PACMAN KEEPS GOBBLING UP THE COMPETITION

Posted on | July 3, 2008 | No Comments

BOXING PRESS EXCLUSIVE

By: Greg Goodrich

(BP) – Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2) won his fifth world title in as many weight classes this past Saturday night when he defeated David Diaz (34-2-1) for the WBC Lightweight title. Pacquiao’s 9th round technical knockout places him in elite standing among boxing’s greatest fighters of all time. Pacquiao is now tied with Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as boxing’s only five-title, five-weight class champions. Oscar de la Hoya currently holds the record with six. Most amazing is that Pacquaio skipped the Junior Bantamweight and Bantamweight divisions.

Manny Pacquiao first won the WBC Flyweight title by defeating Chatchai Sasakul (KO8). He made one successful title defense before he lost to Medgoen Singsurat in an upset loss (KO by 3). After moving up three weight classes, Pacquiao claimed a marginal and regional WBC title. He next defeated Lehlohonolo Ledwaba (TKO 6) for the IBF Junior Featherweight title- his second, major sanctioning body belt. After failing to claim the WBO Junior Featherweight title in a unification bout with Agapito Sanchez (TD 6), he made a total of four successful defenses, and moved up in weight again.

Pacquiao claimed his third weight class belt when he defeated Ring World Featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera (TKO 11). In his next bout, Pacquiao failed to win a unification bout against WBA, IBF Featherweight titlist Juan Manual Marquez (D 12). Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round, yet was the recipient of a split draw. Official scorecards of 115-110 Pacquiao; 115-110 Marquez: and 113-113 left even the most ardent boxing fan puzzled. A scoring error deprived Pacquiao of a split decision victory. Some writers continue to purport to this very day that Marquez won ten out of twelve rounds (the way Guy Jutras tabulated his 115-110 score for Marquez). Needless to say, Pacquiao was the uncrowned the Undisputed Featherweight champion of the world.

Pacquiao next fought an IBF Featherweight eliminator bout with Fahsan 3K Battery (TKO 4). Rather than face Marquez, Pacquaio moved up in weight again. He lost an IBA Junior Lightweight title bout with Erik Morales (L12). Six consecutive fights for the WBC Intercontinental Junior Lightweight title saw Pacquiao defeat Hector Velazquez (TKO 6), Erik Morales (TKO 10; KO 3), Oscar Larios (W12), Jorge Solis (KO 8) and a rematch victory over Marco Antonio Barrera (W12). Pacquaio next claimed the World WBC Junior Lightweight title with a rematch victory over Marquez.

Saturday’s impressive victory over Diaz for the WBC Lightweight title (TKO 9) pitted Pacquiao versus a Mexican fighter in his ninth consecutive bout, earning him his eleventh victory against one loss and one draw (beating Gabriel Mira, Emmanuel Lucero, Marco Antonio Barrera twice, Juan Manual Marquez, Erik Morales twice, Hector Velazquez, Oscar Larios, Jorge Solis and David Diaz). Thus, the legend of the Mexican Assassin continues! Rumor has it that Pacquiao will finally break his streak, and met Venezuelan Edwin Valero (former WBA Junior Lightweight titlist) this November.

For sake of fairness- and in the spirit of political correctness which I equally despise and ridicule- Pacman should also be known as the Asian Assassin since he has beaten 21 Philippine fighters; 7 Thai fighters; 2 Indonesian fighters; 2 South Korean fighters and 1 North Korean fighter! Heck, he’s even beaten 2 Australian fighters, 1 Japanese fighter, 1 Columbian fighter and 1 South African fighter. Were it not for his draw with Dominican Republic champion Agapito Sanchez, we might be calling Pacquiao the World Continent Assassin. All kidding aside, since that Adam Jones of the Dallas Cowboys has forfeited the formerly cool Japanese Namco video game and moniker ‘Pac Man’, Pacquiao can be called any of the above. Now that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has retired from boxing, Boxing Press has crowned Manny Pacquiao ‘Boxing’s Pound-for-Pound Champion’.

It should be pointed out that not all of my esteemed colleagues and fellow journalists agree that Manny Pacquiao is now a five-title, five-weight class champion. They will point out the fact Manny did not officially win a WBA, WBC, IBF or WBO title when he defeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine World Featherweight title. Others have tried to minimize the actual significance of Pacquiao’s accomplishment, saying silly things such as he didn’t beat Mark Johnson (IBF, World Flyweight Champion in 1998); Oscar Larios (WBC, World Junior Lightweight Champion in 2001): or Joel Casamayor (Ring World Lightweight Champion in 2008).

