By Dennis Broadhurst: After disposing of Miguel Cotto last night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquaio has proved he is the pound for pound number one fighter in boxing, he has taken out a prime welterweight champion by a 12th round TKO and now there can be no excuses that his opponent was over the hill or overrated because Miguel wasn’t and he showed the heart of a lion and a solid chin all night long.

Pacquiao has shown that he is up there with the all time greats whatever happens and that he is a true champion who has a passion for boxing, he has proved that his chin is strong even at the welterweight level and has now silenced his critics. His skill and show of how hard he trains was proved last night and now we all want to see Manny take on Money.

Pacquiao will want to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. to prove that he is the fighter of the generation but it will be an Everest to climb for Manny if he fights Mayweather and also for Mayweather if he signs the contract. Manny would find it hard to fight Mayweather as Floyd would use his skill very well and would be able to outbox Pacquiao if he could establish himself but Mayweather would also find it incredibly hard to fight Pacquiao because the Pacman is so relentless, Mayweather would not be able to use his defence so well for 12 rounds against the super fast, iron fisted Pacman.

I beleive that Pacquiao can beat Mayweather but I also beleive Mayweather can beat Pacquiao, it is 50-50 because Mayweather will be brought into vvery deep waters if he is dragged into a brawl but Manny will also be in deep waters if he cannot catch Mayweather who would try to move and punch. I would favour Pacquiao in the fight as I prefer his style and I am a huge fan of his, in fact I was praying that he would beat Cotto so that we would be sure to see more of him but he would struggle against Mayweather. Despite the struggles that both men would face, this would be the fight of the decade.

So if we imagine that Pacquiao beats Mayweather where does he go in history? Many have stated that he would become the greatest of all time but the smart ones will disagree. I think Manny would/will be a top 20 p4p fighter of all time, he is not better than prime Ali, Pep, Whitaker, Armstrong, Duran, Leonard, Robinson etc.

I think that if Pacquiao faced Willie Pep as a featherweight then he would be out-boxed over twelve rounds, Duran would make it hard for Manny but that would be a war, Leonard would outbox Manny and Robinson would knock Manny out early. There we have it Sugar Ray Robinson at welterweight would KO Manny , that is what I think, Sugar’s super speed and power would obliterate Pacquiao.

Manny has some slight flaws for example lunging forward when he punches can be times and sometimes he leaved his face open and comes on square just asking for a jab in the face. Despite this Pacquaio still deserves a top 20 place if he beats Mayweather, he is clearly the fighter of the age and will go down as one of the best ever. He has one of the most exciting styles ever and I hope he wins every fighter he faces from now. Long live Pacquiao!