Perhaps his epoch battle against Richie Mitchell best defined his career. Leonard went right after Mitchell flooring him three times in the first round. Leonard, perhaps understandably, was a bit over-confident and let his guard down. Mitchell nailed him with a desperate, hurricane of a left hook right on the button. Benny crashed to the canvas. Leonard was hurt and barely beat a ten count. Richie moved in for the kill, but Benny covered up and rolled with the punches and survived to the bell.
Budd Schulberg described what transpired in the next round as Mitchell attacked Benny who was still hurt and on his bicycle. ‘As he retreated he was talking to Mitchell (shades of Ali a half century later!), “Is that the best you can do? I thought you hit harder than that? I’ll put my hands down; what do you want to bet you can’t hit me? Come on if you think you got me hurt; why don’t you fight? You look awful slow to me, Richie.” Mitchell swung wildly missing and began to wear down by rounds end. In the fifth Leonard was up on his toes snapping Mitchell’s head back with left jabs and right crosses. Leonard floored Richie at the end of the round. In the following session Leonard gave Mitchell quite a beating and knocked him out to retain his title.’
Leonard also challenged fighters above his normal weight winning a newspaper verdict over welterweight Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis and challenged for the Welterweight title against Jack Britton in 1922 flooring the bigger man in the 13th, and then in his eagerness knocked out Britton while he was down, thus losing on a disqualification.
Benny retired as Lightweight champion in 1925 having bested all the topflight fighters of his class. The stock market crash of 1929 hurt his investments and he was forced to make a comeback in 1931. He won 18 in a row with only one draw when he ran into the young, fast and hard-hitting future Welterweight champion Jimmy McLarnin who stopped him in 6. It was his last fight.
Leonard died on April 17, 1947 while refereeing a boxing match in New York. Gerald Suster wrote a fitting epitaph when he said, ‘He left behind him an astonishing legend of hard punching and ring cleverness. Decades went by in which aficionados argued over whether Benny Leonard or Joe Gans was the greatest pound for pound fighter of all time.’
Nat Fleischer considered Benny Leonard the #2 all time Lightweight in 1958. Charley Rose rated him #1 in 1968. Herbert Goldman rated him #1 in 1987. Cox’s Corner rates him at #2 among all time Lightweights. Cox’s Corner online, ‘Benny Leonard the Ghetto Wizard: The Brainiest of All Boxers’
[8.8] MANNY PACQUAIO 70-61(39)-7-2 [Light-Middleweight & Welterweight & Light-Welterweight & Lightweight & Super-Featherweight & Featherweight & Super-Bantamweight & Flyweight]: Mayweather v Pacquioa: At Last TV - Colin Hart - Encyclopaedia Britannica online -
Twin superstars were born, propelled by a belief in very different dealings ... Until, at last, you may say boxing's latest miracle has arrived. Mayweather v Pacquiao: At Last, Sky Sports 2015
Pacquiao (lightweight) v De la Hoya (light-middleweight): ‘People were horrified.’ ibid. Bob Arum
Now, Henry Armstrong, the two Sugars – Ray Leonard, Robinson – add the name of Manny Pacquiao, to Muhammad Ali and all the rest of the Hall of Famers. Because he is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen. I’ve been covering this sport for forty-odd years, I’ve never seen anyone with a work-rate like his. Colin Hart, boxing author & journalist
Manny Pacquiao, in full Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, byname Pac-Man (born December 17, 1978, Kibawe, Bukidnon province, Mindanao, Philippines), professional boxer, media celebrity, and politician, who became world-famous for winning boxing titles in more weight classes than any other boxer in history. His rise from adject poverty to the pinnacle of his sport was made even more remarkable by his life outside the ring. The charismatic ‘Pac-Man’ was an idol and a unifying force in the Philippines, where his unprecedented popularity led to commercial endorsements, movies, television shows, CDs, and his image on a postage stamp.
Pacquiao left home as a teenager and stowed away on a ship bound for Manila, where he became a boxer. He made his professional debut as a junior flyweight on January 22 1995 at the age of 16. Many of his early bouts were televised on a program called Blow by Blow, where his all-action style and boyish smile quickly made him a favourite with Filipino boxing fans. He won his first major title on December 4 1998 knocking of Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul to capture the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title. After failing to make weight, however, he lost the title to Medgoen Singsurat of Thailand in September 1999.
Pacquiao moved up in weight class, and on June 23, 2001, in his first fight in the United States, he scored a sixth-round knockout of Lehlo Ledwaba to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior featherweight title. Following four successful defenses, he knocked out Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera on November 15 2003 to become The Ring magazine featherweight champion.
Over the next several years, Pacquiao engaged in a series of high-profile fights, winning the World Boxing Association (WBA) and IBF featherweight titles, the WBC and The Ring’s junior lightweight titles, and the WBC lightweight title. His rise was aided by American trainer Freddie Roach, who gradually transformed the left-handed slugger into a multifaceted boxer without detracting from his natural aggression or punching power. He was the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring’s Fighter of the Year in 2006 and 2008.
