(ThyBlackMan.com) WBO Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao’s next fight is against American Chris Algeri on November 22. Considered the (barely) disputed pound for pound the best boxer on planet Earth next to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Pacquiao heads into that match with no stones unturned and all beefs settled. He defended a split decision lose to Tim Bradley in 2012 with a unanimous decision a few months ago. The lose to Juan Manual Marquez aside there isn’t any boxing stone left for Pacquiao except for a fight with Mayweather, Jr. that apparently won’t or can’t happen. With that I want to take some time to answer the question posed in this columns title: Is Manny Pacquiao overrated? The answer is no, of course Manny Pacquiao isn’t overrated. Here’s why:
He’s Busy.
Manny Pacquiao is a combination of Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson in the Phillipines. The man is not only a politician he’s a professional basketball player. You heard right, Manny Pacquiao is playing pro basketball in the PBA-Phillipine Basketball Association. The better question is “Is Manny Pacquiao underrated?
He’s taken on all comers and won (for the most part).
Start with Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Erik Morales (twice), David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, the truly overrated Ricky Hatten, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley. He beat them all and did it like a professional. Manny Pacquiao fought in the middle of the ring and never ran from an opponent. The reason why he has not had an opportunity to
fight Mayweather has more to do with millions than it does the sweet science itself. What could be a fight reminiscent of the great fights of the ’80’s (this writer’s favorite boxing decade) has been dragged down to a Twitter war and silly smack-talk between two camps and the respective boxers. What a shame it has been.
He’s taken loses and come back even stronger.
Pacquiao lose to Timothy Bradley on what anyone with two eyes could see was suspicious scoring and didn’t whine or hide. He fought Bradley again and won handily, leaving no doubt who the better overall fighter was. The consecutive loses in 2012 to Bradely and Manuel Marquez were anomalies, errors of some sort that were quickly corrected in 2013 and 2014.
He’s generous.
Manny Pacquiao is giving a fight to a contender in a couple months. Champions do not have to do that, credit goes to he and Mayweather for giving the sport some much needed juice by staying active. The longer the game does not get to have the best fight the best, the worse the future tends to look. Let me explain: We don’t have much longer before a Pacquiao v Mayweather fight will be impossible. Thankfully that time is not now, but neither fighter looks to be getting any younger. The best scenario for this dream matchup would have occurred four to five years ago, that said there would still be millions of viewers world wide if this matchup were to materialize. We’ll just have to wait and see.
He’s a winner. Until he loses.
With a career record of 56-5 , 38 victories by knockout there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Manny Pacquiao to keep fighting. the WBO Welterweight tile is his to lose and that remains the problem. Ali and Homes and Leornard, Tyson and Hearns have all taught us that eventually the great ones will lose. What if Pacquiao loses again? What if he loses to Algeri in November? in this scenario the boxer is not the only one that takes a lose-the sport of boxing will too.
Again, is Manny Pacquiao overrated? The fact remains that the man came into the sport of boxing very quietly and remains so. He goes about his business in the most professional manner, be him the winner (for the most part) or the loser (on a few occasions). Manny Pacquiao is not overrated and he is most definitely not underrated. He is in the exact position he’s supposed to be in: at the top of the boxing game.
Staff Writer; Donnell Suggs
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