On Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, one of the most accomplished boxing careers in the history of the sport will come to an end.
Manny Pacquiao, an eight-weight world champion and one of just two genuine prizefighters of his generation, will hang up his gloves after his 66th career fight and third against American Timothy Bradley.
Arguments over the legitimacy of a few of Pacquiao’s titles, the monumental let-down of the laughably billed “Fight of the Century”, or raised eyebrows over his remarkable rise through the weights should not take away from one undeniable fact: “Pac-Man” is one of the greatest fighters boxing has ever seen.
From a purely statistical point of view, Pacquiao deserves to be mentioned among the greats. A total of 65 fights has produced 57 wins (38 KOs), six defeats and two draws, a record that stands up against any in history. The impressive unbeaten record of Floyd Mayweather Jr may be heralded but was undeniably engineered.
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The same cannot be said of Pacquiao’s CV, with a career-defining four-fight series against Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, of which Pacquiao won two, lost and drew one, and a trilogy against Erik Morales that also produced two wins.
Pacquiao rightly earned his status as one of the world’s finest lighter weight fighters during the first phase of his career, but it was between 2005 and 2012 – book ended by his defeat to Morales and a ludicrous points loss to Bradley – when the Filipino earned his superstar status and future place in boxing’s Hall of Fame.
Avenging his loss to Morales with two stoppages in 2006 were followed by a second victory over another Mexican legend in Marco Antonio Berrera and his first win against Marquez, albeit a contentious split decision. From there, Pacquiao surged up the weight classes, and with it so did his standing in boxing and the wider sporting world.
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A destruction of David Diaz in his only fight at lightweight earned the WBC world title. It was a brutal display of speed and power, which he emulated six months later when he made Oscar de La Hoya quit on his stool after eight rounds of punishment. At the time it was considered a shock result, but history has proved otherwise.
What followed were arguably the two finest performances of Pacquiao’s career. First up a sickening second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton, then a late stoppage of Miguel Cotto after the Puerto Rican had taken nearly 12 rounds of punishment.
At this stage it was undeniable; Pacquiao was box-office gold, and the figures he was raking in demonstrated the status he had gained in the ring.
Prizefighters throughout the years, from Muhammad Ali through to “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and Mayweather all had the ability to transcend boxing, to reach out to the non-fight fan to take an interest when they took to the ring.
Pacquiao has arguably gone even farther than that, inspiring millions of people in his native Philippines and around the world with his rags-to-riches story that now looks likely to one day see him take up the highest office in his homeland.
And unlike Mayweather, he has been scintillating to watch. Boxing is going to miss him.
jturner@thenational.ae
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