Manny Pacquiao's Ten Greatest Fights

By Lee Payton

I have a feeling I'll need to revise this list in a couple weeks and find a spot for what takes place at the MGM Grand on November 14, but for now these are my top 10 greatest Manny Pacquiao fights.

Photos © Ray Kasprowicz

10. Won TKO8 Chatchai Sasakul - December 4, 1998- The fight that started it all. Manny traveled to Thailand and was being dominated by a respected champion until his freakish power came through. It was his very first world title.

9. Won TKO6 Lehlohonolo Ledwaba - June 23, 2001- Pacquiao made his debut on American TV as a late replacement. On just two weeks notice he crushed the South African veteran, and took his world title belt at 122 lbs in the process. His amazing speed and frightening power made the big boys at HBO take immediate notice.

8. Won TKO9 David Diaz - June 28, 2008- This fight is significant because Pacquiao earned a championship in his fifth weight class. There was never any doubt as to who the better fighter was, but the way he tortured a strong, rugged lightweight raised some eyebrows.

7. Won TKO8 Oscar De La Hoya - December 6, 2008 This was not a prime De La Hoya, but the thorough beating the Pac-Man delivered was still a big deal because it introduced the entire sports world to Manny Pacquiao. Going into the fight most fans and media people thought that the little man had finally bitten off more than he could chew. Instead, he put an end to The Golden Boy's career as a boxer.

6. Draw Juan Manuel Marquez - May 8, 2004- During the early part of their first epic encounter Manny's devastating power was on full display. If you watched him rip through Marquez' chin, dropping him 3 times in the very first round, you could hardly believe what was happening. Later on, it became obvious that the kid still needed some work. Pacquiao went from invincible to human right before our eyes. Only his indomitable will allowed him to hold onto the featherweight crown.

5. Won SD Juan Manuel Marquez - March 15, 2008- By the time these two warriors met again Manny had added a few new wrinkles to his already blistering arsenal. A thicker and tidier Pacquiao was taken to the brink once again by the great counter punching skills of his pesky adversary, despite nearly ending matters at the end of the third round. He was cut badly and had been hurt several times throughout the contest, but after 12 more rounds of tactical Hell, the fiery Filipino earned a very narrow victory.

4. Lost UD Erik Morales - March 19, 2005- I had a bit of a hard time finding a place for this fight, but decided on the #4 spot because, for my money at least, it was the most entertaining from start to finish. For the first time ever, he saw Pacquiao in with someone who could stand up to his explosive fists. He came out on the short end in this fight, but many times it's the losses that reveal the most about what a fighter has on the inside. When many pugs would have folded, Manny just dug deeper. Imagine how loud it was in the Philippines during that unforgettable final round...

3. Won KO2 Ricky Hatton - May 2, 2009- While Hatton is not on the same level of Morales or Marquez, he was the legit champion at 140 lbs. A former flyweight champ decimated the jr. welterweight king in 2 rounds. Let that sink in. One blast from his famous left fist finished what was already a hideous beating. The brutal conclusion made one thing clear- when it comes to Pacquiao, the supposed "laws" of boxing do not apply.

2. Won TKO10 Erik Morales - January 21, 2006- In many ways this was Manny greatest performance. It's not just the fact that he knocked out a legendary hard ass, it's how he went about it. After enduring a familiar cuffing in the early going, Pacquiao proved he was the best in the world by hanging in, and making the progress he made in the gym count for something under the lights. The "Baddest Man" torch was officially passed that evening.

1. Won TKO11 Marco Antonio Barrera - November 15, 2003- The Mexican icon was on top of his game. He had successfully switched from vicious attacker to a clever, heavy-handed boxer who was considered 1 of the 5 best fighters in the sport. In late 2003 Barrera put his World Featherweight Title on the line against a skinny Filipino not many people had heard much about. Hardcore boxing fans knew the kid was fast as lightning and fun to watch, but no one expected him to treat the future Hall Of Famer like a sparring partner. He assaulted Marco mercilessly, forcing the corner call a halt to the savage beating. Manny Pacquiao had exploded onto the scene suddenly and he's been blowing our minds ever since.

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Mark's Top 40 at 40: 4

Mark Lyons is back with the latest edition of his top 40 favorite fighters list.

Not surprisingly, the fighter coming in at #4 is a boxer/puncher who liked nothing better than to mix it up whenever the going got rough.

Take it away Mark...

