Manny Pacquiao: With a Win, Where Will He Rank Among the Greatest Ever?
With a win over Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13, I believe that Manny Pacquiao will be ranked in the middle of 10 greatest boxers in history. He has done enough over the course of his career to be called the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Unfortunately, Pacquiao won't be a member of the top five unless he beats one of the greatest boxers ever--if they ever fight--in Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Not Be Better than Muhammad Ali
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No one will dispute that Muhammad Ali was not one of the greatest showmen of the ring. He was the reason many people were interested in boxing in his time. If his fights had been on pay-per-view TV, he would have been the top earner.
Ali was more than a boxer. He fought against the prevailing social injustice of the United States in the 1960s and '70s. For refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, he was banned from fighting in his own country.
Ali's loss to Joe Frazier broke the hearts of millions of boxing fans because Ali was their hero.
But Ali beat Frazier in their following two matches, while his victories over Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and George Foreman rank among the greatest ever.
Manny Pacquiao and the other boxers on my list have to take a backseat to the greatest.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Not Be Better Than Teofilo Stevenson
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Manny Pacquiao's next win won't rank him ahead of Muhammad Ali or the No. 2 man on my list, Teofilo Stevenson.
Stevenson would've made millions of dollars if he was born in any other country but Cuba.
When you watch Olympic boxing videos from the 1972, '76 and '80 games, Stevenson dominated the Super Heavyweight division, and his devastating punches sent opponents to the canvas.
Even though Stevenson was a high-ranked amateur, he was treated like a king by Fiedel Castro because he brought home gold medals.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Not Be Better Than Floyd Mayweather
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For now, Manny Pacquiao isn't better than my No. 3 fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather is still undefeated, though many of us think that he's afraid of losing his streak against Pacquiao.
Yet, their matchup would be the statement fight that would define their careers. If Pacquiao were to beat Mayweather, he'd jump to No. 3.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Not Be Better Than Marvin Hagler
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I wouldn't meet "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler in a dark alley. He was very intimidating as a boxer.
Hagler earned every bit of his payday in boxing. If Hagler fought Pacquiao today, he'd kill the Pac-Man.
Imagine Pacquiao taking blow after blow from Hagler. Freddie Roach would throw in the white towel in the second round.
Pacquiao is not as great as Hagler, my No. 4.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Not Be Better Than Ray Mancini
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I'm sorry, but Pacquiao with a win would rank a notch below Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini. There were very few white fighters that had the skills and passion as Mancini.
As much as Mancini would like to talk about his boxing career, the thing will probably haunt him for the rest of his life is the punch that caused the death of Doo Koo Kim.
Kim's death from that match is a reminder of the risk that fighters take when they step into the ring.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Be Better Than Rocky Marciano
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Rocky Marciano, as a heavyweight boxer under 200 pounds, held his own in his heyday.
If Floyd Mayweather Jr. decides not to box again, he'll be the second fighter to go undefeated in his career.
I'd respect Mayweather if he beat Manny Pacquiao and then decided to retire.
For the record, Marciano was the only undefeated boxer in history. Today, he'd be a light heavyweight. He fought bigger opponents in his boxing career, but they couldn't beat him.
With A Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Be Better Than Bernard Hopkins
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Bernard Hopkins was and still is a tough fighter. He had to scrap for everything he got as a professional fighter.
When "The Executioner" goes to work in the ring, it's only a matter of when his opponent falls victim to his relentless attacks.
Hopkins won the light heavyweight belt and defended it more than 10 times. The title contenders kept coming, and he shut them down, one by one.
Hopkins is making noise in the division at age 45, proving that he still has it. But I still think Pacquiao's success outweighs that of Hopkins by a country mile.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Be Better Than Mike Tyson
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"Iron" Mike Tyson was once the baddest man on the planet. His wins over Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes and about 20 other scrubs isn't worth glowing about.
But the upsets by Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield hurt Tyson's legacy.
At the same time, Manny Pacquiao has more signature wins than Tyson.
In this case, Pacquiao gets the nod over Tyson.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Be Better Than Sugar Ray Leonard
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Sugar Ray Leonard had the hand speed to keep fighters off-balance. That was evident in his fights against Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.
But Manny Pacquiao has the the hand speed that Leonard had, and if they were to fight each other in their primes, the Pac Man would win.
With a Win, Manny Pacquiao Would Be Better Than Oscar De Le Hoya
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Even at this moment, Manny Pacquiao is better than Oscar De La Hoya.
De La Hoya was a good-looking boxer in the ring, at least before the bell rang. Then he would demolish whoever was in front of him in his prime. But later in his career, De La Hoya took losses against Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley.
It was reported that De La Hoya said he'd beat Pacquiao if he was in his prime. De La Hoya had his chance to show his skills against Pacquiao. Yet, Pacquiao dropped the Golden Boy in the eighth round.
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