Pacquiao beat the second best titlist at Flyweight in Sasakul. He later defeated Larios in a head to head bout in 2006. He did defeat the World Featherweight champion in Barrera, and should have a decision victory over Marquez at that same weight. Pacquaio defeated the World Junior Lightweight Champion Marquez in 2008, in addition to wiping the division of the remaining best fighters: Barrera and Morales. Casamayor claimed his ‘world title’ in defeating Diego Corrales (in 2006) and unofficially lost his first title defense bout against Jose Armando Santa Cruz (receiving one of the worst decisions in the history of boxing). Pacquiao beat Diaz who beat Cruz who beat Casamayor.

Joel Casamayor is not the lineal World Lightweight Champion (nor linear, which is a geometric term depicting a straight line beginning at point A thru point B to point C). The lineal argument that the Ring Magazine; ESPN: and other periodicals make is inaccurate and disingenuous. Ismael Laguna vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1970, forever breaking the ‘man who beat the man’ champion argument. Roberto Duran vacated the World WBC Lightweight title again in 1978. Then Alexis Arguello vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1983. Next Hector Camacho vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1987. Then Julio Cesar Chavez vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1989. Pernell Whitaker vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1992. Miguel Angel Gonzalez vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 1996. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. most recently vacated the World WBC Lightweight title in 2004.

Don’t tell me that Joel ‘the guy who lost to the man who beat the man who didn’t even fight the man’ Casamayor is the World Lightweight Champion. He has already lost to Acelino Freitas and Diego Corrales at Junior Lightweight; and Jose Luis Castillo at Lightweight. One can make the argument that he also lost to Jose Armando Santa Cruz and was losing to Michael Katsidis before a lucky punch saved his most recent fiasco. Joel Casamayor (interim WBO belt holder) has signed to face Juan Manual Marquez (a former WBA, IBF, interim WBO Featherweight; WBC Junior Lightweight Champion) September 13th of this year. Nate Campbell (the current Undisputed WBA, IBF and WBO Lightweight Champion) is set to face Joan Guzman (former WBO Junior Featherweight and WBO Junior Lightweight Champion) also on Sept. 13th. Manny Pacquiao (the WBC Lightweight titlist) is set to defend against Edwin Valero (the former WBA Junior Lightweight titlist) on November 8th.

Had Casamayor not previously beaten Campbell in a non-title fight at Junior Lightweight in 2003, no one with a straight face could say Casamayor is the best at 135. Not since the muddled log-jam days of four undefeated titlists at Junior Lightweight (Casamayor, Corrales, Freitas and Mayweather) have we found ourselves in such a conundrum. A unification title bout series is in order. The Casamayor-Marquez winner will most likely face Pacquiao if it is Marquez and Campbell if it is Casamayor. That winner should meet- and only after he can defeat- Pacquiao to determine who the World Lightweight Champion is. Nothing short of that will settle the age old argument of who the man is.

On a final note, now that Manny Pacquiao has won five-titles in five-weight classes, he needs to be evaluated against his peers as one of the greatest Asian fighters of all time- a list that is subject to change with each passing Pacquiao victory. My current top ten is:

1. Pancho Villa (91-8-4)- former World Flyweight Champion

2. Gabriel Elorde (88-27-2)- former World WBC, WBA Junior Lightweight Champion

3. Myung Woo Yuh (38-1)- former World WBA Junior Flyweight Champion

4. Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2)- current WBC Lightweight titlist; five-weight Champion

5. Khaosai Galaxy (49-1)- former World WBA Junior Bantamweight Champion

6. Jiro Watanabe (26-2)- former World WBA, WBC Junior Bantamweight Champion

7. Jung Koo Chang (38-4)- former WBC Junior Lightweight Champion

8. Fighting Harada (55-7)- former World WBA, WBC Bantamweight Champion

9. Sot Chitalada (26-4-1)- former World WBC Flyweight Champion

10. Gerry Penalosa (53-6-2)- current WBO Bantamweight titlist; two-weight Champion

Honorable Mentions:

11. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (67-3-1)- former World WBC Flyweight Champion

12. Veeraphol Sahaprom (61-4-2)- former World WBC Bantamweight Champion

13. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin (55-6-1)- former IBF Minimumweight Champion

14. Masamori Tokuyama (32-3-1)- former World WBC Junior Bantamweight Champion

15. Chris John (41-0-1)- present World WBA Featherweight Champion

Note of Disclaimer: this written material may be disseminated, published, syndicated or otherwise reproduced, without prior expressed, written consent, provided that its original source, intellectual property and exclusive authorship are attributed to Boxing Press Editor in Chief Greg Goodrich. Copy righted. 1999-2008. All rights reserved. Records and statistics have been verified by due diligence searches via microfiche newspapers; information gathered from the public domain: and data obtained from boxrec.com. If any statistic is inaccurate; a name is missing: or also record incomplete, please contact the author so that a correction and/or retraction can be made.