an average Filipino could earn in his lifetime. 

Heck, that is more than what an average Filipino plus members of his immediate family could earn in several lifetimes.

The current pound-for-pound rankings have also given the PacMan the P4P crown previously held by Mayweather. So why still fight him? Because all the "Greatest" boxers on the list fought the best fighters of their time. Robinson did it, Louis did it, and Ali did it. Ergo Pacquiao needs to do it, not to be on the list, but to remove the asterisk, the nagging "what if".

That said, Manny Pacquiao is clearly the best boxer in the world at the moment. Years from now I will proudly tell my children and grandchildren that I saw Pacquiao fight. I will regale them with stories about an age where an unassuming kid from General Santos City gradually developed into a legendary fighter. An age where a small man slew the giants of the boxing world. The Age of the PacMan.