On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao faced and thrashed American boxing star Oscar de la Hoya in a celebrated non-title welterweight bout in Las Vegas. By then Pacquiao had become a complete fighter, combining excellent footwork, blazing speed, and a vastly improved defense, and he was widely considered, pound for pound, the world’s finest boxer. In addition, Pacquiao’s popularity as a pay-per-view (PPV) boxing attraction had increased steadily since 2002, but the match with De la Hoya was his breakthrough as a global phenomenon. The fight sold approximately 1.25 million buys, generating roughly $70 million in PPV revenue, one of the largest PPV grosses in history for a non-heavyweight bout.
On May 2 2009 Pacquiao won The Ring’s junior welterweight championship (his sixth weight class as a champion and his ninth as a professional boxer) with a spectacular one-punch second-round knockout of England’s Ricky Hatton. On November 14 he added another championship belt – in a record seventh weight class – when he defeated Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico in 12 rounds to take the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title. Pacquiao defended that title on March 13 2010 in Arlington, Texas, by defeating Ghanaian boxer Joshua Clottey in 12 rounds. He increased his weight-class titles record to eight when, on November 13 2010 he soundly defeated WBC super-welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, who outweighed Pacquiao by 17 pounds at the time of the fight. Encyclopaedia Britannica online
42) Juan Manuel Marquez I Draw: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Manny Pacquiao I 8 May 2004 WBA IBF Featherweight Nevada [r1] … Marquez gets in a hard left hook to the body and a good right hand over the top … He [Pacquiao] fires the straight left hand and there’s the punching power … [Marquez knockdown] … Down he goes [Marquez knockdown II] … Third knockdown of the first round … Tremendous heart and determination to finish this round … [r2] … Straight left [Pacquiao] … again … he’s so fast, so explosive … Marquez coming back with a left and a right … straight left … Marquez lands a solid left and another … [r3] … A mountain that Marquez has to fight [sic] … gets in two hard body shots … hard right … Hard left hand by Pacquiao landed flush … straight lefts … [r4] … They’re edging towards fighting Marquez’s fight … hard right hand … Pacquiao wants to fight back immediately … [r5] … Hard right hand by Marquez … Pacquiao comes back with two big left hands … They’re trading shots again … What a fight! … [r6] … Good body shot by Marquez … Right hand stunned Pacquiao … Pacquiao landed with a left … It could be the comeback of a lifetime for Jose Manuel Marquez … [Lederman: 56-55 Pacquiao] … [r7] … Right hand [Marquez] … Takes a hard left shot from Pacquiao … left hand did get in … Straight right hand [Marquez] … takes them well and stuns Pacquiao … [r8] … The most tactical round of the fight … Uppercut by Marquez … good body shots … strafes him twice with the right … [r9] … You back [Pacquiao] him up at your own risk … landing two one-twos … Marquez gets him with a let … hard right hand … They trade shots … [r10] … It’s gotten rough … They get ready to trade again; the fight comes alive … Blood trickling from Marquez’ nose … backing up … Hard left hand by Pacquiao … [r11] … Possible Marquez needs a knockout … Big right hand by Marquez … [r12] … Marquez starts the round landing big shots … Two real fighters from their guts … Both have the hearts of champions … What a battle … [115-110 Pacquiao, 115-110 Marquez, 113-113]. US HBO fight commentary
44) Erik Morales ***** Lost Points: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Erik Morales 19 March 2005 WBA WBC Super-Featherweight Nevada [r1] … Both fighters focusing on the body early but Pacquiao lands his left hand twice … Morales chases him across the ring … Morales is hurt … turns around and fires a combination … see-saw action … [r2] … Morales lands upstairs … Straight left hand [Pacquiao] … Good right hand uppercut by Morales … good hard right … [r3] … Morales is playing the role of the counter-puncher … Pacquiao twice to the body … Morales is picking his spots … Now Pacquiao lands and drives Morales into the corner … He bangs Pacquiao with two right-handers … This is a brilliant round for Erik Morales … [r4] … Beautiful [Morales] ring generalship … Hard left hand by Pacquiao … Both guys did damage in that round … [r5] … It’s Morales making his jab a factor … Morales is taking these punches well … Good left hook by Morales … Pacquiao seems a little wary … comes back and lands a combination … [r6] … Cut next to his [Pacquiao] left eye … needs a knockout … Good flurry by Pacquiao … Good [Morales] jab … [r7] … Morales starts to counter … Right hand over the top … Pacquiao with a four-punch combination … Great body shot by Morales … Pacquiao comes back … [r8] … Morales has answered all the questions [Lederman] … They trade shots viciously … Hooked Morales with a right hand … left hand … Great right hand from Morales … Hard right hand from Pacquiao … Another great round … [r9] … Good stiff jab by Morales … Right hand by Pacquiao … another left hand … Erik Morales can’t stand to be hurt … Morales wobbles to his corner … [r10] … Erik still trading … right hand … Pacquiao with a blistering right … fighting back like a madmen … Fatigue may well be setting in … Good right hand by Erik Morales … [r11] … Pacquiao’s right has begun to swell shut … Hard right hand by Morales … Styles make fights … [r12] … The tactical advantage has been clear enough … lands a couple of right hands … Morales wants to fight … This is boxing at its best … Unbelievable … [115-113, 115-113, 115-113 Morales] US HBO fight commentary