Sal was way more proven against the elite than Manny right now. Sal beat great fighters in their prime like Nelson, Gomez, Lopez, etc., not like Manny past their prime, IMO Sanchez outpoints Manny and counter with hard right hands, and stop Pacquaio in the final rounds...
Create this matchup in the General Boxing Forum, and you will see that 95 % of the posters pick Manny, and please tell me what a prediction the whole Pacman- nuthuggers make... :yep Seriously, I agree with your answer...
Barrera was closer to his prime in 2003 than Nelson was after 13 pro fights. I have a tough time calling Danny Lopez a great fighter. A great puncher, yes, but not a great fighter. Sanchez would probably win but it's not an easy fight.
Sanchez UD He takes some hard punches down the pipe from Manny, but gets into a rhythm and figures Pacquiao out - staying right on top of him, making him miss, and shooting off quick countering combinations especially the straight right hand en route to a 116-112 decision in an exciting and competitive fight.
Of course it wouldn´t be easy, nobody would "easily" beat Manny at his best IMO, but Sal had the skillset to beat him...
Sanchez would win he is a nightmare match up for Pac he is a master counter puncher, alway calm no matter who he fights and has an excellent chin. Sanchez via TKO 13.
Sanchez would be able to take Pac's punches, and counter effectively. Pac's assault would not rattle him. He'd box his way to a fairly wide UD, or possibly win by late tko. It's interesting that Danny Lopez came up in a post above. I actually think Lopez/Pac would be a more exciting fight. Boo