This is a repost.
I think Manny Pacquiao wants a brawl to build the next big boxing star.
I mean love or hate Juan Manuel Marquez but man, did Pacquiao's stock rose when he chased Pacquiao for nearly a decade.
But there have been a ton of Pacquiao opponents that never got to the level of what was perceived. They were either tomato cans or cannon fodders that were sent to battle The Fighting Pride of the Philippines to pad his win-loss record.
Now I know prior to Lehlo Ledwaba, he had an awesome Blow by Blow career. Blow by Blow is a boxing program produced by Vintage (or Viva-Vintage when the two forces merged in the late 90s) and Pacquiao is one of their top attractions. With that said, Pacquiao got his first taste of fanfare in the United States when he became the South African’s last-minute opponent and needed just six rounds to shock the world and to capture the IBF super bantamweight title.
With that said, Pacquiao truly gained superstardom when he fought Marco Antonio Barrera.
So the Baby-Faced Assassin would serve as the starting point for this list. This makes the likes of Emmanuel Lucero, Jorge Eliecer Julio, and Kazakh Serikzhan Yeshmagambetov off the list.
Also excluded from this list is Oscar de la Hoya. The Golden Boy never benefited from his Pacquiao match because he went on to retire from the sport right after his match. The same can also be said to Lucas Matthysse and Adrien Broner… if they decide to continue their careers after the Pacman beatdown. I know the Argentine has called it quits but he’s only 36. Broner? I guess he’ll do other things since he has yet to reach 30 as of this writing.
I think Yordenis Ugas can create a neat route to the top but he's a couple of years younger than The Pac-Man.
7 | CHRIS ALGIERI
PACQUIAO VS ALGIERI MATCH | NOVEMBER 23, 2014
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 4 WINS AND 2 LOSSES
Chris Algieri came to the fight with an undefeated record. The Fighting Collegian, unfortunately, would leave Macau with the first blemish of his pro career after falling six times in the match. Since the match, Algieri has entered the squared circle five times with a so-so 60 percent win rate. Algieri won against the likes of Erick Bone, Angel Hernandez, and Danny Gonzalez but sustain losses against top stars like Amir Khan and Errol Spence. Last June 1, Algieri retained his WBO International light welterweight title against Danny Coyle.
6 | BRANDON RIOS
PACQUIAO VS RIOS MATCH | NOVEMBER 24, 2013
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 4 WINS (3 KOS) AND 3 LOSSES
Bam Bam Rios fought Pacquiao in what is to be known as The Clash in Cotai. Rios’ match with Pacman also came to be known as the second loss of his career. Rios was outmatched but was able to last for the entirety of the bout. While Rios enjoyed a 3-million dollar purse, his career never got the upward push. Since fighting Pacquiao, Rios has a 4-3 win-loss record in which he lost to the likes of Timothy Bradley, Danny Garcia, and most recently to Humberto Soto.
5 | ANTONIO MARGARITO
PACQUIAO VS MARGARITO MATCH | NOVEMBER 13, 2010
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 3 WINS (NO KOS) AND 1 LOSS
Dubbed as The Tornado from Tijuana, Margarito is too good for this list. This list is cluttered with bonafide scrubs… but why is Margarito on this list? I guess it had to do with the damage Margarito sustained in this match. After losing to Pacquiao, Margarito re-ignited his feud with Miguel Cotto. After ten rounds, the referees stopped the fight because of Margarito’s eye. This is the same eye that got injured in his match with Pacquiao. El Tornado would stay away from boxing for nearly five years before returning in 2016 to beat Jorge Paez.
4 | SHANE MOSLEY
PACQUIAO VS MOSLEY MATCH | MAY 7, 2011
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 3 WINS (2 KOS) AND 3 LOSSES
In 1998, Sugar Shane Mosley was named Fighter of the Year. This fact is important since he was nearing his 40th birthday when the Pacquiao fight rolled through. The match was one-sided and even with a bonus knockdown, all three judges scored the bout for Pacquiao. After the match, Mosley managed to compile a record of three wins, three losses, and three retirements. Prior to Pacquiao, Mosley had already lost to boxing studs like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Vernon Forrest, Winky Wright, and Miguel Cotto and would lose to Canelo Alvarez right after. Mosley would fall to Anthony Mundine and David Avanesyan en route to his final retirement in 2016.
