Three years ago, ESPN released their "50 Greatest Fighters of All Time" list. The criteria consisted of "in-ring performance, dominance, mainstream appeal, and achievements." Floyd Mayweather was 48th and Roy Jones Jr. was 46th. Manny Pacquiao was nowhere to be found. Was it right to leave PacMan off the list? To be fair, he had not yet beaten Barrera, Cotto, Marquez, De La Hoya, or Hatton. But now that some time has passed, a reassessment is definitely in order.
Taking the four criteria for rating into account, and starting with
"mainstream appeal," Pacquiao's stock has done nothing but rise in the last few years. Back when Pacquiao had knocked Erik Morales out in three rounds, he most certainly was not the star he is today. He was considered a very good fighter who had been knocked out a few years prior, but had since gone on to do impressive things, notwithstanding a single loss in recent years, a unanimous decision dropped to "El Terrible," who he had since annihilated. He has won "Fighter of the Year" three times, and was even named "Fighter of the Decade" by The Boxing Writers Association of America, heralding his arrival as the sport's preeminent face in the new millennium. Throw in his movie, multiple television appearances, as well as winning a Filipino congressional seat and PacMan definitely scores a perfect "10" for mainstream appeal.
Looking at the next trait on the list, "achievements," Pacquiao really has no peer, since he is the first fighter ever to win seven different belts in seven separate divisions. Before the advent of the "alphabet soup," back when there was only one belt to a division, Manny could have probably hung with the best of them, excepting maybe the sweetest practitioner to ever lace on the gloves, Ray Robinson. This is another no-brainer, and another perfect "10."
The next dimension, "in-ring performance," might judge Pacquiao a bit more harshly. He certainly leaves it all in the ring. Pacquiao was KO'd by a body shot in 1999 and by a more controversial headshot back in 1996. There are critics that say that in his early loss to Rusty Torrecampo, Manny was hit with a suspicious shot to the beltline at around the same time that he was hit with an aboveboard punch to the face. If this was in fact the case, then there should have never been a knockdown ruled, and Manny would have been given the required five-minute duration to walk it off. Still, to be fair, Manny should probably score an "8" on "overall in-ring performance."
Many claim that Pacquiao was malnourished as a young man, that in his teens and early twenties, he was barely subsisting on one meal per day. A man can hardly be faulted for losing on an empty stomach and it is clear that the Manny Pacquiao of ten years ago, the pre-Freddy Roach version, bears very little resemblance to the one who will be fighting Antonio Margarito soon.
Looking at the last consideration, "dominance," it would be hard to give Manny less than a "10". He has beaten three fighters who make an appearance on the list of the fifty greatest of all time, including Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Oscar De La Hoya. Juan Manuel Marquez could also be considered an all-time great, and Manny beat him too.
There is one fighter on the list, sandwiched between Mike Tyson and Bernard Hopkins, who has done nothing but good in the time that has passed between 2006 and today. That is Mr. Money himself, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Manny and Floyd have co-headlined top billing as the pound-for-pound best in the game for some time now, with Floyd currently occupying the coveted top spot in some eyes.
They could solve the endless debate about who is better by stepping into the ring with each other and giving fans what would easily be the biggest fight of the 21st century thus far, definitely shattering all pay-per-view and live gate records in what would prove to be the most lucrative payday in either one of their careers. But whether the stumbling block is Bob Arum, blood tests, or massive egos, the fight that everyone wants to see is not going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future. Pacquiao is going to fight Antonio Margarito, probably adding another Mexican scalp to his belt, and Floyd Mayweather is probably going to retire and un-retire more times than any of us care to count.
There have been grumblings that Ricky Hatton may give up the pub life, the darts, and the mincemeat pies for one last shot at glory in a rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Hatton has felt for years that referee Joe Cortez essentially took away Ricky's one great strength, his ability to fight in a phone booth, by forcing the combatants to break clean whenever they came even close to clinching. Wembley Stadium was even suggested as a venue, but for now, it's all speculation.
As for PacMan, he has threatened to make this his last fight, to devote himself to the Filipino people and spend the rest of his life legislating, trading in the gloves for the ballpoint pen. Assuming Margarito is really the last stop on the Pacquiao Express, where does Manny place on the top fifty?
You have to put him at least as high as Emile Griffith, who is in 34th place and has a record of 85 wins against 24 losses. Griffith was "The Ring Fighter of the Year," for 1964 and garnered glory and titles at both welterweight and middleweight. He defeated all-time great Dick Tiger, but also tragically killed Benny Paret in the ring, after Paret had taunted him in preflight exchanges and questioned his manhood (David Haye, take note).
Griffith was an exciting champion who provided some of the best fights in the black and white era of the "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports," but Pacquiao has provided an equal amount of intensity to the ring, to his fans, and especially to the Filipino people. It has been almost a hundred years since Francisco Guilledo was considered the fighting pride of the Philippines. Better known as Pancho Villa, boxing experts still talk about him to this day.
A hundred years from now, when the subject turns to boxing, they'll still be talking about Pacquiao.