at the end of the day i think both fights were mismatches but at least with Campbell Pac would have held all 4 titles and would have beat the man in the division..
pac would not be viewed as the favorite against hatton as he is viewed now if he defeated campbell instead of oscar.
It's part of what makes Pacquiao so great. He's exceeded the expectations of all except his biggest nuthugger.
Hatton at that time was coming off a loss and a lackluster performance. Only when he beat Malignaggi's ass did he establish that he was still the top guy in the division. Pac beating Campbell would've made him undisputed champion at 135. Pac beating Oscar was a good win but not as good as being undisputed champion of another division.
Emmanuel would ruin Campbell and the Oscar fight makes sense for a lot of PR and financial reasons. However I never wanted to see Oscar in the ring again after the Forbes fight. Plus if Manny beat then Campbell then I could consider him a real Lightweight champion.
Epic thread. Interesting to think about how Pac's career would have been different if he elected to face Campbell instead of Oscar.