Manny Pacquiao – Henry Armstrong Lite or Living Legend
July 9th, 2009
By Mike Burnell: Welterweight kingpin Manny Pacquiao. With power that belies his frame his has hacked a bloody swath through a proverbial jungle of opponents covering a 24 pound span and 9 weight classes. He has collected titles in 5 of those 9 divisions from ‘mainstream’ sanctioning bodies, 6 if you include the IBO Light Welterweight trinket. With a professional record of 49-3-2 (37) the hero from the Philippines has certainly earned his hard fought reputation as the current pound for pound champion. He is Ring Magazine’s Junior Welterweight champion.
Henry Armstrong first got paid to punch in 1931 and promptly lost three out of his first four fights including his first bout via knockout to trivia question Al Lovino. In the world that Pac-Man dominates Armstrong’s meager beginning would be a death sentence to an aspiring boxer’s career. This would be a tragedy of sorts, denying die hard fans of what would become an epic, legendary journey celebrated by fans and historians for generations. Ultimately “Homicide” Hank would endure in a culture when being a full time fighter meant fighting bi-weekly and the Las Angeles resident endured to do the impossible. In a day when there were no fractured titles, gaggles of greedy sanctioning groups or countless “contenders” Armstrong held world titles in three weight classes with one champion per weight class.
As completely ludicrous as it is, the most “recognized” (I shrink at using the word legitimate as they are anything but…) titles in the alphabet soup are WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. If you break out the calculator you will find those 17 divisions and four “champs” produces 68 “World Champions” and there are even more laughably obscure divisions that would add to this number exponentially. Henry Armstrong was the only undisputed champion of the world in three of nine divisions at the same time; nine divisions, one champion per division, unparalleled. Mathematically this amounts to the slender Armstrong reigning supreme over thirty three percent of the entire boxing world at the same time. It is an important distinction that Armstrong did not attempt to negotiate any catch weight bouts. He was cut from the cloth that if you want the champions’ title you meet him within the boundaries of his weight class, may the best man win.
Impressively this is occurred in an age where there were only nine weight divisions in stark contrast to today’s sloppy landscape… Despite his modest beginning his final record of 149-21-10 (101) is littered with victories over an assortment of great fighters. Notoriously dirty fighter Fritzie Zivic, Lew Jenkins, Barney Ross, Lou Ambers, Chalky Wright, Baby Amizendi, Midget Wolgast among other top contenders fell victim to the whirlwind style of Henry Armstrong. In 1943 in his tenth year as a professional Armstrong took on all time pound for pound champion Sugar Ray Robinson at Robinson’s prime weight of 145 pounds dropping a 10 round decision.
In a day of PPV charging 30 dollars or more for nameless fighters vs. nameless fighters on an under card with the “headliner” being of the son of a legend we have to recognize how distorted and greedy boxing has become. The greatest Heavyweight bout in history between Smokin Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali was aired on public television. Manny Pacqiuao is one of the very few that are worth paying for today.
It can be said that everything evolves (or de-volves in some cases) and boxing is no exception. Manny Pacquiao is not a legend on the same level as Henry Armstrong. It is not a criticism to his courage or achievements; he is an unfortunate victim of circumstance. It is beyond Pac’s control but in the time and age that we are in he is achieving at the highest level possible however the disputes between the feuding greedy promoters are more concerned with their wallets while the true fighters want to fight the best and cement their own legacy.
Observe possible history in the making. Respect and reflect on the unparalleled achievements of past and draw your own conclusions.
Tags: 93 Responses to “Manny Pacquiao – Henry Armstrong Lite or Living Legend”
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He is right. Pacquiao really wants Mayweather. but what can we do. promoters say so. it is really bad. that also happened to the Iron Tyson when he was still handled by Don King.
I am a Pacman fan. He is great. but with his promoters what else can he do? Cotto fight is already a big test to Pacquiao. but for now, Pacquiao is the most exciting boxer to watch on PPV who ever he fights in the ring!