4. Erik Morales Career Record: 48-6 (34) Three Favorite fights: Manny Pacquiao I UD12, Marco Antonio Barerra I SD12, In-Jin Chi UD12 Oh man, where to begin... I'll start with this- fistic church is now in session. This congregation only requires the lust for combat, unquenchable thirst to prove yourself and a jaw of concrete. Before it rained for 40 days and nights Erik gathered two of every species and they came because they knew what was good for them. Watching highlights of this man makes me choke up. He is the epitome of a warrior, such a merciless bad ass with balls so massive that his exceptional skills are underrated. Anywhere, anyone, anyway, all night long. Erik was Clint Eastwood. Even more apt, he was the real life Dirty Harry. Mean, ruthless, vindictive and yet still he was the good guy. A man who woke up in the morning, stuffed his balls in his holster, met another gladiator at the referee's instructions and said, "Go ahead, make my day". When you hit him with your best stuff he would come back at you with the tenacity and force of a hurricane. As if to say, "I'm Erik Morales, the most powerful entity in the world and my right hand can knock your head clean off. So you have to ask yourself a question. Do you feel lucky? Well do you, punk?" Many a punk tried, but none of them were lucky. We as boxing fans were the lucky ones. In a 33 month stretch at the end of glorious career he fought Marco Antonio Barerra, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez and Manny Pacquiao three times. That is a vicious schedule by today's standards. Manny is already establishing himself as one of history's absolute top fighters. Who knows how high he can climb? One thing I feel pretty certain of, you wont see someone else stare him down and kick his ass again. Manny showed off his greatness in the last half of the three wars, but El Terrible was there the whole time, begrudgingly wilting with the honor and glory of a fallen samurai. Oh yeah, there was another trilogy you may have heard of, against another all time great that included 2 violent wars and a fight where Erik was robbed after clearly out-boxing a man who wasn't there to fight. The first fight was as good and painfully violent as it gets. Both men asked no quarter and none was given. It could have went either way but the real winner was the world. That was Genesis. On the 19th day of February in the year 2000, Erik Morales created a fan that will never forget him. Slugfests with In Jun Chi and Guty Espadas were just par for the course. He didn't always win, (maybe he could have won more if he didn't think with his sack) but look me in the eye and tell me there is greater theater than watching him eat a vicious combination only to explode out of a cannon and drive his opponent into the ropes with blazing fists of revenge. You've all seen it, I don't have to recap everything. This isn't one of the guys from my youth that maybe only this old man and a few others saw. Southpaw in the 12th, defiantly hovering over Velardez' fallen body, blasting Diaz to the canvas in another screwjob, the unrelenting desire to prove his manhood and thrill us fans. You remember don't you? Do you feel lucky to have seen it? If you don't, you're a punk. Shortly Erik will be back. He is a young man and there are still infidels to punish. It wont end as well as I will pray for. But I can guarantee you one thing... he'll make sure you get your money's worth. Get up in the morning, crack a beer or a bottle, take your vitamins, say your prayers and prepare for Revelations. The final chapter of war and violence from boxing's Santa Claus. Thanks buddy, I'll be there, prayer book in hand, ready to rock 'n roll with the Lord. "Did you like that, Mark?" "Yeah Erik, I loved it!"

Mark's previous entries: Intro, 40-36, 35-31, 30-26, 25-21, 20-16, 15-13, 12-10, 9-8, 7-6 & 5.

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Score it!... Morales-Barrera I (Part 2)

We're back today with the second half of our look at the scoring of the classic first encounter between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Let's get right to it...

ROUND SEVEN






“Morales took the 7th with a multitude of uppercuts, outworking his shorter opponent on the inside.” - MN

“Another very close round. Anyone who calls this fight a "robbery" should be arrested. Morales was once again the busier man, but Barerra landed a brutal flurry at the beginning and again at the end of the round that did a lot of damage. The work in between by Erik was too much to overcome on my card.” – ML






“As with all these rounds, the separation between who is getting the best of it and who is getting the worst of it is pretty slim. Overall, Barrera's renewed aggression this round carries it, as he lands more of the head snapping shots.” – JP

“They spent most of this round forehead to forehead. I would have given the 7th to Morales, until he was stunned with a wicked combination that put him to sleep for a split second.” - LP


ROUND EIGHT








“Barrera has found something in his straight right hand, a punch he had been neglecting the last few rounds. He landed several clean ones, in addition to nice work to the body.” – MN

“It was a round of Barrera flurries and Morales rallies. The pattern now established is that Barrera's moments come when he has Morales against the ropes. Morales excels when he is hitting and turning Barrera in the center of the ring. Barrera had more of his moments than Morales this round.” – JP

ROUND NINE








“This was a hell of a round. Barrera landed some clean shots upstairs early, including one that buckled Morales’ knees along the ropes. However, Morales came back to dominate the next minute, and it looked like he might take it, only for Barrera to close strongly. I thought that overall, Barrera landed the most damaging shots of the round, so I gave it to him, but a case could have been made for Morales.” – AF

