Al Bernstein On Boxing: Lost In The Shuffle?

[XaduBoxer]

link --> Pacquiao May Be Best Ever Under 135

by Al Bernstein

I have taken some time to let the events of May 2 gestate a little. I have rolled them around in my mind and come up with some historical perspective. I now believe this basic fact, IF Manny Pacquiao can beat any one of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, or Miguel Cotto, he will have stamped himself the best fighter EVER at 135 pounds or below. Here is my reasoning. The quartet of Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barerra, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales produced the greatest series of fights seen at any time in boxing. They occured during a decade's span in a few weight divisions. This series of fights exceeded even the Hagler, Leonard, Duran, and Hearns combinations of matches. I know, many of you are gasping at that last statement, but it's true. Pacman and his little crew overall had more classic battles than Hagler and his legendary bunch. And, even though Marquez has a legitimate argument to the contrary because of his two close fights with Pacquiao, Manny narrowly emerged from that pack with the best results and biggest name. And then Manny did something that really seperated him from that group--he moved up in weight and dominated. Now, I fully understand that David Diaz at i35 was only a so-so lightweight champ, and Oscar De La Hoya ended up being a shell of his former self when he fought Pacquiao (although he was a big favorite before the fight). And, I also conceed that Ricky hatton had slipped in recent fights--and many thought he was never a great fighter. But, still, the WAY Pacquiao won over Ricky was impressive.

All of that is why I am not quite ready to totally make Manny a deity--but I am close. If he beats one of the aforementioned fighters he will have proved that no one in history has been able to dominate the smaller weight divisions like him. From 112 all the way to 147 he has performed well. That's astonishing.

[ICB]

link --> Pacquiao May Be Best Ever Under 135

by Al Bernstein

I have taken some time to let the events of May 2 gestate a little. I have rolled them around in my mind and come up with some historical perspective. I now believe this basic fact, IF Manny Pacquiao can beat any one of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, or Miguel Cotto, he will have stamped himself the best fighter EVER at 135 pounds or below. Here is my reasoning. The quartet of Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barerra, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales produced the greatest series of fights seen at any time in boxing. They occured during a decade's span in a few weight divisions. This series of fights exceeded even the Hagler, Leonard, Duran, and Hearns combinations of matches. I know, many of you are gasping at that last statement, but it's true. Pacman and his little crew overall had more classic battles than Hagler and his legendary bunch. And, even though Marquez has a legitimate argument to the contrary because of his two close fights with Pacquiao, Manny narrowly emerged from that pack with the best results and biggest name. And then Manny did something that really seperated him from that group--he moved up in weight and dominated. Now, I fully understand that David Diaz at i35 was only a so-so lightweight champ, and Oscar De La Hoya ended up being a shell of his former self when he fought Pacquiao (although he was a big favorite before the fight). And, I also conceed that Ricky hatton had slipped in recent fights--and many thought he was never a great fighter. But, still, the WAY Pacquiao won over Ricky was impressive.

All of that is why I am not quite ready to totally make Manny a deity--but I am close. If he beats one of the aforementioned fighters he will have proved that no one in history has been able to dominate the smaller weight divisions like him. From 112 all the way to 147 he has performed well. That's astonishing.

Lets not get carried away Al and forget fighters like Ricardo Lopez, Willie Pep.

[XaduBoxer]

link --> Pacquiao May Be Best Ever Under 135

by Al Bernstein

I have taken some time to let the events of May 2 gestate a little. I have rolled them around in my mind and come up with some historical perspective. I now believe this basic fact, IF Manny Pacquiao can beat any one of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, or Miguel Cotto, he will have stamped himself the best fighter EVER at 135 pounds or below. Here is my reasoning. The quartet of Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barerra, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales produced the greatest series of fights seen at any time in boxing. They occured during a decade's span in a few weight divisions. This series of fights exceeded even the Hagler, Leonard, Duran, and Hearns combinations of matches. I know, many of you are gasping at that last statement, but it's true. Pacman and his little crew overall had more classic battles than Hagler and his legendary bunch. And, even though Marquez has a legitimate argument to the contrary because of his two close fights with Pacquiao, Manny narrowly emerged from that pack with the best results and biggest name. And then Manny did something that really seperated him from that group--he moved up in weight and dominated. Now, I fully understand that David Diaz at i35 was only a so-so lightweight champ, and Oscar De La Hoya ended up being a shell of his former self when he fought Pacquiao (although he was a big favorite before the fight). And, I also conceed that Ricky hatton had slipped in recent fights--and many thought he was never a great fighter. But, still, the WAY Pacquiao won over Ricky was impressive.

All of that is why I am not quite ready to totally make Manny a deity--but I am close. If he beats one of the aforementioned fighters he will have proved that no one in history has been able to dominate the smaller weight divisions like him. From 112 all the way to 147 he has performed well. That's astonishing.

Lets not get carried away Al and forget fighters like Ricardo Lopez, Willie Pep.

Finito and Pep are great boxers but they dominated basically just one division unlike PAC who performed well from 112 to 147 division (an amazing span of 9 divisions)... PAC is a 4-time lineal champ and got titles in 6 different weight divisions... Very impressive resume...

I totally agree with Mr. Al Berstein that PAC probably the best fighter ever at 135 and below...
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