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Eight-division, 10-belt champion, Manny Pacquiao, the holder of the WBO's welterweight (147 pounds) and WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) titles whose cross-over appeal has transformed him into an international superstar, has been chosen as Sports Illustrated's No. 1 boxing story for 2010, according to the magazine's columnist, Bryan Armen Graham.
In addition, the 32-year-old Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts), who is coming off of a Nov. 13, unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito for the junior middleweight championship at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, was among 10 of the premiere athletes photographed by December 27 issue of SI.
The victory over Margarito was the second-ever boxing event to be held at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium following Pacquiao's March 13, unanimous decision victory over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) before a crowd of 51,000 in the first-ever event to be held at the $1.2 million venue.
The 32-year-old Pacquiao takes a winning streak of 13 straight fights that includes eight knockouts in to a May 7, HBO pay per view televised defense of his WBO belt against 39-year-old, three-division, five-time titlist Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) that is slated for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao's last loss was by a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, but the Filipino super star has since stopped eight opponents, including four consecutively -- a spree comprised knockouts over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, respectively, in nine, eight, two, and, 12 rounds.
Pacquaio's winning streak also includes having twice avenged the loss to Morales, whom he stopped in 10, and, three rounds, in January and November 2006. The run also boasts 12-round triumphs over Mexican legends Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera, as well as an eighth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Jorge Solis.
Pacquiao is promoted by Top Rank CEO, Bob Arum, whose 44 years in boxing began with the Muhammad Ali victory over George Chuvalo, and it was his first of 26 fights involving the man many call "The Greatest."
The 79-year-old Harvard graduate and attorney, Arum also handled every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, as well as substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Arum also helped to mastermind the comeback of George Foreman, who became the oldest man to win a heavyweight championship when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th-round at the age of 45 in November 1994.
But when it comes to experiences with fighters, Arum claims that Pacquiao surpassed them all.
"Muhammad Ali was a beloved figure in his prime, but also a reviled figure. There were people on both sides of the political spectrum, particularly regarding the war in Vietnam. The ones that opposed it loved Ali, and the ones who were in favor of it didn't," Arum told FanHouse.
"But until he was long-retired, Ali was never the universally admired figure in this country and around the world like Manny Pacquiao, who is someone different," said Arum. "Anybody who is aware of Manny Pacqiao loves him, admires him, and there are no haters. There is no right or left when it comes to Manny Pacquiao. That's made him a more universally revered figure than Muhammad Ali."
After spent a week in the Philippines supporting May's successful run at a congressional seat by Pacquiao. Arum said that he was infinitely more impressed with Pacquiao's election triumph than he ever was by any of his 52 victories in the ring.
"People don't realize that [Pacquiao's] victory over the candidate [Roy Chiongbian] that he beat was a tremendous upset that nobody, or very few people, expected him to pull off. The Chiongbian family owns all of the major businesses in his province, and they controlled every major official in the province," said Arum.
"Congressmen, governor, mayors -- all are either related to the family, belong to the family or are associates of the family. And Manny Pacquiao was running against the elder son of the Chiongbian family," said Arum. "They hadn't been defeated, and they had won overwhelmingly in every election contest for 25 years. But Manny is a fighter. He showed grit and determination. He as able to not only win, but to win by a landslide."
Arum compared the political victory by Pacquiao, who lost his first bid at a congressional seat nearly four years ago, to his December 2008 victory over De La Hoya, which the smaller Pacquiao entered as a massive underdog before scoring an eighth-round knockout.
"It reminded me of when Manny was fighting Oscar De La Hoya, and all of the boxing writers said that we ought to be ashamed of ourselves because it was a mismatch, and that De La Hoya would destroy him," said Arum.
"It was a mismatch, but it was a mismatch the other way with Manny destroying De La Hoya," said Arum (pitured at right). "This [election] was the same thing. Everybody said that Manny ought to be crazy, spending his own money and everything. It was a mismatch, alright. To me, it's incredible."
Arum twice tried, but failed, to negotiate a bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), who has been promoted by rival Golden Boy Promotions.