ALL TIME GREAT, correction ALL TIME GREATEST!
oh yeah.. and bernabe concepcion
Pacquaio and Donaire are pound 4 pound kings. best ever!
I don’t really care who wins this bout. All I know is that Mayweather will defeat Cotto and Pacqauio. Maybe even on the same night! Let me tell you guys something, the opponent that will give the hardest fight to Mayweather is Sugar Shane.
I am afraid that we are going to see Cotto vs Mayweather next spring 2010.
Pac is in big trouble with Cotto. Pac thought that he was going to have an easier fight versus Cotto, so he ignored all of Mosley’s requests to fight. Cotto has been brawling with true 147 pounders for awhile now. Pacquaio is going to receive power punches like he never has before. You think Marquez punches hard, that’s nothing compared to the power that Cotto brings.
Thank you realbox, for recapping everything that I have been saying about Pacquaio. Someone seem to understand the truth.
Gym wars my ass, i am sure you would like to add to his record the amount of times he won an argument at a dmv because it was extenuating, you pac fans resort to the most retarded excuses.
This article is about BOXING mot anything else, wether it be 20 rd. sparring sessions or amount of skills obtained in the gym, BOXING is what is being talked about here.
And all of you putting the great Michael Jordan’s name next to this cherrypicker are retarded and have no idea about what a real athlete is about. for one, both sports are very different, you can’t cherrypick the LA. Clipppers for your next game, but you sure as hell can pick david “unrefined weak ass” diaz as your next oponent instead of the bunch of other talented boxers calling you out.
I heard that roach is calling out Morales to fight one of his customers… wait, i mean boxers, isn’t that guy just as retired as de la hoya was?, there seems to be a pattern here.
To the guy that wrote:
“He just needS to defeat cotto and Mayweather Jr. And that will put a stop to all haters and just admire his greatness”
If Cotto decides to fight him at the catch weight he is requiring, well it’s cotto’s fault, and i say this with reservation, i still think that he bit a lot more than he can chew this time.
The one fight i would like to see happen and for him to win decisively, like the way he beat up that bum ricky hatton, is against the great Juan Manuel Marquez, but i am sure as hell that he can’t afford to buy one more fight from the judges against him, because if it happens again he will get destroyed, just like last fight, so he better keep on running and cherrypicking weight drained old retired man with big names from the past, maybe oscar is up for another fight, i also heard Muhammed Alí is in proper shape for a match against pac’s skills.
Run filipino! run run!.
I believe Pacman is still carving his legacy. He is still racking up his greatness. That said Henry Armstrong had more fights than Pacman, But I believe in any sport there is an evolution of skill.In Olympics alone, records are broken from time to time. Baseball players look meaner and stronger now than before.In any sport it is human nature to evolve and improve through time. As to quote Michael Jordan, “there will be a greater player than me.” Athletes get better As years go by its human nature to evolve they become more mascular athletic and brawny just is the nature of man’s evolution. That said, you can’t argue just because Henry Armstrong had more fights than Pacman his better than Pacman, but I can’t also say pacman is better than him coz they are totally in a different era. But you have to respect Pacmans accomplishments. Yes, he had fewer fights but if you count pacman’s gym wars, sparring sessions he probably had more fights coz during the golden era they don’t really do alot of sparring before a fight unlike now. athletes of the present tend to hone their skills more in the gym. Pacman had a lot of gym wars. He even Spars lasting 20 rounds per sparring session with an opponent. Sometimes 3-4 opponents in a day. He had fought so many gym wars that can be considered as almost real fights, ask Freddie Roach, he will say they go at it like its a real fight. that said if you count manny’s Gym wars I would say their practically evenly experienced. Both Henry and Pacman I can say are very experienced in fighting.Pacmans Gym wars are in you tube go check it out.