“This was another round where Morales was working so hard, you had to give it to him, but then he gets smacked by something unforgettable. It's such a tough call at this point, but I have to score the damage.” - LP


ROUND TEN








“Barrera landed a big hook at one stage that staggered Morales, but Morales landed several clean right hands during a spirited stretch in the middle of the round that was more than enough to earn it for him.” - AF

“Morales finds his range with the right hand, snapping Barrera's head back with a number of them. Barrera rallies late, and concludes the round with a damaging left hook to the body. Still, I gave the round to Morales.” - MN

“No matter how many times I watch this fight, I always come away amazed. My father is now standing for good and he said Holey Moley three times in this round. Not the commentary you're looking for but it speaks volumes. Erik staggered Barrera early in the round with a cross and the three right hands in a row off the ropes was brutal. MAB came back strong at the end. but it was too little too late.” – ML


ROUND ELEVEN







“Yet another swing round and there are many. Marco was really effective to the body and he managed a few big right hands as well. Morales continued to be busier, but he misses quite a few shots and a little steam is off of them.” – ML

“Morales targets sharp right hands up the middle and around the guard, while Marco concentrates on the body. I think those nasty blows to the ribs and gut were the hardest punches, so I gave the round to Barrera.” - LP





“This was a tight one, but I thought Morales did just a little more. He was more aggressive, and worked a touch harder.” - AF

“Morales edges the first two thirds of the round, but the last 30 seconds several body shots put him in "run out the clock" mode and Barrera senses it enough to come on strong and rally for the round. Who takes it? Flip a coin. I'll nudge it towards Morales, as his work over the first portion carried the round over Barrera's spurts.” - JP


ROUND TWELVE

Without scoring the knockdown...






“I thought Barrera earned the final round, as he forced the issue and carried much of the action, while Morales was content to circle and try and pick his spots. As for the knockdown, it's unfortunately the difference in the fight on my card if I'm forced to score it.” - AF

“Morales landed a couple of eye catching right hands in the early going, but Barrera hurt Morales with a combination. Morales tried to come back after the slip but it's a bit too late. Larry Merchant's 12 second countdown is one of the more obnoxious things he's ever done.” – MN

“Morales was slightly ahead in the first two minutes of the round, but Barrera did hurt him with a hook about 20 seconds before the mistakenly ruled knockdown” – ML







“Morales does more the first couple minutes, controlling the pace of the fight and landing several big blows. Then Barrera lands a series of damaging shots which drive Morales stumbling into the ropes. Next we have the slip, called as a knockdown, after which Morales serves a volley of blows in the waning moments to try and make up for it. I felt Morales edged the round, though the knockdown fiasco and crowd reaction gives the impression Barrera owned it.” – JP

“The knockdown at the end is totally meaningless, so I think it's perfectly legit to ignore it. I understand that the judges have to take the point away from Morales, but we're not judging from ringside, nor are we scoring the fight live, so I'm going to deal with reality. The reality is there is no reason to deduct from Erik Morales in the 12th round, and I felt he did enough to win it, although it's still not enough to give him the fight on my scorecard.” - LP

Scoring the knockdown...










Without counting the knockdown, we've got two scorecards with a slight edge to Barrera, two draws, and one card with Morales in front. Taking the knockdown into consideration - and an official judge MUST do that - we've now got four scorecards in favor of Barrera.

Had that been the difference on the official cards, the controversy over the result would have no doubt been just as great from Morales supporters as it ended up being from those who felt Barrera really won.

However, the mistake by referee Mitch Halpern ended up having only a minor baring on the official result, as two of the three judges, Dalby Shirley and Carol Castellano still had Morales in front by scores of 115-112 and 114-113 respectively. The knockdown was the difference on Duane Ford's card. He had it in favor of Barrera, 114-113.

How did you score it? Let us know.

Check out Part 1 from yesterday.
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Score it!... Morales-Barrera I (Part 1)

The Boxing Bulletin's Scorecard feature, Score it!... is back, and this month we'll be taking a look at the classic first encounter between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Heading into the bout, most fans picked the undefeated Morales to come out on top of Barrera... and according to two of the three judges, he did. The verdict however was not without a fair amount of controversy, with many observers feeling Barrera had been robbed of the decision.

Let's go back to the Mandalay Bay, February 19, 2000...

The Boxing Bulletin have assembled a panel of our writers to judge the fight and explain their scores.

The Judges: Lee Payton, Mark Lyons, Michael Nelson, Jeff Pryor and Andrew Fruman.

Today, we'll break down rounds 1-6.

