By Frank Livingstone: Manny Pacquiao, the mild mannered Congressman from the Southern Philippines, has been in the spotlight since his upset win over Oscar De La Hoya. That upset win was no fluke as it was the start of a string of victories which we, mere mortals, could only dream of. The names of Hatton, Cotto, Clottey and Margarito were no ordinary top ranked fighters since they have all won world titles in their own right.

The boxing experts were divided on their assessment of Pacquiao as being the best fighter in the world today with some even proclaiming him the as one of the GOAT (Greatest of all time) if not the GOAT.

As with most over achieving sportsmen wherein their success would raise some eyebrows to a doubting Thomas, Manny’s achievements were clouded by innuendos of him using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED). Even though Manny has passed all test conducted by the Boxing Commission, some were still skeptical that the test was not good enough to detect PEDs.

But until it is proven that Manny was using banned substances, his achievements of winning eight world titles at different weights are nothing short of a super human effort. But is it?? His fights with Cotto, Clottey and Margarito have taken a toll on his physical body. A ruptured eardrum and broken ribs were some of the physical damage he suffered resulting from these fights.

On May 7, Manny would return to the ring to meet another challenge from a former world champion, Shane Mosley. Some say that this is a mismatch in Pacquiao’s favor. But Shane knows that as long as he is not fighting superman, he is still in it with a chance. There is no doubt Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter but he is definitely no superman. But I would not be surprised if Shane Mosley plans to keep a small amount of kryptonite with him in the ring just in case.