Is Pacquiao-Marquez the greatest boxing rivalry of all time?

[The Big Dunn]

If you watched the fights you'd know that they are 2 evenly matched fighters of the same size. I don't see how public opinion before the fight has much to do with it.

Castillo-Corrales had no hype whatsoever before the fight. They didn't even fill up the place they were fighting at - it is still one of the greatest fights of all time.

Conversely Castillo-Corrales 2 had all the hype in the world but didnt' turn out to be half as exciting as the first.

see my last post-IMO a classic rivalry is about competition between 2 men. I don't see this series of fights as that.

[Khalid X]

cliff he lowballed him. I will not ruin this thread but lets not change the truth. point is the span of time and the BS politics take away from this being a great rivalry IMO.

What was the offer that Manny gave him that has you saying he "Low balled Marquez"?

I absolutely hate posters like you, because instead of just admitting you don't know what you are talking about, you try to rewrite history when you probably weren't even follow either guy, let a lone the sport of boxing back then.

GTFOH w/ that low ball bull****.

[crold1]

a classic rivalry is about competition between 2 men. the last 3 fights were not about that, they were about sustaining Manny's earning capability. history will never change that.

Almost everything in boxing is about money. Ray Robinson used to hold up fights the day of to get a bigger take, threatening to walk out. Killed a third Basilio fight that way in negotiations. STILL had great rivalries.

This fight probably just was the Fight of the Year for 2012. The second fight was a runner up. 3 was very good. History won't change some business elements, but the competition was insanely good. You are letting a personal animus cloud logic.

The argument you're making is increasingly invalid. What happened in the ring trumps all.

And what happens in the ring is the history people will remember first.

[$tate of Mind]

Realistically its not.

1 fight was close, one fight was dominated by Ali, and the 3rd fight was considered largely irrelevant, with Frazier considered to be spent, but became a war.

You're calling the Thrilla in Manilla irrelevant? Wow! Ali and Frazier's rivalry went on during the golden age of the heavyweight division. The Thrilla in Manilla is one of the greatest fights in boxing history. Let Pacquiao and Marquez fight each other in an all out war in 14 rounds of sweltering heat.

[Khalid X]

To answer the question....no but it's up there.

I think Ali vs Frazier is the best, However if the 5th fight becomes as dramatic as the 4th, then I think it will surpass it.

FWIW what makes Ali vs Frazier the best is due to Ali's personality. Niether Manny nor Marquez have the personality to build up the fight the way Ali did.

Also, both were heavyweight and fought in a time were boxing was one of the most popular sports in the world. So the buzz and pre hype added to that.

[The Big Dunn]

Almost everything in boxing is about money. Ray Robinson used to hold up fights the day of to get a bigger take, threatening to walk out. Killed a third Basilio fight that way in negotiations. STILL had great rivalries.

This fight probably just was the Fight of the Year for 2012. The second fight was a runner up. 3 was very good. History won't change some business elements, but the competition was insanely good. You are letting a personal animus cloud logic.

The argument you're making is increasingly invalid. What happened in the ring trumps all.

And what happens in the ring is the history people will remember first.

i'm not letting personal anything cloud logic. everyting you said is true. everything I've said is true. the last 3 fights the 2 fighters weren't even in competing in the same weight class. and they wouldn't have fought if not for those historic elements.

If your point is down the line people will forget, well i can't disagree same with your point about Dariusz eventually getting into HOF. They had 3 great fights.

But for me, this isn't a classic rivalry for the reasons stated. Its closer to ruiz-holyfield than bowe-holyfield.

[shade darkar]

quite possibly. all 4 fights were first class.

[crold1]

i'm not letting personal anything cloud logic. everyting you said is true. everything I've said is true. the last 3 fights the 2 fighters weren't even in competing in the same weight class. and they wouldn't have fought if not for those historic elements.

If your point is down the line people will forget, well i can't disagree same with your point about Dariusz eventually getting into HOF. They had 3 great fights.

But for me, this isn't a classic rivalry for the reasons stated. Its closer to ruiz-holyfield than bowe-holyfield.

The last two, Marquez came up. Not the last three. Fight two came at Jr. Lightweight when both were there and had about cleared out the rest of class. Marquez was the defending champ. They were rated 1-2 at 130. If you're going to make this baffling argument, you need to get the facts sorted out.

You have the right to your own opinions. Not to your own facts.

Ruiz-Holyfield huh? Okay.

That about says it all on your take.

Moving on.

[Ringlife]

It will go down as one of the best in history and it's still not over.

[Russian Crushin]

According to some people, Ali-Frazier was not a classic rivalry because the last fight Ali was a huge favorite going against a shot Joe so it wasnt a competitive competition between 2 men :