We're talking prime Pacquiao though, right? So we're not even discussing current SMW. ...but if that IS what we're doing, then okay... Current slowed-down Pac, in your opinion, wins matched against super middleweights? I'd be skeptical of his chances of victory over anyone in the 168lb top 15-20, even as bad as you (rightly) say the division is. The guy that iced Badou Jack that one time is probably a bridge (way) too far, let alone the champs, mediocre as they may be in historical context against guys like Calzaghe or Kessler (or even Reid and Ottke)
Pac was much too small, even for his jrMW fight. Saunders size and length, not to mention his ability in the ring, would be too much for the tiny opponent.
I think Pacman would win from Chavez Jr losing too much blood from all the cuts to his face to carry on. In my head it would be similar to Margo vs Pacman. Those long lanky arms of C Jr though, may be too much for Pac to do his combos.
Whoa whoa whoa. First off, BJS isn't some bum. He's probably inferior to Maravilla, yes, but not by all THAT much. Chávez Jr. on the other hand IS. You can't lump BJS and JCC Jr. together.
I don't know. BJS and Chavez are both naturally bigger than Sergio was. Martinez was more of a natural 154 pound guy, even when he was middleweight champion. Chavez is the least talented of the bunch, so MAYBE 09/10 Pac could do what he did to Margo against JCC, but the Chavez who fought Andy Lee.... again, there is a reason Pac never had a legit fight north of 147.
Chavez Jr. is tailor made for Pacquiao. A slow, plodding, technically lacking, pressure fighter. I cannot even dream of a more stylistic friendly matchup for Pac than a fighter like that. If prime Pacquiao fought Chavez at 160 he'd be a 9 division champ.
Being a big name =/= being a champ ever =/= being all that great. People often forget those are three separate things with no guaranteed overlap.
I don't know, IB. I suppose Pac COULD beat JCC Jr at 160. But JCC at 160 (the JCC who fought Andy Lee) is enormous compared to 150 pound Margo.
I'm not even sure what weight Jr is best at any more. I think he should be the one to balloon up to HW to fight Haye tbf
Yeah, even while typing it I realize that my haste to agree is probably fueled more by my utter hatred of Julio than any objective evaluation. But I mean a ceiling fan almost retired the guy. Surely Pac hits harder than a trapezoidal plane of thin plastic??
Wasn't Sergio stripped because he didn't want to fight his mandatory and then Chavez won the vacant title? Which Sergio regained when he fought Chavez? I think that's what happened. I remember it because it was a pretty screwed up and corrupt debacle. So technically Chavez was a champion at 160 even if he shouldn't have been.
Agreed. I like Pacquaio far more than I like Chavez Jr, but I'd take a fully focussed version of JCC Jr over Pacquaio just because of size. Granted, it's a great stylistic matchup for Pac, but JCC Jr is a big middleweight. There's probably more than three divisions or so between them in natural size. I'm sure Chavez Jr's past opponents Andy Lee or especially Fonfara would brutalize Pacquaio early.