Why isn’t Pacquiao bashed like Floyd?

By Paul Ward - 05/17/2013 - Comments

pac7777By Paul Ward: In a sport like boxing personality can make or break a boxer’s career. Manny Pacquiao has had a phenomenal career, win or lose there’s no denying it, but why does he get much more credit than Floyd Mayweather?

Many boxing fans who like Pacman usually hate Floyd Mayweather and vice versa. I myself am a fan of both, but when looking at the stats of both boxers one can easily see who should rightfully be on top. Let’s take a look at both careers and compare some of their most recent bouts.

The Pacman was knocked out in devastating fashion in the 6th round of his last fight against a fighter (Juan Manuel Marquez) that Floyd annihilated 3 years prior. Many Pacman fans like to bring up the fact that Floyd had to pay for coming in overweight for that fight, but let’s be realistic, 2 lbs overweight is not a whole lot. Contrary to what many believe, Floyd was only 2 lbs heavier than Marquez not 20 lbs like some like to say.

Next we have Sugar Shane Mosley, a fighter that Floyd defeated one year before Pacquiao, but wait! Everyone says “Mosley was old and past his prime,” so wouldn’t that mean that the Pacman fought a majorly over the hill Mosley one year later? Yes Mosley buckled Mayweather for a split second in the second or third round, but everyone gets lucky sometimes and the fact is Floyd recovered quite quickly from that shot; when Marquez got lucky Pacquiao ended up unconscious.

Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto before Mayweather but in the end Cotto was demolished by both fighters. Cotto is a great fighter but Floyd and Pacman made him struggle and look sub-par. Then there’s Ricky Hatton who Floyd made to look foolish a whole year before his loss to Pacquiao. When Hatton fought Floyd he was undefeated and a force to be reckoned with. One year later Pacquiao once again followed suit and dismantled a fighter that Floyd had already checked off his list.

Now let’s move onto Oscar De La Hoya, another fighter that is said to have been “past his prime” and of no value when he fought Floyd. Pacman fought De La Hoya one year after Floyd and has always been given so much more credit for his win.

These fights go back to roughly the last six years of both fighter’s careers. The point of this article is to put into question the credit Pacquiao has received for these wins; credit that I believe is only due to his humble personality. Floyd on the other hand is not as likable to many and has unfortunately not been given the credit he deserves for defeating fighters who were not only beaten before Pacquiao but were certainly more in their prime than when they faced the Pacman.

How can anyone say that Floyd “cherry picks” his fighters and Pacquiao doesn’t? Pacquiao and Mayweather have fought nearly the same opposition in the last six years. The difference is that Mayweather fought these guys before Pacquiao but Pacquiao is given full credit, perhaps due to his more likable personality. The parallels between these fighters are the reason why a fight between the two would be greatly anticipated and a treat to boxing fans. Both boxers deserve credit for their outstanding performances but it doesn’t take much to see that Mayweather is clearly a step ahead.



Comments are closed.