All that I said though makes me lean towards Pacman being better than Henry just the point alone that people evolve through time. athletes get better through science and proper diet and conditioning. Athletes now are better trained with more better gym equipment and science to improve there game.Skill wise Henry Armstrong will get eaten up by the pacman in my point of view.Both are great, in terms of accomplishment Henry had more to show, but as i’ve said before pacman ain’t finished yet. His still carving his legacy. His story is still not yet drawn fully. After all said and done I would like to believe he will match Henry or even surpass him. He just need to defeat cotto and Mayweather Jr. And that will put a stop to all haters and just admire his greatness =)
Cotto gets caught with too many uppercuts. I don’t think he has ever trained for uppercuts.
Pac may not be as big as these other boys and he won’t be able to push Cotto around in the ring, but Pac brings an incredible amount of aggression. He is much to aggressive and his pop is all he going to need to KO cotto.
We are going to witness a huge upset for the fans. To me it won’t be an upset cuz I expect for Cotto to beat Pacquaio. Pacquaio’s power does not compare to Margarito and Clottey, his physicallity does not compare.
but I really feel sorry for your man, Cotto. He is really going to be in trouble agains Pacquaio.
Well, at least you can recognize that Lopez still needs to be tested.
Yeah, I don’t think that Lopez can bang with Marquez or Vazquez
Juan manuel Lopez actually looks pretty good but he hasn’t gotten his feet wet. We will see how he reacts when he gets hit by some real power from Marquez or Vazquez.
and i can’t even begin to tell you the damage that juanma lopez is going to do in the featherweights.
margarito cheated against cotto, so that fight should be cleared from the history books. Cotto should still be undefeated. and will remain undefeated after the pac fight.
And it was Margarito who began the destruction of Miguel Cotto. I am positive that Cotto will now claim that Margarito may have cheated but now we see that it’s not true after the beating that Clottey gave him.
Vargas had a weak chin, but it wasn’t that puerto rican who ended his career. It was Vargas himself who made the mistakes with steroids and still got knocked out by De La Hoya.
Yeah, it my rican boy Trinidad who shattered Vargas’ chin. Trinidad ended Vargas’ career. After that devastating loss, Vargas was never the same fighter.
I agree with Pinoy Power. Cotto is a good fighter but he has been getting hit hard to his head in the last couple of fights. It kind of reminds me of the career of Fernando Vargas. Once his chin was shattered, you was never able to recover.
Perez… Cotto has no chin. He is going to end up bloody and taking a knee.
pac vs haton fight has no catch weight its a pure real deal fight…..
you guys just making excuses
well thats natural, your not a fan of Pac.
me as well im not his fan but I accept the truth
(But stil, im not his fan. how can I, im Poertorican)
The cracker is correct. Pacquaio has not gotten a licken from a true 147 pounder. Cotto will let him know what it feels like.
Pac didn’t taste anything. That fight was a joke. Cotto would KO Oscar with a single body shot.
If Great Pac hasn’t gotten a taste of true 147 pound, then what did he get versus De la hoya?
Cotto is going to be weight drained and it will be very difficult to fight at the same level that he fights when he weighs in at 147. Therefore, that would be a huge advantage for Pacquaio.
Your crazy Daniel. I have never heard one excuse from Cotto about anything. It’s not true that Cotto needs Pacquaio more than Pacquaio needing Cotto. Pacquaio wants to win the Welterweight championship of the world. If he doesn’t get it from Cotto, it would have to be from Mosley. And believe me that guy wants no piece of Mosley.
pacman destroys cotto; better prepare all the excuses for cotto.
The Great Pac is going to feel out Cotto in the first round. Pac won’t be in much hurry to knock him out. In the 2nd round, Pac will chin check Cotto and wobble him. From then on, Cotto will be fighting backwards. Cotto will get hit more and more and finally take a knee in the 8th round.
Manuel, I don’t think the couple of fans won’t make much of a difference. Pacquaio believes that he will be that much faster with a few pounds less. I don’t think so, that will only make Cotto that much faster. Pacquaio will definitely feel the power of a welter.
