In what division does Pacquiao rank the highest?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by lufcrazy, Jun 14, 2020.


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  1. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    This is a question I struggle with sometimes, Pacquaio went through a few evolutions in his career and placing him can be difficult.

    You have to look at both him as a fighter and other names in the divisions history.

    Flyweight : imo he was basically Wilder here. Raw as hell, but monstrous power. Stopped twice but both times when tight at the weight.

    Super Bantamweight: an all out offensive machine who blew away all of his opposition, but he never faced a great fighter here

    Featherweight: dominated a prime Barrera and deserved to edge a prime Marquez. Very short stay in the division, and his weakness to being timed is prevalent.

    Super Featherweight: 8 fights here, beating everyone he faced but dropping a decision to Morales. He looks awesome at this weight but has begun to calm down a bit with his all out aggressive approach.

    Lightweight : one fight only. Scintillating display against a sub par opponent.

    Lightwelterweight : one fight only scintillating display against a world class opponent.

    Welterweight : spent the most amount of time in this division, over a decade, close fights with Marquez and Horn. Losses to Marquez and Mayweather. A ream of quality opponents but every time he looks too small for the division. Arguably his best ever performance here against Cotto.

    So what do we make of him. This isn't what division was he necessarily the best at, but what division do you think he ranks the highest in from an ATG point of view?
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 14, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 14, 2020
    #1
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  2. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    130 and it isn't that close.

    For all his time at 147, Bradley and Cotto were really the only two standout scalps to me.
     
    NoNeck, Jun 14, 2020
    NoNeck, Jun 14, 2020
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  3. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    I don't know, he performed worse against Marquez and Barrera at 130 and he had that loss to Morales (although he did avenge it).

    But he does have an awesome resume there, even though he didn't look as dominant imo.

    At SBW he looked too much for anyone to handle but didn't have the resume to back it up.

    Plus loads argue his zenith was 135 or 140.

    So I see a few arguments in different directions tbh.

    FWIW I'd say 130 as well.
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 14, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 14, 2020
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  4. Reinhardt

    Reinhardt Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    130 is the weight he naturally topped out at,,,the rest of his career he was on the steroid train.
     
    Reinhardt, Jun 14, 2020
    Reinhardt, Jun 14, 2020
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  5. CharlesBurley

    CharlesBurley Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    Probably 140lbs despite it being 1 fight. It's his optimal division.

    No he didn't
     
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
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  6. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    Both the FW and SFW fights I had 6 rounds a piece with the knockdowns winning for him both times.
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
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  7. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I've not really considered Pacquiao in terms of one specific weight class. I've looked at his career, more as a peak timeframe, the plateau of which I would say was 2005 to 2009, inclusive.

    With Pacquiao it seemed that he was really coming to the fore at 126, then set on fire during his time at 130, which continued, as he move through the divisions, up to and including his shifts between 140-147 and how he ended 2009 with the win over Cotto.

    But, he's actually spent a dozen years in the Ring Rated Top-10 Welterweights and so, if forced to picked a division, in which he ranks the highest, it would probably have to be 147.
     
    Man_Machine, Jun 15, 2020
    Man_Machine, Jun 15, 2020
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  8. CharlesBurley

    CharlesBurley Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    Yea, you must be scoring ineffective aggression. The rematch was a flatout robbery. Marquez lands far cleaner than Pacquaio for the majority of round in both fights. You have to remember the most important thing is who is landing the cleanest punches

    The rubber match was outright disgusting.
     
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
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  9. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    Pacquaio aggression was actually pretty effective in the first two fights. He knocked Marquez down 4 times.
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    #9
  10. Flea Man

    Flea Man มวยสากล Full Member

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    Super feather for me
     
    Flea Man, Jun 15, 2020
    Flea Man, Jun 15, 2020
    #10
  11. CharlesBurley

    CharlesBurley Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    Yes but that's 2 rounds out of 24
     
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
    CharlesBurley, Jun 15, 2020
    #11
  12. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    What's your scorecard for them both.
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    #12
  13. asero

    asero Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    When we judge a boxer, we should look at his whole career.
    Fighters that suffers from being judged only in one division:
    Sam Langford, Fitzsimmon, Dela Hoya, RJJ, Ross, JCC, McGovern, Conn, Nelson. None of these will make Top 10 of any division.

    The way to judge boxers is similar to how Boxrec ranks their boxers. Pick the best weight of that boxer and rank him according to his entire career. Although Boxrec ranks Langford as HW as most of his fights happened there. I would rather rank him as LHW.
     
    asero, Jun 15, 2020
    asero, Jun 15, 2020
    #13
  14. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

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    Actually quite a lot of those listed are top ten fighters.

    Langford at LHW
    Hoya at LWW and LMW
    RJJ at LHW, SMW and MW
    Ross at WW, LWW and LW
    JCC at LWW, LW, and SFW
    McGovern at FW and BW
    Conn at LHW
    Nelson at FW and SFW
     
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    lufcrazy, Jun 15, 2020
    #14
  15. asero

    asero Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Forget the Junior Division.
    If you look closely at Langford resume, who did he beat at LHW? It is only Jeff Clarke.
    Ross is a Top 25 ATG but barely makes Top 10 WW or LW in terms of resume and longevity.

    Conn's resume at LHW is too shallow and short
    Who did JCC only stayed at LW for one year
     
    asero, Jun 15, 2020
    asero, Jun 15, 2020
    #15
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