Manny Pacquiao: Is the Boxing Champion Overrated?

Even with Manny Pacquiao's domination of opponent after opponent, questions about his ability and skill have risen, but on the eve of a fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, make no mistake that Pac-Man is the real deal.

Pacquiao has turned himself into boxing's most dominant force, and with that position comes criticism that he's avoiding fights that would stretch the limits of his talents and prove his mettle as a fighter.

Floyd Mayweather has received the same criticisms, and they're as unfounded as they are towards Pacquiao.

You have to look at fighters in a bubble, and while this isn't the glory days for the sport of boxing, Pacquiao has fought some of the best the field has to offer, and he has dominated them all.

If Pac-Man vanquishes Marquez for a third time, it will put the thoughts of their two previous wars in the rear view and further establish Pacquiao as the best boxer living today.

Obviously, a victory over Mayweather would put that in cement for all eternity, and the fact that most people think Pacquiao would walk to a victory speaks to how highly regarded he is among the sport's biggest fans.

Pac-Man has the tools to beat any man, and even if he were to lose to "Money" Mayweather, it would be a blemish, but not a scar, on his legacy as a fighter.

A loss to Marquez would certainly make these minority voices grow louder, but as we've seen with the greatest fighters of all time, losses happen, and sometimes they're stunning.

Mike Tyson was so great at one point that people thought he could beat Muhammad Ali. Then Buster Douglas came along.

Douglas pummeled Tyson and left him broken on the mat, and from there on the "Baddest Man on the Planet" was never the same for a myriad of reasons. However, it doesn't change what Tyson did in his career.

If Pacquiao finds himself on the end of a defeat this weekend, we shouldn't forget how truly dominant he has been. The word "overrated" is thrown around a lot these days, and slapping it onto Pacquiao's career on Saturday, Sunday or any day after, is wrong.