SEAN ROMAN ON: BOXING

101 years ago, heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson (209lbs), knocked out great middleweight Stanley Ketchel (160 lbs) in the 12th round of their infamous bout. There is great video footage of this fight available should you ever want to take a peek; and free clips are on YouTube.

It may have been in this 100 year old fight that the popular boxing phrase was coined:

“A good small man just does not beat a good big man.” Nevertheless, there is one modern fighter, Fillipino Icon, Manny Pacquiao, that just may defy all boxing maxims that would attempt to limit him. Manny Pacquiao is simply a once in a generation athlete. At this point, if Manny lumped-up Vitali Klitschko, I would only be moderately surprised.

Two years ago, Manny beat Oscar De La Hoya into retirement after eight one sided rounds. The most marketable boxer of the modern era finished his career on his stool. Before that fight, many observers, including myself, thought Pacquiao was fighting too far above his natural weight limit.

Last year, Pacquiao took on another heavier superstar, Miguel Cotto, at 145 pounds (a catch-weight). The effort was completely one sided, with Pacquiao knocking his opponent down in rounds three and four before the referee stepped during the final round. It is paradoxical to recall that Cotto showed a lot of heart in this fight, when he was humbled by a man he should have bullied.

Most recently, Manny Pacquiao fought Antonio Margarito in the Super Welterweight Division, at a catchweight of 150 pounds. On the day of the fight, Pacquiao weighed 148 and Margarito weighed 165 pounds. The difference in size was glaring and I thought that this time, Pacquiao had surely bitten off more than he could chew.

However, once that bell rang, Manny Pacquiao became that image a few of us still hold of Mike Tyson, when he was demolishing taller and heavier opposition. Manny used superior hand speed, lateral movement, and raw punching power to punish Margarito.

In the eleventh round, in a showing of tremendous sportsmanship, Pacquiao held up his punches and looked to the referee to call a halt to the contest. The fight was not called and the result was that Margarito suffered an orbital bone fracture and needed to undergo an emergency surgical procedure. Boxing is really one hell of a way to make a living.

I remember a few years ago, Felix Trinidad, attempted a comeback and faced off against Roy Jones, Jr. Felix simply could not overcome the size difference. This was the way the Pacquiao-Margarito fight was supposed to go.

How Manny can step into the ring against opponents so naturally bigger and beat them pillar to post, is a feat that can not be overstated. It makes Manny Pacquiao a true legend of the game.