I am disappointed that Pacquaio and I share our first name. I am about to go a name change because of that. Pacquaio should be a man and fight the welterweight champ at the welter limit… 147.
Pacquiao is a coward for making other fighters come out of their weight zone to fight… example…. De La Hoya and Cotto.
Everyone in this posting are way ahead of themselves. Pacquaio v. mayweather will never happen. You want to know why? Because Cotto is going to knock out Pacquaio.
This fight will actually be scored fairly. I don’t believe that Pac would have to win by 4 rounds to barely get the decision. Pac will win by 4 rounds and earn the decision of that too.
Both of you are wrong. Mayweather will lose.
boxing beginner, you almost hit the bullseye. Mayweather will completely outbox Pacquaio. Pacquaio is going to attempt to box with the greatest boxer ever. Pacquaio’s boxing ability has improved somewhat in the past years but he is nowhere near the abilities of the greatness Money! Pacquaio will think that he has his times when he has Mayweather against the ropes, but count the number of punches that will actually count because the will be limited, very few. Mayweather will catch him coming in every single time. Mayweather will with simply with a jab and the counter.
A fight between Pacquio versus mayweather is one for the ages. It will be the biggest fight in history. There will be no knock out. Mayweather is much too cautious and skilled to get knocked out. Pacquaio will spend most of his time trying to box with Mayweather instead of rushing him and catching him against the ropes. Pacquaio’s power will not be displayed because he will be unable to land flush on Mayweather. Mayweather does not throw punches that will not land. Mayweather will catch Pacquaio with flush punches but not nearly enough to knock him out. Mayweather wins decision. 117-111
Chong, quit saying that the Great Pac is greater than Jordan. I am huge Pac fanatic but nobody is greater than Jordan.
Mayweather is going to knock out Pacquaio and then what? Will Pacquaio still be greater than Jordan? Will he still be God? You guys are a complete joke and disgrace to boxing.
Steve Forbes did very well VS De La Hoya! And who the hell is Steve Forbes? Forbes couldn’t even win the Contender competition. The Golden Boy was not the same Oscar De La Hoya that fought Sugar Shane two times. I will tell you this… Mayweather will be warmed up after the fight with Marquez. His ring rust will be gone. He will retire Pacquaio.
Emmanuel Pacquaio is greater than Michael Jordan. Pacquaio is a God! Worship him!
The Great Pac is already pound for pound King. Once again… the fight versus Juan Diaz or Casamayor didn’t happen, but it doesn’t matter cuz Pac would knock them out too. No arguement. Pac then stepped up to 147 to fight the lengendary Golden Boy and made him quit.
Pac will destroy Mayweather and be pound pound king!
Can you please correct your name to boxing beginner, because expert you are not.
That’s bullcrap pinoy, Juan Diaz called out Pacquaio before the David Diaz fight. Pacquaio straight up avoided Juan Diaz and took the easiest path in David Diaz. Is that what greatness does? Is that a living legend?
You guys are really going to war in this posting. Both have strong points in your arguments, however both of you are wrong and right… depending on your comments.
It wouldn’t have made much difference because the Great Pac would have knocked both of them out. Marquez did it… so Pac would have done it quicker.
Pacquaio didn’t fight Juan Diaz or Casamayor because both fighters were already in fight agreements when Pacquaio stepped up to lightweight. Casamayor was busy fighting Katsidis, while Juan Diaz was busy training for Campbell.
David Diaz fought an ancient, over the hill Erik Morales and he was barely able to squeeze out the victory. That was lame! Why didn’t pacquaio fight Juan Diaz or Joel Casamayor when he was at lightweight? Chicken poo
Am I the blind one? ha ha
You seriously got me mad. I just kept thinking about a fool Chong that compared Pacquaio to Jordan.
You must be on some battery acid meth to call yourself Chong. You are dumb quitter.