ROUND ONE






“The tone was set for the intensity of the bout, when Morales landed a low blow, and offered out his glove to apologize, only for Barrera to ignore him. Barrera came out the more aggressive of the two, and carried the first half of the round. Morales had a better second half, but it wasn’t enough to swing things in his favor.” – AF

“Morales tried to counter Barrera's rushes, with his own power shots, but got the worst of the exchanges. He picked it up over the last minute, but it wasn't enough.” - LP





“HBO appears to favor Barrera's work, not paying much lip service to the blows Morales gets in. With fifteen seconds left Morales delivers a clean left hookercut between Barrera's gloves, perhaps the best punch of the opening stanza, and which punctuates his work over the final two minutes of the round. “- JP

“The fury is immediate and awesome. Morales blocked quite a few of Marco's punches contrary to Lampley's orgasmic seizures. Very difficult round to score. Marco did get in some hard body shots, but I favored Morales as I felt he did more damage with his cross and uppercuts to the head.” - ML

ROUND TWO








“The dial gets cranked another notch higher. Barrera lands some big shots this round, both to the body and head. Morales delivers a number of his own... just not as many. It's a round to admire the skill and punching versatility each man has; they each land damaging blows with every punch imaginable, from jabs to hooks, and uppercuts to straight rights.” – JP

“Barrera landed some scorching combo's in particularly a double hook to the body/left uppercut to the head. Every time he lands Morales comes right back, but I gave it to Barrera on his body work and some hard clean shots to the head.” - ML


ROUND THREE







“Morales came out a bit busier, and tried to take the lead a little more. I thought he had a slight edge through the first minute, and finished nicely to earn the round on my card.” – AF

“Morales comes out bouncing on his toes, and is elusive for the first minute. Barrera gets inside and continues his body assault. It looks like another Barrera round, until Morales finishes strong, getting Barrera's attention with a flush uppercut. Tough to score; I give it to Morales.” – MN





“Through the first minute and a half Morales edges Barrera, landing short uppercuts and generally working harder to land his punches. At midpoint of the round Barrera begins to drive Morales into the ropes and unleash combinations on him. Morales lands his share in the exchanges too, though he his punches are lacking the eye catching quality Barrera's garner. Close round, HBO finally gives a share of credit to Morales. Barrera won his half of the round more convincingly.” – JP

ROUND FOUR






“Marco's left hook to the body is a beautiful thing. However, he is getting outfought here when he presses Morales to the ropes. Another close round, but Erik's activity gained a slight edge.” – ML

"They exchange wildly again and it looks like Barrera may be getting the best of things, because he is moving forward, but his opponent is throwing with him all the way. They change roles and now it's the taller man moving forward. I thought Morales earned the round on activity, while Barrera's work on the ropes may have looked better than it actually was. " - LP





“Barrera continues to ooh and ahh the crowd with vicious left hooks to the liver. Morales had a few moments, but Barrera controlled the round with his body work.” – MN





“Morales shaded the first minute, while Barrera edged the second, and I couldn’t separate them in the third. Morales landed the better looking shots upstairs, but Barrera’s body work made it a wash.” - AF

ROUND FIVE







“Great action, largely dominated by Morales, who feinted the socks off of Barrera to hit him with his right hand at will. Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant though Morales appeared hurt by a Barrera flurry, but I think he was just tired.” – MN

“Though Barrera's been sneering for the better part of five rounds, for the first time in the bout we can see the intensity on Morales' face as he pours on a withering attack that leaves Barrera little but to largely cover up and wait it out. Though Barrera's flurry makes the round closer, it is short lived and fails to overcome the sustained attack that Morales foisted on him for a full minute moments before.” – JP

“I have my Dad watching this with me for the first time in his life and this round drove him off his chair. Wow, Morales came out with a vengeance and never stopped punching. Clearest round of the fight so far.” – ML






“Tough round to score. Morales landed more punches this round, including a series of unanswered power shots in the middle of the round. Barrera started and finished well, and I think overall landed the heavier blows. Morales looks pretty tired at this point. It was Erik's round until the assault at the very end. The punches Marco hit him with were so shocking, they got him the nod on my card. Could have gone either way, in my opinion. ” - LP

ROUND SIX







“A tit-for-tat round that for the most part was even, until Morales landed a few more shots in the final minute.” – MN

“Barrera is playing defense causing it to be the slowest round of the fight so far. I gave it to Morales because he was the one trying to make the fight, but it is now apparent that Marco is the harder hitter.” - LP





“I had Barrera slightly up after the first couple minutes, but felt Morales did enough down the stretch to even it up. I know that’s already an outrageous two even rounds on my card, but there’s really very little to separate these guys.” - AF

We'll be back tomorrow for Part 2.

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