3 | DAVID DIAZ
PACQUIAO VS DIAZ MATCH | JUNE 28, 2008
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 2 WINS AND 2 LOSSES
David Diaz is no patsy. Let me say that. Prior to his defeat to Pacquiao, Dangerous David Diaz won against Erik Morales. Sure, the win may be controversial but Diaz was able to exploit the situation. When he fought Pacquiao, Diaz scored the best payday of his career. He also went down with a ninth-round knockout. For eight straight bouts, Pacquiao fought against Mexicans, and dealing with the Americans is a nice change of pace. With that said, Diaz would eventually retire from the sport. He scored 2 wins and 2 losses after fighting Pacquiao with one of the two losses being Humberto Soto.
2 | RICKY HATTON
PACQUIAO VS HATTON MATCH | MAY 2, 2009
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA KNOCKOUT
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 0 WINS AND 1 LOSS
Ricky Hatton is that dude who could care less with the bumps and bruises for as long as he can deliver the knockout blow. And for 43 straight fights, The Hitman did just that. However, like most welterweights of his time, some dude whispered in his ear that he had what it takes to defeat Floyd “Money” Mayweather, and yeah, that battle between two undefeated fighters didn’t end well for Hatton. In fact, Mayweather ended the match in the tenth round and that defeat exposed Hatton’s weaknesses. Freddie Roach revealed his battle plan to exploit Hatton’s style to Pacquiao’s liking but The Hitman just shrugged this off and it kind of became his undoing. Now we have seen the insane two-round beatdown Pacquiao exalted on Hatton and unfortunately, his post-match depression has its share of articles as well. Hatton would fight one more match before calling it a career. After three years of inactivity, Hatton fought Vyacheslav Senchenko to a ninth-round defeat in which he was sent to the canvass on a hook that was once his signature. He has since reverted into training and promoting fighters, with WBA super bantamweight champion Zhanat Zhakiyanov as his most successful project.
1 | HECTOR VELAZQUEZ
PACQUIAO VS VELAZQUEZ MATCH | SEPTEMBER 10, 2005
OUTCOME | DEFEAT VIA TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT
RECORD AFTER PACQUIAO | 14 WINS, 19 LOSSES, AND 1 DRAW
After a drained and dehydrated Manny Pacquiao lost his lineal flyweight title to Thailand’s 3K Battery, Pambansang Kamao went on a tear. Thirteen of Pacquiao’s last fifteen fights were wins and the rest turned into a pair of draws (one against Agapito Sanchez and the other against Juan Manuel Marquez). And while his loss to Erik Morales was a hard-fought defeat, Pacquiao is understandably pissed with the outcome. So yeah… poor Hector Velazquez. After six rounds, Pacquiao would knock the living daylights off the 30-year-old Velazquez.
The thing about this match though is that Pacquiao at this point is a borderline main eventer. In the same event, Morales would lose the main event to Zahir “Z-Man” Raheem. The match won Ring Magazine’s Upset of the Year in 2005 but unfortunately for Raheem, it didn’t materialize into anything as Morales would go on to face Pacquiao for a second time. Now it’s worse for Velazquez because he never got another big match and in fact, would win just two of his last thirteen fights before calling it a career.
The only good thing about Velazquez: at least he never lost against Bobby “Bobby Low Blow” Pacquiao.
If I am going to add three more names to this list, I’ll probably have Jessie Vargas (two wins and two draws), Joshua Clottey (five wins and one loss), and Oscar Larios (seven wins and two losses).
I know Jeff Horn can be added to this list but like Timothy Bradley, Horn was able to win their Pacquiao match and gain a title in the process.
So there you have it.
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