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January 29th, 2010 | by Lorne Scoggins
It is impossible for a human being to be completely void of opinion. Every person who knows anything about today’s boxing world has an opinion of Manny Pacquiao, and everyone seems to be eager to share it.
While the majority of fans agree that Pacquiao has earned his place as one of the greats in boxing history, a growing number of critics have a lot to say to the contrary.
So what are some of the most popular jabs, hooks, and haymakers that haters use to discredit Manny Pacquiao?
Here are the most popular statements that have been circulated in attempts to nullify Pacquiao’s achievements.
“He can’t one of the greatest. He’s been knocked out before.”
Even Joe Louis was KOd by Max Schmeling.
Joe Frazier was TKOd by Ali.
“Marco Antonio Barrera was past his prime.”
He was 29 when Manny TKOd him in their first meeting.
“Juan Manuel Marquez really beat Pacquiao in both fights.”
Wrong. The two battles that were fought between these great warriors resulted in one draw and one split decision win for Pacquiao. Pacquiao actually sent Marquez to the mats four times in two fights.
“Erik Morales was shop-worn and past his prime.”
Morales were 29 and 30 years old when he was respectively TKOd and KOd by Pacquiao. Pacquiao is 31 with more fights under his belt than Morales, yet he is still considered to be in his prime.
“Oscar De La Hoya was old and weight-drained.”
De La Hoya was only one year older and 8 lbs lighter than when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. and gave him the toughest fight of his career. It was the only fight that Mayweather failed to win by KO, TKO, or unanimous decision.
“Ricky Hatton was overrated.”
Hatton had an outstanding record of 45 wins and one loss at the time he fought Pacquiao. He was undefeated as a light welterweight. His only loss had been to Mayweather in a welter weight bout. It took Mayweather 10 rounds to finish him. Manny did it in 2.
“Cotto was damaged goods.”
After the beating that Cotto suffered at the allegedly loaded hands of Antonio Margarito, Cotto went on to TKO Michael Jennings who held a record of (34-1). In his next bout he reigned victorious in a brutal war against Joshua Clottey (35-2) despite suffering a severe cut over his left eye due to an incidental headbutt in Rnd. 3.
“Pacquiao is on steroids, or some other form of performance enhancing drugs and that’s why he’s been able to gain so much lean weight while retaining his power.”
This accusation is totally baseless. There is no evidence that Pacquiao has ever used any form of illegal PEDs. In fact, his actual fighting weight has changed very little over the past three years.
11/18/2006
Pacquiao-Morales 3: Official weigh-in: 129- Fight night: 144
10/06/2007
Pacquiao-Barrera 2: Official weigh-in: 130- Fight night: 144
06/15/2008
Pacquiao-Marquez 2: Official weigh-in: 130- Fight night: 145
06/28/2008
Pacquiao-Diaz: Official weigh-in: 135- Fight night: 147
12/06/2008:
Pacquiao- De La Hoya: Official weigh-in: 142- Fight night: 148
05/02/2009:
Pacquiao-Hatton: Official weigh-in: 138- Fight night: 148
11/14/2009:
Pacquiao-Cotto: Official weigh-in: 144- Fight night: unknown
“Pacquiao is on A-side meth.”
I have no facts on this because I have no idea what A-side meth actually is-or if it even exists.
I was recently told that there are only a few sources that cover boxing with unbiased credibility. The rest are fan sites and blogs.
I found that interesting.
Upon doing a great deal of research I also found it interesting that the all of the unbiased, credible boxing sources named by the aforementioned person have bestowed honors upon Manny Pacquiao.
2006, 2008 and 2009 The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year
2006 and 2008 Boxing Writers Association Of America Fighter of the Year
2006 and 2008 SecondsOut.com Fighter of the Year
2008 and 2009 The Ring Magazine #1 Pound For Pound (year-end) ‘
5-Time PSA Sportsman of the Year
2000-09 Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Decade
2008 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Honorary Award for Sports Excellence
2008 and 2009 BoxingScene.com Fighter of the Year
2008 Sports Illustrated Boxer of the Year
2008 and 2009 TheSweetScience.com Boxer of the Year
2008 WBC Boxer of the Year
2008 Yahoo Sports Fighter of the Year
2008 and 2009 ESPN Star’s Champion of Champions
2009 ESPN Fighter of the Year
2009 ESPN Knockout of the Year
2009 ESPY Awards Best Fighter
2009 TIME 100 Most Influential People (Heroes & Icons Category)
2009 TIME Magazine cover for November issue
2009 Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 (ranked 57th)
2009 HBO Fighter of the Decade
2009 The SweetScience.com Fighter of the Decade
2009 Sports Illustrated Fighter of the Year
2009 The Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year
2009 World’s Greatest Ever Featherweight
2009 World’s Greatest Ever (ranked 2nd)
To the hysterical and very loud minority who think Pacquiao is an overrated cherry-picker: You have every right to your opinion, but facts are facts.
Email: scrimmer1@hotmail.com
This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 9:14 PM.
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January 31st, 2010 at 12:02 PM
I’m glad you wrote this article because Floyd should be convinced that he can beat Pacquaio. If one sees his past videos, Floyd seemed so scared of Pacquiao that it drove him to think of the unthinkable- to ask Pacquaio of amateur testing. He should have not been in the ringside seat watching Cotto suffered at the hands of Pacman. It’s that scene I think that keeps on playing in his mind. When a guy is scared, no amount of convincing will do but hopefully your article will help him get past his fears of Manny-he’s no superman. Please let him read this article it’ll be good therapy for floyd.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:41 AM
Great article as always Mr. Scoggins.
April 25th, 2010 at 1:02 AM
There are more retarded fans who think they know boxing only because they want to hate Manny. Guess what boxing has the same way of fighting. Fight in a square ring and challenge the top fighters. Like a Nike slogan; “just do it!”.
April 25th, 2010 at 1:19 AM
You can’t look at Morales and Barrera and say just because they are 29, 30 and 31 that its the same as Pacquiao at the same age. Morales and Barrera fought fighters and engaged in battles that weathered their bodies in a far different manner than Pacman. Furthermore, ODLH was forced to fight at a weight that he can’t make without weakening himself. If you can’t see that, then there is no point in going on. The fact is, if you’re in your twenties, every year you age is not that bid a deal. Once you get past 28 with 35+ fights under your belt against good competition, every year you age gets worse and worse, because of this, “growing old overnight” is a reality. It’s something age doesn’t truly reflect. It’s an abstract calculation — and Barrera and Morales were past their prime fighting Pac, which doesn’t mean Manny couldn’t have beaten them in their prime. I for one believe Manny COULD HAVE, but still… its disrespectful to Barrera, Morales and ODLH. They are great legends.
July 2nd, 2010 at 6:28 AM
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