Manny Pacquiao's Legacy Is Solid Without Mayweather Bout

Floyd Mayweather can jump up and down, scream, cry and do whatever he wants to get Manny Pacquiao's attention, but it doesn't matter.

If Pacquiao stepped away after the fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, no one would look at him any less, and that's just the reality of it. Fans have wanted to see the bout for years, but it wouldn't change his legacy if he and Mayweather never stepped into a ring together.

It may be hard to believe that, but when you look at it realistically, it's not hard to see why fans and pundits would still praise Pacquiao as one of the best to ever step into a ring. Fighters may be judged in part by their resume, but you have to look at guys in a bubble. 

Pacquiao has beaten countless opponents and he's done it with skill and precision. Not only that, he has spanned weight classes without losing his quickness, grace and power. It has been amazing to watch, and the high price of his pay-per-view's has been justified as watching a maestro at work more than watching a hard-fought contest.

Yes, Mayweather would be the ultimate test for Pacquiao, but he doesn't need the fight to establish himself as one of the greatest fighters of all-time. This bout is more famous for the controversy and verbal sparring around it, more than the prospect of those two actually getting in the ring and what would happen in a hypothetical fight.

Pacquiao is one of the greatest to ever put on a pair of gloves in any era, even if he doesn't have the resume of someone like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He doesn't need Mayweather to prove himself just as Money May doesn't need Pacquiao to prove himself in the eyes of fight fans and historians everywhere.

Fans won't stop clamoring for this fight, and Mayweather won't keep Pacquiao's name out of his mouth, but rest assured that Pac-Man doesn't need this fight to solidify himself in the sport's annals.