Manny Pacquiao: Loss Wouldn't Harm Pac-Man's Legacy

Muhammad Ali lost three of his last four fights, and he's still revered as the best boxer of all time. That should stand as a testament to Manny Pacquiao and the fact that a loss to Timothy Bradley on June 9 wouldn't harm his legacy.

A boxer's legacy can only truly be measured a few decades after his retirement from the sport, so we won't know how a loss would impact Pacquiao's, but when all is said and done and Pacquiao's time in the ring has come to an end, a loss to Bradley won't keep us from looking back on him as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of his era.

Pac-Man has been held in the highest regard in the boxing community since his fight against Marco Antonio Barrera, when he scored a TKO over Barrera in Round 11, which proved to be one of the most important moments of his career.

After he lost to Erik Morales, just the second loss of his career, Pacquiao ran though some of the best fighters boxing was able to offer at the time. He was able to exact revenge twice on Morales, he took down Juan Manuel Marquez two times, beat Barrera another time, embarrassed Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton and took down Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.

There aren't many other current boxers who can boast that impressive of a resume.

Ali finished with 56 wins and five losses. If Pacquiao loses to Bradley and chooses to never box again, he'll finish at 54-4-2. It's not fair to look at the final few bouts as a barometer for a fighter's legacy. We must observe the entire body of work to make a fair determination before we, as fans, make a snap decision in regards to the career of a fighter.

Pacquiao has given the boxing scene a much-needed shot in the arm since he has become one of the best fighters in the world. He's a humanitarian, a congressman and a model citizen. The work he has done in his home country of the Philippines far outweighs what most boxers of the day have done outside of the ring.

There has been much speculation as to whether Pacquiao will call it quits if he loses his fight against Bradley, so the fans need to enjoy his boxing brilliance while he is still around. He's tactically polished, he's fundamentally sound, he's lightning fast and he has the power to bring those three things together.

Chances are, he's not going to lose to Bradley this Saturday, but if he does, it should not hurt his legacy as a fighter.

After all, the boxing community is going to miss his presence dearly.