Game Over: Five Fighters Who Could Beat Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao has become so popular in the last few years that I'm surprised there hasn't been a church built in his name yet. His celebrity, humble attitude, and seeming invincibility in his recent fights almost make you forget that he has three losses on his record. Some may say that Pacquiao has learned from those fights and would not lose again given a second chance. Manny is on a ruthless tear through the sport and it seems as if each fighter he faces is a sacrificial lamb. I believe, however, that there are fighters in the sport that have the ability to catch Manny off guard and notch another loss on his record.
Remember, what goes up, must come down.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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Lets get the obvious one out of the way first. Floyd has all of the tools to beat Manny and many observers favor him in a match between the two. A fight was almost scheduled but fell through because of reasons I'm sure you've heard about. If they do eventually meet, it would be one of the biggest matches of all time and definitely the defining match of the generation.
Floyd, along with Pacman, is considered to be the best pound for pound fighter in the word. His impressive career includes victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, and Zab Judah. Floyd is a master boxer, and uses these skills to make his opponents look silly. If he utilized the right game plan, he could use Manny's aggressiveness against him and take home a late TKO or decision victory.
2. Timothy Bradley
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Bradley is the man right now at light welterweight, and has garnered wins over the likes of Junior Witter, Kendell Holt, and Lamont Peterson. Bradley is still young at the age of 27, with time to improve. Which should make Pacman sweat a little, considering how good he is now. Bradley is also very confident in his abilities and has openly challenged Manny to a fight. He truly believes he can beat Pacquiao, and if we learned anything from history it's that confidence is a huge plus when entering a fight.
While he does have the ability to beat Manny now, I think if he let him run through a few more opponents and used that time to hone his skills even more, then Pacman may be in for a surprise.
3. Sergio Martinez.
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There was a time when the notion of this fight happening would have been laughable. However, Manny has been advancing a wieght class with each passing fight.
Considered to be one of the most avoided fighters in the world, Martinez is the middleweight champion, but lets not forget that he used to be the light middleweight champion. Pacquiao's next fight happens to be at that wieght, against Margarito, the man who gave Martinez his first loss.
Martinez has an obvious weight advantage against Pacquiao, and a significant height and reach advantage. He also has experience fighting men much bigger than Manny, such as Kelly Pavlik, a man who fought at Light Heavywieght.
It's not hard to believe that Martinez would drop down in wieght for a big payday fight like this. And with the edge in size, Martinez could very well overpower the smaller Pacquiao and end the streak.
4. Paul Williams
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What better way to follow Sergio Martinez than with the man who gave him his last loss in the ring. Paul "the punisher" Williams, like Martinez, is considered one of the most feared and avoided fighters in the world. World class fighters such as Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Winy Wright, and of couse Sergio Martinez have all been "punished" by Williams.
Williams, like Martinez, has an obvious size advantage over Pacquiao. However, it's much greater. Willaims is 6'1, Manny is 5'6. Williams has an 82 inch reach, Manny has a 67 inch reach. That's a 7 inch height advantage and a 15 inch reach advantage. This almost makes it hard to believe that Williams was once a champion in a division that is smaller than the one Pacman is fighting in next.
Pacquiao, although a great fighter, may not be able to overcome all of the physical advantages that Williams obtains, and could end up bieng "punished".
5. Juan Manuel Marquez
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Yes, I know, Manny has already beaten him. However, that fight was a very close split decision loss for Marquez, and the first fight was a draw. Marquez has already come so close to beating Pacman he can probably almost taste it. Marquez is widely considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world just beneath Pacquiao and the last man to beat him, Floyd Mayweather.
Marquez is 37, but shows no signs of slowing down, as evidence by his previous victories over the much younger Juan Diaz, in which he became the unified lightweight champion. Marquez also holds impressive victories over Marco Antonio Barrera and Joel Casamayor.
The first two fights between Manny and Juan have taken place at featherweight and super featherweight, and third fight would most likely take place at welterweight. However, the allure of winning another world championship could convince Manny to drop to lightweight. Considering that his next fight is at light middleweight, the drop in weight Manny would have to do could give Marquez that slight advantage and allow him to finally pull through with a victory.
On The Other Hand...........
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It is possible that Pacman may very well destroy all of these fighters and end up making me look like an idiot, but hey, that's why it's called a prediction, not a prophecy.
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