Pacquaio vs Inoue - Who has the greater legacy

Hard to beat a man that won world titles in eight different weight classes and beat a slew of Hall of Fame opponents. With all due respect to The Monster, the answer is Pacquiao and it isn't particularly close.

 

Pacquiao by a landslide.

Inoue hasn't beaten a single opponent in the top 10 P4P.

And his best win is a 36 year old Inoue.

Pacquiao destroyed the likes of Barrera when he was top 3 P4P.

And has numerous wins over opponents who were ranked in the top P4P 10.

Much better opposition and considerably better achievements.

 

Pacquiao by far

 

Inoue

manny pacroid has always been a fraud and that’s undeniable

 

Pacquiao has a much larger body of work. No question.

However.

He's not quite as great as modern voices would have us believe. Whatever improvements Manny made back in '06 to get the better of Morales, the 2-1 score is just as indebted to Erik being past his best/weight-drained. He'd then go on to lose the war against Marquez. Now, his weight-climbing antics helped pardon that last blip, but then the truly greatest fighters were the uncontested winners in their most important rivalries. Further, as spectacular as the likes of Pacquaio-Margarito was, the catch-weight and belt (again) did their part in blinding us to the fact that - not only wasn't Margarito the man at 154lbs. - but he'd already been bashed up by Mosley.

This was not a fighter taking out the king at every weight. Context matters. Nor I didn't make much of the welterweights in his era. Many started at lower weights. Not many rangy fighters with good jabs. Historically speaking, there have been many welterweight eras where Manny would have struggled to keep his head above water.

He's not in my top ten of all-time.

As for Inoue, if he gets past Nakatani I suspect his record will receive a lot more praise. Aside from Covid derailing the Casimero fight, he cleaned out 118lbs., and he's just about cleaned out 122lbs. It's all been very systematic and thorough. Four fights last year was tremendous. A Bam fight seems unlikely, but, assuming victory, it would work wonders. Probably going to get a couple of scalps at 126lbs., which is where his career will end. So much depends on what his potential victims go on to achieve. Assuming all goes as well as could be possibly imagined for the Japanese, this question will come up again.

And it'll have fans thinking a little longer.

 

You're just focusing on every negative aspect of Pacquiao.

You mention Morales was weight drained and past his best.

But don't mention the first loss to Morales was Pacquiao's first time competing at Super Featherweight.

You also don't mention Pacquiao destroyed a prime Barrera who was P4P number 3.

You say Pacquiao lost the war to JMM but he officially won the series 2-1-1 and without a judging error would've been 3-1 officially.

Margarito may of not been the man but he towered over Pacquiao and was a lot bigger so in a P4P sense its a good win.

I also don't get the logic that you say you're not impressed with Pacquiao's wins at Welterweight because they were mostly against smaller fighters who moved up in weight.

And yet you're ignoring the fact Pacquiao was smaller than all of those fighters and started his career at Light Flyweight ?

Pacquiao destroyed Hatton at 140 who was undefeated in over a decade at that weightclass and considered the best fighter at 140 at that time.

Pacquiao destroyed Cotto at Welterweight which is considered his best weight who was also top 10 P4P fighter.

I think you're quite harsh honestly.

 

At the moment Pacquiao is my firm opinion. Pac-Man has more important career victories and a very long run at the top. The Filipino has defeated highly competitive versions of Marquez, Barrera, and Morales, this alone (combined with his years at the top) would be enough to say that Manny has a more solid legacy than Inoue. Pacquiao also has some losses, but the more strong opponents you face the more likely you are to lose some fights. Inoue is also among the top in the current P4P rankings and has already achieved great things, and definitive discussions on a boxer's legacy are always more realistic when made at the end of a career, but I think it's very unlikely Inoue will have a better legacy than Pacquiao.

 

The obvious answer is Pacquiao. More legacy defining fights, more HOF wins, greater feats and accomplishments that won't ever be replicated. Inoue is a fantastic fighter and a generational talent but Pac is a once in a lifetime kind of fighter.

 

“ You’re honor, uhhh.. everything that guy just said is bull**** “

 

Inoue still has work to do

 

I dont agree. People downplay it, but there are very real concerns about PED use for Pacman and I hold some of his accomplishments in asterisk. Where was his punching volume against Floyd? Where was the 1,000 punch nights against Floyd? Cause he had those during the height of his suspected PED use years...

Inoue tale isnt done yet. What if he conquers 126 also? That would be true undisputed across 3 weight classes and a 5 weight champion. Thats different than earning token belts or beating one old guy for all belts (Crawford over Canelo).

 

All of Pacquiao's career positives were factored into my post. He's a bona fide ATG. No one can say otherwise.

Fans can though (you'd think without being deemed harsh) boot him out of their top ten of all-time.

Yes, the Barrera win was fantastic. One of the best of the century. Manny's Magnum Opus. The Morales saga, however, deserves context, which I provided. It's unfair to pretend that Morales was at his best when he lost the rematch. These details are not emphasised enough. Manny's 'Manila Ice' is the prevailing narrative. We know Manny's greater than Morales, but let's read history right.

Yes. Marquez won the war. The expression comes from when one faction has a decisive final say. And if the final score read 3-1 for Manny then you'd have even more people than we already do making the case that Marquez won at least two or three fights. Basically, you had three very nip-n-tuck fights, and then Marquez took him out. No spin here. That's what happened.

Still, I'm under no illusions regarding the magnitude of Manny's legacy. Inoue would have to do quite a bit more to truly merit comparison. You gotta applaud his dominance though. Still hasn't had a genuinely close fight, and it's not because he's been running away from anyone.

 

Who the hell fights Barrera, Morales and Marquez within a span of 126 to 130?

yes, Morales was weight drained by the end of the trilogy.

yes Manny cleaned them up but if you watched Maidana/Morales..morales sure as hell wasn’t shot. He’s Erik freakin Morales.

Manny was the ultimate in cleaning out shot fighters.

 

I never said Morales was at his best but you said Morales was drained and didn't mention Pacquiao's 1st loss to Morales was Pacquiao's first time fighting at Super Featherweight.

So if you're giving context also give it for the other fighter aswell.

Morales was not at his best yes but Pacquiao also improved as a fighter you see a a substantial difference with Pacquiao in their 2nd meeting using the right hand alot more.

Also Inoue's best win is against Donaire who was 7 years past his prime and 36 years old so Donaire was far from his best aswell.

Well Marquez never gave Pacquiao a rematch when he finally got a win over him. Unlike Pacquiao who kept giving him chances so i don't agree with your view on it.

Yes Pacquiao had 4 competitive fights against a stylistic nightmare opponent in his prime who is considered a great.

I don't see how that is a negative it just shows Pacquiao had real tough rivals in his era. So if you are facing better opposition overall you will see fighters struggle more on average.

Inoue has not fought any great fighter in their prime as it stands today.