Manny Pacquiao’s Five Best World Title Victories
Later this month, on August 21st, the city of Las Vegas will host one of the most anticipated fights of the year as Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (62–7–2, 39 KOs) makes his return to the squared circle against unified WBC and IBF Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (27–0, 21 KOs).
The bout will also be for the Ring Magazine Welterweight title. Pacquiao has been the Ring Magazine champion at Featherweight (126), Junior Lightweight (130), and Junior Welterweight (140).
The fighting Senator will be coming off a two-year hiatus, the longest of his career, and at 42-years of age, will face height, reach, and overall size disadvantages against Spence.
Given Pacquiao’s name and stature that he has earned over a nearly 27-year career, he could have faced any opponent, including participating in an exhibition contest. However, the eight-division champion feels that he has more to accomplish and prove in the sport.
“There were a lot of opportunities for me to pick an easier fight than this,” said Pacquiao at a Los Angeles press conference promoting the fight with Spence. “But I picked Errol Spence Jr. because I want a real fight and a great fight for the fans.
“I’m a fighter, and boxing is my passion.”
At this stage of his career, Pacquiao has been fortunate not to have found himself at the hands of beating like many Hall-of-Famers before him. In this era, fighters have been able to stay at an elite level for longer due to advanced technology and new measures of rest and recovery.
However, this isn’t to say that he won’t meet his impending end at the hands of Spence. The last thing fans want to see is a scenario similar to when Muhammad Ali took on Larry Holmes in 1980 and was thoroughly dominated in a fight that was hard to watch.
Boxing isn’t a forgiving sport, and if Pacquiao overstays his welcome, he could end up the victim of a beating.
Throughout his career, Pacquiao has defeated 16 opponents with eight knockouts in world title fights and holds a 25–6–2 record against former world champions.
He has won the lineal crown in five separate weight classes and is the only fighter to win a title in eight divisions. One accomplishment that has escaped his grasp is successfully unifying titles in a division. Should he come out victorious against Spence, he will be the unified Welterweight champion, and it would arguably be his most significant title victory.
We will examine five of Pacquiao’s most notable title victories. There will be two victories that won’t be included, but are just as crucial to the eight-division champion’s career.
In 2003, Pacquiao defeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine and lineal Featherweight crown. No sanctioning body title was on the line for the fight with Barrera as he was stripped of the WBC Featherweight title following his second encounter with Erik Morales.
Almost six years later and 14-pounds heavier at Junior Welterweight, Pacquiao scored his most famous and emphatic knockout over Ricky Hatton in May 2009 to claim the lineal Junior Welterweight crown.
Although these victories will not be included in this list since there wasn’t a sanctioning body title on the line, these are two of Pacquiao’s best achievements and are arguably more significant since they established him as the number one fighter in the weight class.
5. Lehlo Ledwaba (36–6–1, 23 KOs) WTKO6
IBF Super Bantamweight Title — June 23, 2001
Pacquiao at Super Bantamweight had a near-perfect record of 11–0–1, with 11 knockouts with a draw against Agapito Sanchez in a unification bout being the only blemish.
Following a third-round knockout to Boonsai Sangsurat after losing his WBC Flyweight title on the weight scale, Pacquiao decided to move up to the 122-pound division.
The move to Super Bantamweight eventually brought him to the United States, where he was fortunately placed in a position to fight for the IBF Super Bantamweight title after Lehlo Ledwaba’s initial opponent Enrique Sanchez pulled out of the fight.
The fight with Ledwaba was Pacquiao’s first in the United States and was the first chapter of the meteoric rise of his career. Pacquiao dominated Ledwaba to a sixth-round stoppage putting the boxing world on notice.
Although the late Ledwaba, who passed away earlier this year due to contracting COVID-19, isn’t viewed as one of the elite opponents Pacquaio faced in his career, he made five defenses of his IBF title. He had previously had a career-best performance against Carlos Contreras on the undercard of the first Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman Heavyweight title bout in his native South Africa.
“We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of my US debut where I beat Lehlo Ledwaba to win his IBF junior featherweight title,” Pacquiao stated in a recent interview to The Sun. “That was certainly special because it was also my first fight with Freddie.”
4. Keith Thurman (29–1, 22 KOs) WSD12
WBA Welterweight Title — July 20, 2019
Pacquiao’s most recent title victory was one of the greatest of his career from a historical perspective. The win over former unified and then-undefeated Welterweight champion Keith Thurman gave the Filipino the distinction as the oldest Welterweight champion in history at 40 and the only four-time Welterweight champion in history.
The win over Thurman doesn’t rank higher as the Florida native had been somewhat inactive before facing Pacquiao and has yet to step back in the ring since losing to the fighting Senator.
Ultimately, the knockdown Pacquiao scored in the first round, along with a dominant showing in the first half of the match, led to him receiving a split decision from the judges.
There is a saying in boxing that every fighter has one last great showing. Pacquiao certainly showed his greatness against Thurman, but will this be the last time we see him in elite form?
