Is Manny Pacquiao Boxing's Only Current Crossover Star?

When the No. 1 rapper in the world raps about Manny Pacquiao on his latest album, that really makes a statement on how big Manny has become worldwide as a certified boxing star.

Yes, rapper Jay-Z, who is also a hip-hop mogul and businessman, who holds the record for most No. 1 albums by a solo artist of all time, even knocking out the "King," Elvis Presley, can rap about whatever the hell he wants to rap about.

Jay-Z raps about everything from boasting about his new proud president (Barack Obama) to even bragging about watching Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas and saying his seats are so close to Manny that he may get some undesirable things splattered on him from sitting ringside.

The point is, when you have Jay-Z's money, power, and connections, you can see any sport and any athlete you desire and have the best seats in the house, so for him to give Manny a shout-out in his song titled "Thank You" says a lot about how Manny is currently on top of the boxing world and even the sports world.

You have to realize that with all the talk about boxing dying and being even dead for the last several years by many critics, having an international superstar phenom like Pacquiao being hotter than ever really contradicts those criticisms.

Or is he really the only lone boxer keeping the sport alive?

It is no wonder that his style of fighting wins over the masses. They love the thrill, excitement, and action that any given Pacquiao fight will surely provide.

When was the last time a boxer had his very own shoe custom designed just for him? We are not talking about just any shoe company either—we are talking about Nike, the No. 1 shoe company in the world that makes Jordans.

Yes, Manny has his very own special custom-designed Nike shoes made just for him and stars in commercials with fellow athlete superstars like Kobe Bryant.

But nothing says more that you have finally arrived as a crossover superstar than when you land at the LAX airport and you have little girls holding signs saying that they love you, as seen in the above photo.

When you have little girls waiting for your plane to land at the airport holding signs for you, that's on a whole different level. That's a Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake level of stardom.

Notice the one little girl's sign and how she declares to the world who is No. 1 on her best list—and it is none other than Manny Pacquiao. According to her Manny is ranked even higher than Santa Claus in her eyes. Freaking Santa Claus is No. 2 under Manny Pacquiao to this little girl.

Think about that for a second, ladies and gentlemen. This little girl loves the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world more than the magical jolly saint that brings all the little girls free toys each Dec. 25. Wow!

At No. 3 she ranks Sponge Bob below Manny as well. Sponge Bob does not really do anything for me, so I question how Sponge Bob can be on the same list as Manny or Santa Claus in the first place, but even below Sponge Bob at No. 4 on her list was American president Obama.

Yes folks, Manny ranks even higher than the American president to this little girl.

Again, the point I am trying to make is that Manny really is on a whole different level. No other boxer or even athlete ranks higher than Santa Claus.

The moral of the story is this, ladies and gentlemen: We have someone truly special right now, and that is Manny Pacquiao. He is so hot and in his prime right now that if we do not truly appreciate him for what he is worth, then we may find ourselves appreciating him a little bit too late, when there are no more crossover superstars of boxing keeping the sport alive.

Let's hope the sport never comes down to that and there will always be exciting amazing fighters to watch and thrill us like the Pac-Man.

"On the tube I'm just watching Pacquiao box 'em up"—Jay-Z