PAC-JMM 3 enhances Pacquiao’s legacy

I’ve seen a number of posts and articles stating that Pacquiao’s legacy took a hit last Saturday, and I disagree. Well, maybe in the short term. But in the long term, I think his last fight will actually enhance his legacy. 40-50 years from now PAC-JMM 3 will be counted among Pac’s great wins.

• Boxing historians of the future will view this fight with an entirely different set of expectations. I personally didn’t watch this fight in real time. When I finally was able to watch it, I didn’t understand all the hysterical cries of robbery. It was a very close, highly competitive fight. And I have noticed this in several posts and articles in the media by people who didn’t watch it live. Most of them couldn’t see what all the hoopla was about. 40 years into the future, when the hoopla is gone, this fight will be viewed objectively and, I think, more favorably in Pacquiao’s regard.

• Boxing historians of the future will view this fight only in the context of the legacy of Pacquiao and his era’s Fab Four, with little regard to all the peripheral shenanigans that surrounded it. Without the shenanigans, this fight will stand as but a single piece of a brilliant trilogy between two ATG fighters.

• Anything that enhances the 2000 Fab Four enhances Pacquiao’s legacy. Pac/JMM/MAB/Erik’s legacies are interconnected. And Pac’s legacy especially is defined in large part by the Fab Four. PAC-JMM 3 ultimately enhances the Fab Four and emphasizes how great all its members truly are. Before this fight, JMM was generally perceived as the weakest link. After this fight, JMM comes abreast with the other three. After this fight, there is no longer any doubt that all four are upper tier ATG fighters. Imagine if Pac just blew JMM away in the last fight. It will be dismissed as just another sad example of prime/shot fighters encounter. And there will be doubt in some quarters whether or not JMM is truly an ATG. Instead, what transpired gives a proper measure of the level of brilliance the Fab Four were operating at all this time. And yet, only a handful will deny that Pacquiao will come out shining the brightest among the four.

• *****s of the present will become *******s of the future, and *******s of the present will become *****s of the future. Boxing fans of the present will treasure this era and defend it against the criticism of future fans. When a future fan says that Pacman will get clowned by a future superstar, a grizzled ***** would put him in his place. When a future fan says that Floyd will get bulldozed by a future beast, a wizened ******* will chew him to pieces. That is to say, the superstars of today will be held in reverence by its contemporary fans, when all is said and done.

By the way, yes, you can call me a *******.