3. Miguel Cotto (41–6, 33 KOs) WTKO12
WBO Welterweight Title — November 14, 2009
For all intents and purposes, Pacquiao’s victory over Miguel Cotto in 2009 should claim the top position. Not only was this one of Pacquiao’s best overall performances, but it also secured him winning the Fighter of The Decade award for 2000–2009 and won him his seventh title in seven weight classes.
What holds this victory back slightly is an unnecessary catch weight of 145-pounds imposed on the match.
The first four rounds of the fight with Cotto rank as some of the best in boxing PPV history. Pacquiao scored knockdowns in the third and fourth rounds leading to an eventual stoppage in the 12th and final round.
This was Pacquiao at his peak and not only solidified him as a Hall-of-Famer, but as one of the top two fighters of the era along with Floyd Mayweather.
2. Timothy Bradley Jr. (33–2–1, 13 KOs) WUD12
WBO Welterweight Title — April 12, 2014
The most underrated title victory of Pacquiao’s career came in his second match with Timothy Bradley in April 2014. The two first fought in June 2012 and ended in a controversial split decision for Bradley that caused a massive public outcry.
Following the first fight, Pacquiao would be famously knocked out in the sixth round in his fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.
Bradley would go in 2013 to have the best year of his career, first by participating in the Fight of the Year against Ruslan Provodniov and then winning a split decision over Pacquiao’s conqueror Marquez in a fight that Bradley arguably put on his most outstanding performance.
Often forgotten is that at the time of the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, Bradley was rated as one of the top three fighters in the world pound-for-pound and was rated as the number one Welterweight by Ring Magazine.
The Palm Springs, California fighter’s work at Junior Welterweight as a unified champion and earning the number one position with a win over Devon Alexander in 2011 gave him distinction as an elite fighter. Add in holding victories over Marquez and Pacquiao although controversial for the latter, Bradley was on top of his game heading into a rematch with the Filipino.
Bradley was able to do something Pacquiao never could in clearly beating Marquez.
Due to the controversy of the first match with Pacquiao, the man known as the “Desert Storm” was arguably at his most motivated to prove fans and pundits wrong in the rematch.
Pacquiao-Bradley II would be the most exciting of their three fights, with Bradley choosing to engage and brawl with the fighting Senator through 12 rounds. Pacquiao would end up winning a unanimous decision and the WBO Welterweight title.
The victory over Bradley in 2014 not only established that Pacquiao was not a damaged fighter from his knockout at the hands of Marquez, but also made the eventual fight with Mayweather viable again.
The second fight with Bradley is Pacquiao’s highest grossing PPV since the fourth Marquez fight, besides the record-breaking fight with Mayweather.
Through three fights, Bradley was competitive, but he could never quite figure out how to deal with Pacquiao.
“I never got used to it at all,” Bradley stated on the 3-Knockdown rule Podcast. “His herky-jerky style is what makes him innovative inside the ring. This guy keeps you one edge. You think he’ll attack you, and he’ll foot feint you, feint you with his hands.
“You’re just constantly burning energy standing in front of him.”
1. Juan Manuel Marquez (56–7–1, 40 KOs) WSD12
WBC Junior Lightweight Title — March 12, 2008
The fight that began the run that made Pacquiao a worldwide superstar was the second match with rival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008.
It may be problematic to put such a contentious bout on the top of this list; however, Pacquiao-Marquez II had everything you could want in a boxing match.
It featured two of the best fighters in the world, pound-for-pound fighting in a rematch of a disputed first encounter. The winner would be the number one fighter in the Junior Lightweight division holding the WBC, Ring Magazine, and lineal titles.
Rivalry, elite skill-level, and world championship glory all encompassed Pacquiao-Marquez II.
The match itself was one of the best in boxing PPV history, with both men battling to the brink of their talents. With numerous swing rounds that could have been scored for both pugilists and momentum swings occurring every few rounds, there was no telling what the judge’s scorecards would look like once the final bell rang.
A third-round knockdown ended up being the difference on the judge’s scorecards. Duane Ford scored the fight for Pacquiao 115–112, Jerry Roth had a 115–112 scorecard for Marquez, and Tom Miller scored 114–113 for Pacquiao.
Media scorecards were looked at from members of the media that were not based out of Mexico and the Philippines, with 32 scoring for Marquez, another 32 for Pacquiao, and the remainder having the fight a draw.
At the time, Pacquiao-Marquez II was the highest-grossing PPV event at 400,000 buys for a fight below the Welterweight limit. That record would be broken a year later when Pacquiao faced Ricky Hatton at Junior Welterweight.
Throughout the history of boxing, there have been numerous fighters who have had storied and legendary careers. But Pacquiao’s journey stands on its own as an odyssey through different eras.
All the millions of dollars Pacquiao has made in boxing did not change him from being grounded with legacy at the forefront of his thoughts.
“It is almost like I have had several careers in boxing the one I am in now makes me think,” Pacquiao said in an interview with Boxingscene.com. “If I can keep winning against elite-level fighters, perhaps I can be in the discussions of being one of the greatest fighters of my era.
“Of course, that is not for me to decide, but I would like to make my case before I do retire.”
Originally Published at www.frontproofmedia.com on August 07, 2021