Pacquiao vs Bradley: Controversial Loss Won't Hurt Pac-Man's Elite Status

Manny Pacquiao's controversial split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley won't hurt the boxing superstar as far as his elite status in the sporting world is concerned.

This is still Pac-Man we are talking about, folks. He's undeniably one of the best still.

This loss may sting, and it may eventually point to the end of an era (gasp..it's true). But when all is said and done, nobody is going to think any less of Pacquiao. Heck, most people, if not everybody, thought that he should have won, so I don't see many holding this loss against him.  

Pac-Man is going to be just fine. It's the sport of boxing we may need to worry about.

It's a tweet like this, from KicksOnFire.com, that really sums up how many people feel about boxing after the fight:

"

Worst decision in boxing history. Boxing will suffer immensely because of this. Manny Pacquiao #robbed #pacbradley

— KicksOnFire.com (@kicksonfire) June 10, 2012"

Like I said, boxing may have a bit more to worry about than Pacquiao at this very moment.

As far as Pac-Man is concerned, this will eventually be a blip on the radar when we look back at his legendary career. Other than Floyd Mayweather, no boxer of our time has had the type of career that Pac-Man has had, and no boxer has garnered as much love, attention or respect from his fans. He's one of the all-time greats, and he's still an elite boxer until we see him drop a few more bouts.

Maybe he lost to the better boxer (gasp). At the very least, the rematch clause will allow us to test that theory out. Even if he did or will, though, there's no shame it that for Pac-Man.

Eventually, his time at the top is going to end, and when that time comes, he's got a Hall of Fame career to look back on.

Does a loss here sting? Absolutely. Does it hurt Pac-Man in any way, though? I doubt it.

Manny Pacquiao is still one of the words greatest athletes, and he is arguably one of the best boxers of all time. One controversial loss isn't going to change that.