Pacquiao is the greatest boxer and I have seen them all, says Bob Arum

Manny Pacquiao celebrates after defeating Miguel Cotto in their WBO welterweight fight at the MGM Grand. Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Manny Pacquiao was in extraordinary form last night, both inside the ring, where he dismantled Miguel Cotto to win a world title in a seventh different weight division (a record), and outside the ring, where he interrupted his jovial post-fight press conference to sing a love song. "I'm just ordinary," the always humble Manny had said earlier in the proceedings. As a singer, perhaps. As a boxer, not a chance.

It is always hard to separate the reality from the fantasy in the world of professional boxing, especially when ageless circus barkers like Bob Arum are involved, but one of the many beauties about having Pacquiao around is that he makes everyone's life easier.

He is hyperbole made flesh, the man for whom no claim is too outlandish. So it is that when Arum, who promotes the Filipino's fights, steps up the microphone and says Pacquiao is the "Tiger Woods of boxing" those who are listening are inclined to give the suggestion a fair hearing. Likewise when Arum stood up and said, as he did in the aftermath of last night's display, that Pacquiao is the greatest boxer he had ever seen "and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard", no one laughed, they simply started debating.

Is the Filipino that good? Well, the truth of it is we will never know. Cross-generational comparisons in sport are the every definition of futility– like trying to catch a deluge in a paper cup, as a wise songwriter once decreed.

Is he better than Ali? You might as well ask if Arkle was better than Sea The Stars. Same animal, different sport altogether.

Still, there are some things we can say about Pacquiao that are surely beyond debate, the first being that as a boxer he has exceeded all expectations, perhaps even his own. He certainly made fools of those, like Ricky Hatton, who suggested prior to last night's contest at the GM Grand in Las Vegas that he would have neither the stamina to go the distance with Cotto, far less beat him.

Not only did he beat the Puerto Rican, he humbled him, just as he had humbled the aforementioned Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya in his two previous appearances in the same arena. Those victories illustrated Pacquiao's ring mobility and hand-speed, securing his reputation as the most naturally gifted boxer of his generation. Last night's fight proved he is also one of the toughest and strongest. As for the unofficial title best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? Well, the jury has all but made its decision, although wise counsel suggests that one more piece of evidence in required.

The mercurial Floyd Mayweather Jr was nowhere to be seen around the MGM Grand last night, but his presence was felt everywhere and it will be demanded when the world of boxing gathers assembles once again for one of these occasions. Pending the usual behind-the-scenes horse-trading and front-of-house finger-pointing, it is unimaginable that the American and the Filipino will not meet in the ring sometime within the next year. The appetite is too great for it not to happen, and so are the financial rewards for the two protagonists.

Who would win? Both will have their supporters, but if Pacquiao emerges victorious yet again Arum could step up to the microphone and describe his man as the Second Coming and no one will argue.

Commentary: The Tiger Woods of boxing...hmmm. I think the best description is the greatest of the greatest boxer in the history of the sport. A phenomenon which we may never see again in our lifetime.


Source: Pacquiao is the greatest boxer and I have seen them all, says Bob Arum

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