Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Who Will Emerge as Boxing's King?

by Stoker MacIntosh

The hovering buzzards, who waited patiently for the sport of boxing to die, have packed up and flew away, mainly due to a 130-pound Filipino superstar named Manny Pacquiao who has once again given the dry, nearly deserted landscape some much-needed life.

Ricky Hatton's concerned family looked on from ringside, as "The Hitman" lay motionless on the canvas, knocked out cold in the second round by a lightning-fast, perfectly timed, brain-numbing left hook.

It was a punch that—most likely—the tough British champion didn't see coming, and that's when it's most damaging; this punch also proved effective in another way, as it erased any doubts regarding Pacquiao's greatness.

In his home country of the the Philippines, Pacquiao, who was once a mere ambassador for the sport of boxing, is now nearing sainthood. In the words of his promoter, Bob Arum, "he could, one day, become President."

After all but ending the brilliant careers of boxing legends like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Oscar Dela Hoya—and now Ricky Hatton—Pacquiao has likely surpassed the legendary Pancho Villa as the greatest Filipino boxer to ever emerge from the island nation.

A few months ago I wrote an article asking the question that I felt was in the minds of fans at the time: Will Pacquiao bring Mayweather out of retirement? read more