Is Pacquiao’s career complete if he doesn’t fight Mayweather?

[mandirigma]

No need. Floyd is a Fraud.

Floyd should fight 3 or 5 legit contenders that has same size with him before challenging Pacquiao.

Pac is way to far from sissy Floyd in achievements. Pac do all the dirty work for Floyd.

[.PrettyBoy32.]

Surely a fight withfloyd wudhelp?

[F l i c k e r]

Pacquiao doesn't need Mayweather if he wants to only be recognized as a great small weight fighter.

If Pacquiao wants to add WW to the divisions that he has dominated, he needs Mayweather or Mosley. No boxing historian will count Cotto or ODLH because Cotto was forced to go down to a weight where he is very vulnerable. ODLH was an old man forced to go down to a weight class he hasn't faught in since he was a kid. The Hatton fight isn't a big enough blip on the radar, boxing historians wont legitimately recognize it.

Pretty much Pacquiao will go down as the greatest FW-LW to ever fight in the game. But to solidify his spot as a top 10 ATG. He needs Mayweather OR Mosley. Two legit, elite welterweights.

[mathed]

Is Pacquiao’s career complete if he doesn’t fight Mayweather?
February 27th, 2010
By Esteban Garduno

In the teleconference call yesterday, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao said the following: “I believe I don’t really need to fight Mayweather because what I have actually done in boxing right now, I think is good enough for me.” But is Pacquiao’s career really complete if he doesn’t fight Mayweather? I really don’t think it is. Pacquiao fought few recognizable opponents from the start of his career until he fought Marco Antonio Barrera for the first time in 2003. By then, Pacquiao had been fighting for eight years and had won titles in the flyweight and super bantamweight divisions.
However, didn’t take on anyone worth mentioning until he fought a battle scared Barrera in 2003. By that time in Barrera’s career, he had been through two grueling wars against Erik Morales. Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round. After that fight, Pacquiao fought to a 12 round draw with Juan Manuel Marquez. Beyond that fight, Pacquiao fought two more bouts against Morales, another fight against Barrera, which wasn’t really needed given the one-sided first bout between them.

In 2008, Pacquiao won a controversial 12 round split decision over Marquez in a rematch, a fight in which many people still think Marquez won. Pacquiao never gave Marquez a rematch. Pacquiao fought David Diaz in 2008, but he wasn’t considered to be the best fighter in the lightweight division at the time. Pacquiao then fought and beat and old Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and then most recently Miguel Cotto.

Those wins were good. However, none of those fighters were considered to be the best in their divisions at the time that Pacquiao fought them. De La Hoya was old, Hatton was more or less shot, and Cotto still hadn’t looked the same after taking a terrifying beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito in 2008.

As such, I think even with a win over Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao’s next opponent for March 13th, he needs a win over Floyd Mayweather Jr. to ensure he has a lasting legacy. The wins over Diaz, Barrera, Morales (who beat Pacquiao in their first fight), Marquez (a questionable draw and a controversial win), De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto just aren’t enough in my view to make me think that Pacquiao’s career is complete.

He just doesn’t have enough wins over fighters that were truly considered to be the very best in their weight divisions for me to see Pacquiao’s legacy as a shining one. Hatton, Cotto, Morales, Barrera and the questionable win over Marquez just isn’t enough.

Pacquiao needs to give a rematch to Marquez, still fight Mayweather and ideally Shane Mosley for me to even consider Pacquiao as a great fighter. Without wins over those fighters, then I see Pacquiao as merely a good fighter but not a great one. Unless Pacquiao can find his way into and out of those fights without losing, then I don’t rate Pacquiao as one of the best fighters of all time. I see Pacquiao as having lost to Marquez twice, and I think Mayweather and Mosley would likely beat Pacquiao as well if given the chance.

More importantly: Is Mayweather's career complete without fighting Pacquiao? Afterall, he is the one with the undefeated record right? Same stuff for May too: De La Hoya = old, Gatti = shot and end of career, Hatton = fighting at weight he never did good at, JMM = fighting 12 lbs north of the heaviest he had ever been and old and some will call him shot (lol), Baldomir = slower than a handicap bus in a school zone.

Man, being a writer of these great articles is so easy that I should make a career out of it.

[check hook]

Trying to be as impartial as possible...... i believe he needs a win over floyd more than floyd needs a win over him.........this will be especially true if Floyd beats Mosley and Pac retires.

If floyd beats Shane.....Pac v Floyd must happen (provided Pac gets through Clottey).....if Pac retires i see floyd cleaning out WW division.......i honsestly feel that if Floyd beats Shane and him and Pac don't fight we may even see Paul Williams v Mayweather at 147

[Clyde Barrow]

Pac's career is definitely complete without PBF. But the fight is still important.

[check hook]

Neither "needs" to fight the other, it's just that the public wants it. If they don't fight, nothing really changes. It's not like all of a sudden everyone will disregard what both have already achieved. If Pacquiao hadn't gone up in weight only about 6 people in the entire world would even think about him fighting Mayweather. It'd just be a fantasy fight in their minds.

Both are ATG's. All Time GREATS. How does a boxing journalist come up with the idea that either one of them isn't great? Weirdness. He's welcome to his opinion, but he doesn't appear to understand the term "ATG". I can't stand Mayweather, I think he's a pansy, a weirdo, and an awful example of a human being, yet I would never deny that he isn't great.

Great post!!!! Even if they fight the losers accomplishments should not be forgoitten or dismissed.

[koboy]

Surely a fight withfloyd wudhelp?

In 50 or a 100 years and someone comes accross this:

Manny Pacquiao is the first 7 division titlist and the first one to win 4 lineal world titles. With wins against HOFers Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto,

What do you think they would say? Complete or incomplete? Just asking.

[immortal tech]

Yes he absolutely does need to fight Floyd. Pacquiao only became the P4P champion only after Mayweather retired and did a quicker job of fighters Floyd already beat and Floyd was ranked higher P4P most of the decade same decade Manny was voted to be the best fighter of. he needs to fight and beat Mayweather to prove he is really an ATG

[Nulle]

Pacquiaos achievements tells it all.
but they need to fight each other,for this forums sake.