The Glorious Days of the Sweet Science

The glorious days of the Sweet Science or the sport of boxing is unfolding before our very eyes in this generation. We have Manny Pacquiao, who is considered by a multitude of boxing experts and fanatics of pugilism as the world's most exciting fighter and pound-for-pound King of the ring. He boasts of an unprecedented seven coveted titles in seven different weight classes, which is never done or fulfilled by any of the boxing greats in the history of the sport; even Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard or Oscar Dela Hoya couldn't lay hold on this marvelous feat. Pacquiao is the very first and the only man, the lonesome warrior who stands above the rest of the boxing champions of past and present generations in terms of ring accomplishments; and the best part about this is he is still fighting. We might still see him climb atop the ring to showcase his boxing prowess for a couple of more fights. Hopefully, one of those fights will be against another outstanding boxing achiever: Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr.

Mayweather is an undefeated boxer who is widely known for his undefeated record. He fought the likes of Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and the late Diego Corrales, and defeated them all with flying colors. Just like Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, Jr. used to reign as boxing's top gun. In fact, his followers and supporters still consider him as the Sweet Science's main man up to this day. But that is not the case in the eyes of the media and the boxing world because all of boxing's greatest awards and accolades such as "Fighter of the Decade" and "Fighter of the Year" are yielded to Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather may boast of his pay-per-view earnings but he is certainly no greater than the seven-time multi-titlist Pacquiao, who destroyed the same fighters whom Mayweather had difficulty with in the ring, videlicet Oscar Dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton. The latter legends were both utterly humiliated with destructive force by Manny Pacquiao while it took Mayweather a total of 21 rounds to earn his victories over these gallant gladiators.

There is one fight that will undoubtedly cement the legacy and the most glorious day of the Sweet Science, and that is the mega-fight between the two top-rated fighters and luminaries of the sport: Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr. When these two warriors finally fight each other, we will definitely witness the greatest fight ever fought and the highest grossing match in boxing history based on the track record of pay-per-view sales and profits which both fighters have raked in in their previous ring wars against the other top names of the sport. It will be a battle between force and speed, skills and heart, genius and will, but most of all, it will be a battle for pound-for-pound supremacy.

Boxing isn't dead and it's very much alive with the dominant fighters we have today. So long as there are magnificent champions like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and terrific contenders like Rafael Marquez, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., boxing will continue to prosper vigorously and the Sweet Science will remain as the best combat sport ever in history.

Sources:

Sports contributors, Manny Pacquiao alias "Pac Man / The Destroyer", Philippine Boxing

Marc Anthony Reyes and Salven Lagumbay, WBC Honors Pacquiao as "Champ Emeritus", The Inquirer Network

Janne Romppainen, Boxing: The Best of the Year, East Side Boxing