Oh snap, Chong you must be smoking some real good doja. How dare you compare Pacquaio to Michael Jordan! Actually, I feel embarrassed for you. Michael Jordan is not only the greatest basketball player ever, he is the best athlete ever! Nobody…. nobody dominated their sport like Michael Jordan did. Don’t ever put Jordan and Pacquaio in the mix.
Pacquaio is ultimate greatness! You better take advantage of watching this Legend, because there will never be another like him. It was like having the opportunity to watch Michael Jordan on the basketball court.
Manila man, that’s good that you like the Great Pac, but say good things about him that you know. Don’t talk if you don’t know anything about boxing.
Hitter, David Diaz beat the greats of Erik Morales… and you don’t call him a true champion?
Yeah… I am Mike Burnett. Everyone listen up…. I am Mike Burnett. You’re a fool Inspector. You got your work mixed up here son! Go try to burn somebody else’s bridge.
Alert Alert Alert: I believe that One Hitter Quitter is Mike Burnell.
Manila Man… man, you must be a blind man living in Manila. Marquez knocked out the Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor.. the 2 top lightweight champs. Pacquaio thought he was fighting the best lightweight in David Diaz. But every boxing fan knows that Diaz is a chump that you will never hear of. He wasn’t a true champion. And Pacquaio slipped through that division fighting the weakest champion.
this one hitter quitter guy doesnt no what he is talking about. Pac beat Marquez easy on 2 fights.
Cotto must win by knock out, cause if they go to the scorecards… even if Cotto wins 9 of the 12 rounds… believe me, they will give the decision to Pacquaio, just ask Marquez! They will do whatever necessary to make Pacquaio victorius and to set up Pacqauio against my man Money Mayweather!
Pacquaio is knocking out fools left and right… making them quit on their stools while their cornermen are trying to urge them on. He will rip the opponents heart out and dance all over it. Yet, he was unsuccessful against Marquez in 2 fights. Marquez schooled him both fights. But we all know that boxing is business and about setting up future Mega-fights… and by giving Pacquaio the decision.. they were able to make Pacquaio-De La Hoya, Pacquaio-Mayweather. There is no way in hell that Cotto will get the decision over Pacquaio. They will rob him blind!
fighting Marquez, Juan Manuel Marquez on a first bout coming out from retirement! That is brave! Only an amateur like you would underestimate Juan Manuel Marquez, the fighter that beat Pacquaio in 2 fights. You think Pacqauio has the balls to fight this man again? Pacquaio is doing whatever necessary to avoid him as long as he can. Who else would have been a better choice? andre berto… who was handed the controversial decision against Calazo and hasn’t proven diddly squat? Paul Williams, who supposevly everyone is ducking, yet nobody can find him. Sugar Shane Mosely? Yeah, Sugar Shane for a first fight back… that’s a real smart choice.
Pac is overated one
His victory over Barera, Morales, Marquez, Solis, Diaz, Dela Hoya, and Haton does not count because they are all overated bums…..
Thats the Fact….
The match to silence all critics: Pacquiao vs Klitchko, Vitali
That is called boxing! That is what this sport is about. About hit and not get hit! Are you sure we’re talking about the same sport?
I thought you knew about boxing quitter, I was wrong. You are talking about Pac not liking body shots. Well, how do you explain Mayweather vs Castillo? How do you explain running in the ring like if it was a track meet just to avoid body shots.
Ha… is there any kind of spray for pinoy pests? Cause they seem to come in bunches. Does anybody know? Pacquaio is not very good at taking body shots. Marquez hurt Pacquaio very nice to the body. The one body shot that Oscar landed the entire fight, hurt Pacquaio. Mayweather is going to pick the pinoy apart!
ha ha… let me catch my breath!
you tell em pinoy power! evryone must respect Pac the Great!
It’s pinoy power to you quitter! When Mayweather grows the balls to get in the ring against Pac, that’s when I will have somewhat of a respect for Mayweather. Cuz he knows that he is going to get whipped and he still dares to enter the ring. For awhile Zab Judah’s speed actually did farely well against Floyd. Pacquaio’s speed is just as fast or faster. Pac will catch Mayweather. The question is… will mayweather have the body or chin to withstand the pinoy power!
