Manny Pacquiao makes his return to boxing after a near four-year absence.
The eight-division world champion, an indisputable all-time great of the sport, will aim to turn back the clock at 46 years of age when he takes on WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Even though Barrios is hardly ranked among the elite when it comes to boxing’s myriad world champions, a Pacquiao win would be classed as a huge upset and goes against all logic, given his lengthy absence and advancing years.
It is to be hoped the spectacle is not too lamentable, given Pacquiao’s fabulous deeds at his lengthy peak across multiple weight divisions.
Here, we rank his greatest nights.
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Manny Pacquiao’s nine best fights, ranked
9. Antonio Margarito (UD 12): November 13, 2010
Pacquiao ruled in a record eighth weight category when he faced Mexican warrior Margarito for the vacant WBO super welterweight title. There was some catchweight chicanery, with Margarito only able to weigh 150 pounds, four pounds inside the usual division limit. The diminutive Pacquiao tipped the scales two and a half pounds within the welterweight limit, but the size difference did not prevent him from meting out a hellacious and one-sided beating.
8. Oscar De La Hoya (RTD 8/12): December 6, 2008
Victory over faded pound-for-pound star De La Hoya was a breakout triumph in terms of Pacquiao becoming a mainstream attraction. In truth, it hasn’t aged brilliantly in terms of its overall significance to the greatness of ‘Pacman’, given how horribly depleted De La Hoya was after boiling down to welterweight for the first time since his March 2001 stoppage of Arturo Gatti. Nevertheless, few gave Pacquiao a chance beforehand given he’d never previously campaigned above lightweight, and the sight of him beating up the remnants of the ‘Golden Boy’ shocked the sporting world.
7. David Diaz (TKO 9/12): June 28, 2008
Given the division-jumping and high-profile world title fights that followed, this one has faded in the popular imagination, but it was the first time Pacquiao truly ran roughshod over the logic of weight classes. The one-time flyweight and super bantamweight champion had settled at feather and super featherweight for the previous five years and lightweight felt like a leap. But Diaz found himself overmatched, beguiled by Pacquiao’s speed and combinations and lost every completed round on the scorecards. It marked the start of Manny’s imperial period.
6. Lehlo Ledwaba (TKO 6/12): June 23, 2001
Pacquiao made an explosive U.S. debut at the MGM Grand as his enduring alliance with trainer Freddie Roach instantly caught fire. Reigning IBF super bantamweight Ledwaba was caught in a storm from the first bell, had his nose bloodied in the opener and was decked in round two. A shellacking followed before he was dropped twice more and stopped in the sixth.
5. Tim Bradley (UD 12): April 9, 2016
This should have been the perfect farewell. Returning to action following shoulder surgery in the aftermath of his defeat to Floyd Mayweather in May 2015, Pacquiao pledged to retire after a rubber match with Bradley, who was awarded a farcical decision win over the Filipino superstar in June 2012. He rolled back the years with a sparkling display, dropping Bradley in rounds seven and nine. Seven months later, Pacquiao was back to face Jessie Vargas for the WBO welterweight title.
4. Ricky Hatton (KO 2/12): May 2, 2009
Given what happened afterwards for Hatton, many group this win with the De La Hoya victory that preceded it — simply Pacquiao beating up on a loved former champion who had seen better days. However, it’s worth remembering that Hatton had never lost in the light-welterweight division, where he was the lineal champion and coming off a one-sided win over Paulie Malignaggi. In the event, he barely got out of round one, as Pacquiao floored him twice and left him utterly bedraggled. Hatton appeared to have regrouped in the second before Pacquiao unleashed the left hook from hell to turn his lights out.
3. Erik Morales (TKO 10/12): January 21, 2006
Pacquiao gained a more emphatic victory over Morales in their trilogy meeting, when he knocked him out in the third round. But this revenge mission, after losing a close unanimous decision to the Mexican star in March 2005, was vintage Pacquiao. Manny had the best of a back-and-forth thriller before flooring Morales twice to end the argument at the start of the championship rounds.
2. Marco Antonio Barrera (TKO 11/12): November 11, 2003
Prior to the Morales rivalry and the showdowns with his great tormentor, Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao earned his “Mexicutioner” nickname with this banner victory over Barrera. The Ring Magazine featherweight champion was on a stunning run of wins over Naseem Hamed, Morales, Johnny Tapia and Kevin Kelly but was dominated by Pacquiao, despite the challenger erroneously having a knockdown called against him in the opener. Barrera was floored in round three and stopped in the penultimate session.
1. Miguel Cotto (TKO 12/12): November 14, 2009
Cotto was Pacquiao’s next victim after De La Hoya and Hatton. Unlike his fellow Hall of Famers, the Puerto Rican hung with Pacquiao early on and went on to achieve great things after his eventual one-sided defeat. Ultimately, neither the reigning WBO welterweight champion nor anyone else could compete with Pacquiao’s lethal combination of speed, skill and vicious, voluminous combination punching at this time. After being dropped in rounds three and four, Cotto eventually had the phenomenal reserves of fight beaten out of him two minutes before the final bell.
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