By Chris Williams: In looking at many of Manny Pacquiao’s fights in the past couple of years, one thing that jumps out at you is that he’s formed a pattern of facing guys that are either far out of their prime years in the case of Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley, coming off a bad beating or showing signs of deterioration at the time Pacquiao has fought them. I wonder how Pacquiao would fare against a prime De La Hoya, Mosley and against other fighters like Margarito and Cotto when they were fighting at their very best and without a catch weight handicap for Pacquiao.

I know Pacquiao’s fans think he’s the greatest fighter that ever breathed, but since he’s been fighting guys that are less their best lately due to age or recent beat downs, I can’t really put Pacquiao into the category of a great fighter. I think he’s good, certainly good enough to beat softened up guys like Cotto, Margarito, and old guys like Mosley and De La Hoya, but I wonder how Pacquiao would do against these guys at their very best.

I’ve seen each of them many times and I have a feeling that Pacquiao, if he were to have fought these guys in their prime, he would have lost to more than one of them. Let me put it like this: Without a catch weight handicap working their magic, I think Pacquiao would have lost to a prime Mosley and De La Hoya, no questions about it.

I think those fighters were too good in their prime and without being weighed down by a strength weakening catch weight, I see them beating Pacquiao. As for Cotto and Margarito, I think Margarito would have had an excellent chance at beating Pacquiao around the time he fought Cotto. I don’t know that Cotto would ever beat Pacquiao, because I think Cotto has always been a limited fighter, but I don think Cotto would have done a much better job against Pacquiao than he did in their fight last year.