Hate to burst your bubble pinoy, but Pacquaio is going to lose versus Mayweather. I don’t even think that Pacquaio will take that fight. Roach Coach is going to talk him out of it, cause Roach knows there is no way that Pacqauio can defeat the greats of Mayweather.
if pacman fights, pacman wins…
Yes, Pacquaio would indeed knock out the Henry Armstrong.
pacman would ko armstrong!
You said it very well Hitter Quitter. It’s good to see that there are some actual fans that have knowledge in this site.
I agree to you One Hitter Quitter
To beat Pacquaio, one must have a great chin. Without a great chin, there is no chance.
Jason, take notes, because this is your boxing lesson for the day. Boxing is not about who beats who. It is about styles and match-ups. Cotto lost to Margarito, Margarito lost to Mosley… this is what your trying to base it on, yet, the equations never work like that. Cotto has a weak chin and the entire world knows it. Clottey, in slow motion was unable to catch him. Pacquaio is going to be in Cotto’s grill. Even if he tries to run away like he did against Mosley, Margarito, and Clottey, it will not work, because Pacquaio will catch him. Mosley can take more shots therefore has the better opportunity to beat Pacquaio.
Pacman will KO Cotto in 7 Round
Please do NOT compare Henry Armstrong to Pacman. Henry Armstrong HAS aTotal 180 fights. Herry Armstrong and Muhammad Ali is a true Legend. Just to let you know I’m a TRUE Pacman fan MABUHAY
i would love to see mosley v Pacquaio
or Pacquaio v Floyd
Pacquaio will not even dare to get in the ring with Mosley… those are actions of a Living Legend?
Pacquaio is a Living Legend. It was a classic to watch him toy around with the Golden Boy. If Pacquaio wanted to, he could have ended that fight by the 2nd round. Versus Hatton, he was out for the knock out. No toying around! Directly to the KO. Nobody has a chance versus Pacquaio. At whatever time he sounds the alarm, he will KO his opponent. At anytime he wants.
duran fan!!!!!!.no trouble but May i ask why you would say to not put these two fighters in the same sentence?? i think the world knows that if theres is a man to have come close to armstrongs achievements it would be pacquiao! who still is one of the very few fighters to have achieved so much in such a very short period of time . henry amrstrong was indeed a legend . but that was a long time ago. its fair to say that pacquiao is and has been mentioned by likes of larry merchant , lennox lewis , s ray leonard , as the best man in the sport today certainly the most exciting. these people are great figures in the world of boxing if they want to mention pacquiao to armstrong then there must be some sort of truth and sense in what they say. pacquiao is a great fighter ans should be given the respect that he deserves. i will add that he is not unbeatable things can change over night pacquiao cant keep winning. i just hope he leaves the sport before its too late. But my opinion he is a living legend if not hes is certainly a lengend to be>>> peace
Hey Duran fan, why don’t you tell Hall of Famer LARRY MERCHANT and number 1 HBO Boxing Announcer JIM LAMPLEY directly. They are where we heard the same names mentioned on PPV TV.
Please do NOT ever mention Henry Armstrong & Pacman in the same sentence. Armstrong was a legend.
Nice article. I’m enjoying how exciting Pac fights though he’s not perfect, he’s constantly improving.
manuela perez is that you? it will be pacquiao in 5 rounds.
it all ends when he meets cotto!…k.o in the 9th!
We will know if Pacquiao is a legend or not after he hangup his gloves and retires but for now let’s enjoy watching him write some boxing history. One thing I know right now is No matter how the boxing fans will look at Pacquiao after his career, he is now already a Living Legend to his countryman. For them he is a rag to riches Prizefighter and a philanthropist. He care for the poor and an inspiration to them that thru hard work and determination, you can reach your dream.