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>ARLINGTON, Texas – When Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said last >November that he considered Manny Pacquiao the best fighter >he’d ever seen, it seemed at the time as little more than >promoter hyperbole. > >A successful salesman like Arum is always pitching and >conjuring new ways to sell his next fight. Arum began >promoting boxing in 1966 and handled legends like Muhammad >Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, >“Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather Jr. >and Julio Cesar Chavez. > >After watching Pacquiao decimate opponent after opponent over >the last two-plus years, perhaps Arum isn’t as batty as we all >thought. >Related Video >Fight highlights >Fight highlights > >Fight highlights > >Fight preparation Pacquiao's rise Margarito's mentality >More Boxing Videos >More From Kevin Iole > > * Pacquiao clobbers Margarito for eighth title Nov 14, >2010 > * Pacquiao, Margarito trainers trade allegations Nov 13, >2010 > >ADVERTISEMENT > >Dominating a slow and one-dimensional fighter like Antonio >Margarito, such as Pacquiao did Saturday in winning a wide >unanimous decision before 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium, doesn’t >make one the equal of legends like Ali, Leonard and Hagler, et >al. > >Pacquiao, though, is far more dominant against his opposition >than the likes of Leonard and others ever were versus theirs. >Ali had grueling battles against guys like Joe Frazier and Ken >Norton. Leonard was in pitched battles with Duran, Hearns and >Hagler. > >Pacquiao is further ahead of the field now than the great >Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont. He defeated Margarito by >scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 despite being >outweighed by 17 pounds when the bell rang. Margarito, who >weighed 150 at Friday’s weigh-in, was 165 after rehydrating. >Margarito had advantages of 17 pounds, 4½ inches in height and >6½ inches of reach, but looked like he would have needed >sticks and clubs, as well as loaded gloves, to even be >competitive with the blazingly fast Filipino. > >Pacquiao said it was difficult, though it didn’t appear he had >many problems. > >“I really had a hard fight and this was the hardest fight in >my boxing career,” Pacquiao said. “Margarito is really tough >and strong. I felt it. He is really big, bigger than me. I >wanted to give a good fight and I wanted to make the people >happy. It’s why sometimes I fought him toe-to-toe. It’s what >the people wanted.” > >Pacquiao gave the fans everything they could have wanted and >more. He said he knew he had the fight by the third round, but >he did take some hard body shots that he conceded hurt him. > >Pacquiao cracked Margarito with an uppercut in the fourth >round that opened a wound under Margarito’s right eye and >nearly closed it. By the 11th round, Pacquiao was looking >pleadingly at referee Laurence Cole in hopes that Cole would >show mercy on Margarito and end it. > >Cole, perhaps, wanted to see Margarito get his just desserts >after attempting to enter the ring with an illegal knuckle pad >in his hand wraps before a 2009 fight in Los Angeles with >Shane Mosley. There was little sense in letting the bout >continue Saturday and trainer Robert Garcia’s assertion that >Margarito is a “warrior who wouldn’t allow me to stop it” is >ridiculous. A trainer’s job is to protect his fighter and know >when he’s had enough. Margarito had enough by the eighth round >– the rest of the punishment he took was gratuitous. > >“I wish they had stopped the fight,” Pacquiao trainer Freddie >Roach said. “They probably ruined his career by not stopping >the fight.” > >Next on the agenda is a phone call to Mayweather to see if he >has interest in the fight. There are significant obstacles to >overcome, but Mayweather is the only man who could be remotely >competitive with him. > >Mayweather has legal issues – he has a court date on Jan. 24 >and faces up to 34 years in prison if convicted on all counts >– that have to be overcome in addition to agreeing upon a >deal. > >Roach, who was one of the most exciting fighters of the 1980s >when Leonard, Duran and Hagler were dominating the sport, >called Pacquiao the best of his era and suggested he would >have been more than competitive in any era. It’s difficult to >disagree with him. > >“It’s so hard to compare eras,” Roach said. “We could argue >all night long. Why not leave it at this: Manny Pacquiao is >the best of his era.” > >Mosley, who was routed by Mayweather in May and drew with >Sergio Mora in September, attended the fight with his new >manager, James Prince. Mosley still owns a portion of Golden >Boy Promotions, but Prince said he’s a promotional free agent >who can sign or fight for any promoter. > >Prince said a Pacquiao-Mosley fight would not be difficult to >make. And Mosley said he thinks he could do better than some >of Pacquiao’s recent opponents. > >“I saw some things I think I could take advantage of,” said >Mosley, who might be easier to take seriously if he were 29 >instead of 39. > >At this stage, Pacquiao’s only measuring stick is history. As >great as Leonard was, he never dominated multi-time champions >the way Pacquiao is doing. Leonard was exceptionally fast, a >hard puncher, a smart defensive fighter and as tough as they >come, but Arum wasn’t willing to say he was Pacquiao’s equal. > >“Ray Leonard is a great friend of mine and he was a great >fighter, but he doesn’t compare to Manny Pacquiao, in my >opinion,” Arum said. “Ray had great, great skills, great >heart, and he was a tremendous fighter, but he didn’t have the >same type of extraordinary skills that Pacquiao has. > >“Julio Cesar Chavez was a great, great fighter. Sitting in >front of me was a guy a lot of people say is the greatest >fighter they’ve ever seen, Roberto Duran. These guys are truly >great fighters, but they do not compare to Manny Pacquiao, in >my opinion.” > >Last November, those kinds of words could have been dismissed >as promoter hype or the silly rants of a nearly 80-year-old >man. > >Today? Well, it’s hard to argue. Pacquiao still has to face >the ultimate test, the fast, speedy, in-his-prime opponent >that Mayweather would be, but it takes two to say yes and >Mayweather continues to throw up road blocks. > >There may have been better fighters than Manny Pacquiao in the >last 50 years, but their numbers were few and their talent >level was exceptionally high. > >Without question, Manny Pacquiao is an all-time great. > >And that’s not just promoter hyperbole.
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