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So much is made of Manny Pacquiao's rise from a 106 pound fighter to the #1 P4P fighter and current junior wleterweight champion, and rightfully so. Pac has faced good competition consistently and seems to get better each time he gets bigger.
But one question that should be asked is: What does becoming a seven division world champion mean if you weren't defending your title?
Don't get me wrong, at 130 pounds, Manny was a legit champion. He took on the best of the division and defended his title often. But since his move to lightweight, where he won his 5th division crown against a mediocre titlist in David Diaz, it seems defending your crown is not important anymore. It's more about being able to say you're a 7 division champion.
Let's be realistic. Manny is already considered a 6 division champ even though all he did at lightweight was beat probably the worst titlist of the bunch and never defended his title. Now let's say he beats Cotto for his 7th division, what are the chances of him actually defending that title? If you think he's going to fight Floyd next, then maybe he will, but then he's neglecting another belt, the Ring belt at 140. Either way, he'll be a 7 division champion that only really actively defended his title in 3 of those divisions (flyweight, super bantam, and super feather).
Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and an ATG already. His accomplishments are tremendous even if holes can be poked in his legacy, but one must ask if Pacquiao wins against Cotto, is Manny Pacquiao really a 7 division champion? Or just a 7 division belt grabber? If there's no distinction to you, I guess I'm just old fashioned.
But one question that should be asked is: What does becoming a seven division world champion mean if you weren't defending your title?
Don't get me wrong, at 130 pounds, Manny was a legit champion. He took on the best of the division and defended his title often. But since his move to lightweight, where he won his 5th division crown against a mediocre titlist in David Diaz, it seems defending your crown is not important anymore. It's more about being able to say you're a 7 division champion.
Let's be realistic. Manny is already considered a 6 division champ even though all he did at lightweight was beat probably the worst titlist of the bunch and never defended his title. Now let's say he beats Cotto for his 7th division, what are the chances of him actually defending that title? If you think he's going to fight Floyd next, then maybe he will, but then he's neglecting another belt, the Ring belt at 140. Either way, he'll be a 7 division champion that only really actively defended his title in 3 of those divisions (flyweight, super bantam, and super feather).
Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and an ATG already. His accomplishments are tremendous even if holes can be poked in his legacy, but one must ask if Pacquiao wins against Cotto, is Manny Pacquiao really a 7 division champion? Or just a 7 division belt grabber? If there's no distinction to you, I guess I'm just old fashioned.
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