Manny Pacquiao: Can He Become a Bigger Star?

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Manny Pacquiao: Can He Become a Bigger Star?
By Antonio Santiago-May 5, 2008

When a person has it all and said person’s birthday is around, the perennial question is: What can one get the person that has it all? Similarly, when a person has achieved heights that are unimaginable in a professional career, the question then is: What else does that person has to reach? In Manny Pacquiao’s case, it’s difficult to tell, because he has done more than anyone could have imagined for him, especially when, as a flyweight many moons ago, in 1996, he was being knocked out in three rounds by Rustico Torrecampo.

It takes special fighters, like Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross and Pernell Whitaker, to really succeed in many different weight categories. Pacquiao has proven to be among those. He may not be a Armstrong or Ross, but he is close to being a modern version of them. Manny is an idol in the Philippines who is larger there than Tom Cruise. He has a budding film and political career and, shall he run for President someday, my money would be safe in Las Vegas if I bet that he will win the Presidency. He has seemingly been blessed by life with a touch of gold, much like the Midas King of fairy tales. Without winning boxing titles, most of his outside the ring accomplishments would not be possible, of course, but he has the talent and desire to make real big things in life.

It is that same talent and desire, that led him to winning world titles in boxing at the Flyweight, Super Bantamweight and Super Featherweight divisions, as well as wins over Jorge Eliecer Julio, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as an induction in the International Boxing Hall of Fame that’s as secure as Frank Sinatra’s status as a singing legend. Pacquiao has a number of fighters who are lining up to fight him, and that list also reads like a who’s who of the junior lightweight and lightweight division, including Juan Manuel Marquez a third time, Juan Manuel Lopez, Juan Diaz, WBA Lightweight Champion Nate Campbell, Julio Diaz and many others. For now, Pacquiao will face WBC Lightweight Champion, David Diaz on June 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada. If he wins, he will join the small but growing group of boxing’s four division champions.

After the bout with David Diaz is over, one has to accompany the question of whether he has to achieve more, with another one, which is: Does he want to achieve more? Both in his personal and his sports life. He could, say, write a book, and it may not garner him a Nobel Award in literacy but it would surely sell millions of copies to people like, me. Or he could just want to retire to dedicate himself to his family and children. He could also just prefer to keep making movies or aspiring for office in Manila. After all, talking in front of a camera or to a bunch of bystanders feels much better than receiving a jab on the nose. Or maybe he just feels hungry enough to keep going in boxing, and he is looking forward to cleaning the lightweights, giving a couple of guys, Marquez, for example, a couple of rematches here and there and then pursue the junior welterweights, where people like Jose Luis Castillo, yet another Mexican Pacquiao would surely like to add to his list of vanquished Mexican rivals-Ricky Hatton, Juan Urango, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricardo Torres and Junior Witter, among many, would make good matchups with the Pac Man.

The one problem with the junior welterweight division is, that, even as those guys would all make great fights against Pacquiao, the only one figuring to make a lot of money with Manny there is Ricky Hatton, so, unless a fight between Pacquiao and Hatton is made, we would probably not see Pacquiao invading what once was Aaron Pryor’s kingdom, at least not in the immediate future anyways. That, of course, is all subject to Pacquiao beating David Diaz first, no small order.

The fight with Diaz will let us know a lot about Pac Man’s future because Diaz is a sweet boxing guy with only one defeat in 36 fights, and because Pacquiao is, once again, the one coming up in weight. The same has been said of Manny before, of course. How could a guy coming from being a flyweight once be able to dominate Morales and Barrera at junior lightweight? But he did dominate them and then some. Still, the lightweight division will be Pacquiao’s sixth different division and the more a boxer grows, the more he or she will likely to become slower and softer. Besides, Diaz will be fighting at a more natural weight than Pacquiao, having actually started his career as a junior welterweight before joining the lightweight ranks. Although history, and in this case, you may say “his story,” tells us Pacquiao has never been affected by weight gain, history also has a knack for favoring bigger boxers in a fight between the bigger, natural guy, and the smaller guy coming up.

It is likely that Manny Pacquiao has reached most of the achievements he was due inside boxing. He has had a long, great career that already made him a legend. Simply put, it would be irrational to ask much more of any human being. That doesn’t mean he has nothing else to achieve, on the contrary, I believe he has a good chance to beat David Diaz and achieve a major title in a fourth division. But based on what he has done, been through and seen, I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired sooner than later. That, however, is on the boxing side, because he will probably go on with his multiple personal interests and carry on as an actor, politician, pitchman and singer for many years to come. San Miguel beer is not likely to give up such a glamorous figure as Manny Pacquiao anytime soon, and even Clorox would look good if Manny, his powerful hands in tow, announced them. Outside the ring, Manny Pacquiao will hopefully keep making the sport a great deal for many years to come. Inside of it, who knows how long his body has left. He will always have the desire, no question about it, but the body’s the boss when the mind wants to go on nonstop.

Without question, Manny Pacquiao’s boxing career has to be enjoyed the same way one would enjoy a Monet or Rembrandt. He has painted a beautiful career and legacy for himself, filled with drawings of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and many others on the canvas, and the likes of Marquez and Larios on the side as points victory victims. Naturally, however, someday the artist will want to put the marker down, and that decision may come sooner than you think.

That is, because Manny Pacquiao has already achieved more than the vast majority of boxers in history.

 

I like this Article. We shared most of the stuff about Pac with this author. He just showed you guys how Pac will be written in the History Book. That Book is still being written and we might still see a much more wonderful ending into this story.

 

Duran was not American. Look how high he was rated on the All time Greatest list.

Here's a recent article about him:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=15521&more=1