Pacquiao continues to transcend boxing
Rich Conforti
Issue date: 3/16/10 Section: Sports
On Saturday, Mar. 13, in front of a sell-out Dallas Stadium crowd of just over 50,000 fans, Manny Pacquiao continued to prove that his star transcends the sport of boxing. As I sat and watched the pay-per-view event, I finally realized what quality separated Manny Pacquiao from his boxing contemporaries (Floyd Mayweather Jr. included). Simply put, Manny Pacquiao is an international superstar, a face that is now as recognizable as any worldwide.
We are now beyond crowning him the current pound-for-pound champion, beyond calling him one of the greatest fighters of our generation, and beyond stacking him up against similar greats like Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, and Pernell Whitaker.
With each goliath Pacquiao slays, his legend grows that much greater. Pacquiao now draws the type of media attention and fanfare worldwide comparable to that of only NBA icons Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Manny Pacquiao has done what so many boxers have failed to do over the last decade and a half (a time period when boxing pundits have said the sport has fallen off), and that is bring back the casual fan to the sport of boxing.
Over the last decade, boxing has seen many of its fans leave, and rightfully so. At some point at the turn of the last decade, fans became fed up with the overly political nature of boxing and its matchmaking. Manny Pacquiao is a breath of fresh air for the sport of boxing, a throwback fighter who will face anybody that is placed in front of him.
Manny Pacquiao has displaced each and every one of these fighters that has been placed in front of him. Pacquiao hasn't lost a bout in nearly five years, with his last loss before that coming in 1999. On the way to doing this, Pacquiao has earned seven titles in seven different weight classes, a feat that was previously unheard of in the sport of boxing.
From a boxing standpoint, one cannot underestimate the importance of Pacquiao's relationship with famed trainer Freddie Roach. Roach and Pacquiao have clearly developed a relationship so strong that it has drawn comparisons to that of boxing great Muhammad Ali and trainer Angelo Dundee. Roach serves as the voice for Pacquiao, making predictions and statements that always seem to hold true.
We are now beyond crowning him the current pound-for-pound champion, beyond calling him one of the greatest fighters of our generation, and beyond stacking him up against similar greats like Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, and Pernell Whitaker.
With each goliath Pacquiao slays, his legend grows that much greater. Pacquiao now draws the type of media attention and fanfare worldwide comparable to that of only NBA icons Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Manny Pacquiao has done what so many boxers have failed to do over the last decade and a half (a time period when boxing pundits have said the sport has fallen off), and that is bring back the casual fan to the sport of boxing.
Over the last decade, boxing has seen many of its fans leave, and rightfully so. At some point at the turn of the last decade, fans became fed up with the overly political nature of boxing and its matchmaking. Manny Pacquiao is a breath of fresh air for the sport of boxing, a throwback fighter who will face anybody that is placed in front of him.
Manny Pacquiao has displaced each and every one of these fighters that has been placed in front of him. Pacquiao hasn't lost a bout in nearly five years, with his last loss before that coming in 1999. On the way to doing this, Pacquiao has earned seven titles in seven different weight classes, a feat that was previously unheard of in the sport of boxing.
From a boxing standpoint, one cannot underestimate the importance of Pacquiao's relationship with famed trainer Freddie Roach. Roach and Pacquiao have clearly developed a relationship so strong that it has drawn comparisons to that of boxing great Muhammad Ali and trainer Angelo Dundee. Roach serves as the voice for Pacquiao, making predictions and statements that always seem to hold true.
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