Do you agree with this statement regarding Manny Pacquiao?

Pac hasn't transcended boxing? He made movies, has his own charity, recorded platinum albums, coaches a basketball team, sang in various TV shows both in America and the Philippines, and was elected Congressman. Apart from being photographed wearing fishnet stockings , what has ODLH done outside of boxing?

Seriously, some of you need to widen your horizon. America isn't the whole wide world

 

atsch

 

I really think that point is overstated. The last thing I want to do is turn this in a Bruce Lee debate, it's been done to death. But Lee's impact came after his death and it mostly inspired cheesy dojo's and Kung Fu movies. For all you know Manny could conceivably become the president of PH and his boxing achievements already dwarfs Lee's accomplishments. Bruce Lee is very well known, i'm not disputing that, but the standard is Ali, or at least it is for sports and no athlete for a log time will come close to being as big as Ali.

 

A cultural icon has to be a representative of a particular group of people, place, or event. Sure Ali opposed the war in Vietnam, but was he the face of it? Was he the face of sports during his time? Pac represents a whole country. That's why I think he is greater than Ali in that aspect.

To better explain my argument, compare a famous singer like Lady Gaga to North Korea's Kim Jong Il. While Lady Gaga is more recognizable worldwide and has certainly won more awards than North Korea's supreme leader, he is a bigger cultural icon than her because he is the face of that country. Lady Gaga can't even claim to be the face of whatever genre of music she sings.

 

You put a pic of pac and a pic of ali, and pass it round the world. 9 out of 10 people would know who Ali is. You cant say the same for pac.

 

I was talking about less than guys like SRR, Armstrong, Moore etc

not less than Pac obviously

 

this post says it all.

 

No comment

 

without a flinch?

He flinched at random drug testing against mayweather.

He flinched at fighting Mosley who was the number 1 WW at the time.

He flinched at fighting Paul Williams.

He flinched at giving Marquez a 3rd fight.

Pac is human he is allowed to flinch. So stop pretending like he superman.

 

Ali would be more recognizable. However, being recognized more does not make you a cultural icon. You have to be attached to something really important to be one. I don't think Ali as the face of boxing, I don't think he represents African-Americans at least the way Martin Luther King did, and I don't think he was the face of the war in Vietnam.

 

He was all those things to a greater or lesser extent. Not only that, but a cultural icon need not be limited by something so small and parochial as a 'country'. Cultures are larger than countries. Ali was global.

 

The people flinching are the people around him.

 

Not being funny, but you clearly don't have any idea who Ali is. When you mention boxing you immediately think of Ali. You ask anyone around the world to name a famous boxer they would say Ali. Ali was and is a world icon like Pele, Michael Jackson, Michael Jordon is in their respective fields.

People who don't even watch boxing will tell you that Ali was the greatest boxer to ever live, without ever hearing of the likes of sugar ray robinson.

For you to suggest Ali is not a cultural icon is laughable, Ali is a WORLD ICON.

 

No one would know who Mayweather is even if you put his picture twice bigger than both.

Or if anybody recognizes him, it would be as a ducker or Ellerbe's boy.