The super fight of the century is just 5 days away.
Each fighter’s camp is beginning to slow down as they make the final preparations for the biggest fight of their respective careers.
Manny Pacquiao, as of last night, has officially arrive in Las Vegas, where he will stay at the Mandalay Bay until fight night on Saturday, May 2 at the MGM Grand.
While Pacquiao may be considered the “B” fighter in his welterweight showdown with Floyd Mayweather, everyone knows that is merely a stipulation of the contract for this bout.
Pacquiao has made a career of being one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, achieving world championships in eight different divisions as well lineal championships in four different weight classes.
Over his long run, Pacquiao has fought some of the best names in the sport on his way to a 57-5-2 record.
Here are the most entertaining/top 5 fights of Pacquiao’s illustrious career:
5. April 12, 2014 — Unanimous Decision Win Vs. Timothy Bradley Jr. (rematch)
This wasn’t necessarily one of the most entertaining fights of Pacquiao’s career, but it lands in the top 5 for the impact it had.
First of all, everyone and their mother knows Pacman was robbed of a victory in the fighter’s first bout where Pacquiao proceeded to demolish Bradley for 12 rounds but found himself on the wrong side of the judge’s decision.
Second of all, it signaled that Pacquiao was firmly back after getting KO’d at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez two years prior.
Pacquiao showed that the first fight against Bradley was a mistake as he avenged the loss by simply outclassing his opponent, clearly frustrating Bradley throughout the bout and handed Desert Storm the first loss of his career.
4. January 21, 2006 — TKO Win Vs. Erik Morales (Rematch)
After suffering the third loss of his career, Pacquiao went into his rematch with Erik Morales looking for revenge.
He got it in a big way, knocking down Morales in the 10th round with a power shot that forced the referee to stop the fight.
The fight was a display of dominance by Pacquiao and showed his first loss to Morales was a fluke.
3. March 15, 2008 — Split Decision Win Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (rematch)
The Pacquiao-Marquez series has been one of the most entertaining rivalries in boxing.
There have been numerous exciting moments in their four-fight history, but the 2008 installment was an action-packed thriller.
While the scorecards are debated, Pacquiao’s third round knockdown may have been the difference in this one.
Regardless, the back-and-forth punching made this fight one for the ages.
2. Dec. 6, 2008 — TKO Win Vs. Oscar De La Hoya
Pacquiao moved up 2 weight classes to face Oscar, but the inexperience was no factor as he absolutely demolished the “Golden Boy.”
It was a passing of the torch somewhat as Pacquiao dominated De La Hoya, who had to quit after the 8th round because he couldn’t get up.
Pacquiao’s speed and punching power really shined through during this fight and proved to be too overwhelming even for one of boxing’s greatest fighters.
1. Nov. 14, 2009 — TKO Win Vs. Miguel Cotto
Is there any question that the top/most entertaining fight of Pacquiao’s career is his TKO victory over Miguel Cotto?
Cotto was clearly the bigger and stronger fighter, and it looked like his strength could be the deciding factor, but Pacquiao stood toe-to-toe with the bigger Cotto throughout the first 4 rounds as they traded heavy damage shots.
Then, Pacman completely ran away with the fight over the next 8 frames as his speed ultimately prevailed while landing vicious shot after vicious shot until the referee stopped the fight with 55 seconds left in the match.
But what will always stick out was Cotto’s swollen, bruised and bloodied face that was a reminder of just how dominant Pacquaio was and why his power/speed combination made him one of the deadliest fighters in the welterweight division.
