Manny Pacquiao: Top Five Legendary Matchups For Pac Man
Manny Pacquiao is one of the two best fighters alive today and he will go down as one of the best fighters of his generation.
The true test of how great a fighter is, to some fans, is how would a current fighter stack up in the division 20 or 30 years ago.
Most fighters today are dismissed and deemed inferior to their older counterparts. This may be right or wrong to do.
One fighter that seems to rise above this is Pacquiao. Most fans and writers agree that he would not only stand up to these older fighters but beat them.
With a record of 51(38)-3-2 you cant really blame them. So I have decided to stack him up with some of the best fighters ever to grace the ring.
Instead of putting him in their with five welterweights because he is currently a welterweight, I have put him in with five fighters from different weight classes.
He has won a lot of titles but I have decided to stick to alphabet titles and have taken out the light welterweight division when doing this.
He will be fighting greats at flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight, lightweight and welterweight ever.
Flyweight: Jimmy Wilde 137(100)-4-2-8
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Jimmy Wilde was the first recognized world flyweight champion and is considered by many to be the best flyweight ever.
He started his career with an astonishing record of 103-0. He finally lost in fight 104 when he was knocked out by Tancy Lee in the 17th round of a 20 round fight.
He then won the flyweight title by beating Young Zulu Kid by KO 11 in 1916. He held the title but only defended it four times in that time span.
He lost the title to the great Philippine Pancho Villa by KO seven.
Pacquiao won the IBF flyweight title when he beat Chatchai Sasakul via KO eight. He defended it one time before being knocked out himself by Medgoen Singsurat in the third round.
Wilde would win this fight and do it rather easily. He was a big puncher and was the definition of toughness.
Pacquiao at this time was still a one handed power puncher with no defense. He would leave himself to open and Wilde would take advantage.
Wilde by knockout in eight.
Super Bantamweight: Wilfredo Gomez 44(42)-3-1
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What a match up this would be. Two huge punching fighters that like to throw a lot of punches.
Gomez is one of the biggest punchers ever in the smaller divisions and had a streak of 32 straight knockouts after drawing in his debut fight.
He was 15-0-1 when he won the WBC super bantamweight title in 1977 from Dong Kyun Yum who has 50-2-6 at the time.
He defended his title 12 times from 1977 until 1983 before losing it to the great Salvador Sanchez. He knocked out Carlos Zarate in his sixth defense.
Zarate was 55-0 with 54 knockouts before losing to Gomez.
Pacquiao held the IBF super bantamweight title from 2001 until 2004 before moving up in weight. He won the title with a TKO six against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba.
He defended it four times against marginal fighters. We were starting to see the Pacman that would dominate boxing but he just wasn’t there yet.
Gomez was to big a puncher and was simply one of the greatest fighters ever. I see Pacquiao again getting knocked out.
Gomez wins by KO 3.
Super Featherweight: Alexis Arguello 82(65)-8
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Pacquiao has staggered out of the gates with two knockout losses and finds another all time great in front of him again.
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Lightweight: Roberto Duran 103 (70)-16
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After finally notching a win we move into the lightweight division and have one of the best showdowns ever.
Roberto Duran against Manny Pacquiao. Two of the toughest fighters to ever step into the ring. Two guys who would never quit on you.
Duran won the WBA lightweight title in 1972 when he beat Ken Buchanan over 15 controversial rounds. Duran was 31-0 when he lost a non title match to Esteban De Jesus.
He defended his title 13 times (12 wins by knockout) and beat such fighters as future lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu, De Jesus (2x), and future light welterweight champion Saoul Mamby.
Again Pacquiao fought at this weight one time knocking out David Diaz to win the WBC title. The problem here is that Pacquiao at lightweight is the machine he is today.
This is a very tough call for me. Duran may be the best lightweight ever but Pacquiao is the wrecking machine at lightweight that he is today.
In the hand I think the hand speed of Pacquiao and the training from Freddie Roach would help him win.
It was shown that Duran can be frustrated and I think the speed and movement of Pacquiao would win the day.
Pacquiao by UD 12.
Welterweight: Sugar Ray Leonard 36 (25)-3-1
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We now have the showdown I have been waiting for. “Sugar” Ray Leonard against Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.
How I can choose a winner for this I do not know but I will have to find a way somehow.
Leonard was a three time welterweight champion and one of the best welterweights ever.
He won the WBC title with a TKO 15 over Wilfred Benitez and defended it two times before losing to Roberto Duran.
He beat Duran to retain it in his next fight and defended it four times beating Thomas Hearns by TKO 14.
Pacquiao is currently at the welterweight limit and has wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, and Joshua Clottey.
This is a very tough fight for me to decided the outcome. They are both great fighters but Leonard has to get the edge here.
He has just as much power and speed as Pacquiao and was great at using anything to get the upper hand.
It would play out very closely and both would win their fair share of rounds. When the dust settles Leonard would win a SD 12.
That leaves Pacquiao with a 2-3 record against some of the greatest fighters ever. Not to shabby when most people think modern day fighters would get destroyed by their older counterparts.
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