Jon Turner
Manny Pacquiao has the honour of being the only boxer to have won world titles in eight different weight divisions, amassing 10 titles in total. Should he beat Floyd Mayweather Jr on Saturday, he will increase that tally to 12.
Ahead of the Las Vegas fight, Jon Turner picks Pacquiao’s five most defining world titles.
1) WBC world flyweight title vs Chatcai Saskul, December 1998 (112lbs)
Perhaps the least heralded of Pacquiao’s world titles, but as it was his first, it rightly deserves a place on this list. While Sassakul is perhaps not the household name of other Pacquiao conquests, the Thai entered the fight having lost just once in his career – to Yuri Arbachakov, who he subsequently beat to end the Russian’s 10-fight title defence of the WBC strap.
Having successfully defended his title twice, Sasakul ran into trouble when he met Pacquiao, aged 19 at the time, in Thailand. Before the eighth round knockout, Pacquiao was down on all three judge’s scorecards, but that mattered little when he unloaded a barrage of punches, culminating in a straight left that landed flush on Sasakul’s jaw. Pacquiao had won his first world title.
2) IBF World super bantamweight title vs Lehlo Ledwaba, June 2001 (122lbs)
This fight truly was the start of Pacquiao’s path towards superstardom. It was the Filipino’s first fight in the United States, and his first on HBO – the network that would eventually secure Pacquiao to an exclusive deal. It was also his first under a new trainer – a certain Freddie Roach. On top of all that, he took this fight at two weeks’ notice. Pacquiao went about destroying the South African champion from the start. Ledwaba was bleeding from the nose by the end of Round 1. Pacquiao then had Ledwaba down in the second, had him wobbling in the fourth and fifth, and had him down again in the sixth. When a trademark Pacquiao assault had Ledwaba down yet again in Round 6, referee Joe Cortez decided enough was enough. The States had no choice but to sit up and notice the Pac-Man.
Listen: Jon Turner and Steve Luckings debate whether Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather will come out on top
3) WBC world super featherweight title vs Juan Manuel Marquez, March 2008 (130lbs)
The second in their four-part series of fights, Pacquiao and Marquez had drawn the first instalment in 2004, and four years later the pair were back in Las Vegas to settle the score. However, this was another contentious affair, with Pacquiao winning the fight and the WBC belt by split decision after a close contest. Marquez landed more punches at a higher percentage, although Pacquiao’s come-forward style – alongside a third round knockdown – handed the edge to Pacquiao according to two of the three judges. Marquez’s camp cried foul, believing their fighter won the contest and demanded a rematch, which Pacquiao refused having set his sights on a move up to lightweight and David Diaz’s WBC world title.
4) WBC World lightweight title vs David Diaz, June 2008 (135lbs)
Three months after his win over Marquez, Pacquiao made the step up to lightweight to face American WBC champion Diaz. The added weight made no difference to Pacquiao’s ferocious speed, dominating the fight before ending it with a ninth round knockout. Diaz, whose face was a swollen mess by the end of the fight, acknowledged he could not handle the pace of his opponent. “It was his speed. It was all his speed,” he said. “I could see the punches, but he was just too fast.” The victory meant Pacquiao became the first Asian boxer to win world titles in five weight divisions.
5) WBO world welterweight title vs Miguel Cotto, November 2009 (147lbs)
Following the Diaz win, Pacquiao increased his profile in the sport further with stoppage victories against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
But it was his performance against Cotto that not only earned Pacquiao his first world title at welterweight, but also cemented his claim as being the best pound-for-pound fighter of his generation.
Pacquiao won all but one round of the first eleven of the bout with Cotto, according to the judges’ scorecards.
By the time of the final round, the punishment became too much for Cotto, who had already been knocked down in the third and fourth rounds. When another Pacquiao onslaught left him unable to continue and referee Kenny Bayliss stepped in to end the brutality, Pacquiao was now the first ever seven-division world champion.
jturner@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE