CEBU, Philippines - Although he heaped praise on the brilliance and superlative achievements of Manny Pacquiao, World Boxing Council (WBC) president Jose Sulaiman contends that saying the Filipino sports hero is greater than Muhammad Ali or other legendary figures of the sport in the mold of Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán and Julio César Chávez is a 'sin'.
"The boxing media and many fans of the world have been considering the all-time heroes of boxing, especially after the destruction in the ring of Antonio Margarito by the star of the moment, Manny Pacquiao, who many would like to fight, especially for the money," stated Sulaiman in his weekly "Hook to the Liver" column published in Mexican newspaper El Universal three days ago.
"The world has been impacted by the great deeds of this fighter, who started by winning the WBC flyweight world championship and moved all the way up to win the super welterweight green and gold belt – those are five divisions in the WBC, defeating the best of each in an overwhelming and brilliant way."
Sulaiman, who himself admits being a fan of Pacman, said without doubt Pacquiao is the brightest athlete the Philippines has ever produced and that his meteoric rise to stardom and the manner he destroys his top caliber opponents are phenomenal.
But Sulaiman asserted there could be only one greatest of all-time and from his standpoint, it's no other than Muhammad Ali.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great, valiant fighter; perhaps the biggest-ever sports hero of the Philippines and without a doubt of countless boxing fans in the world, including myself. But to say, as several have written, that he has surpassed Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Ray Leonard, or even Roberto Durán, or Julio César Chávez, whose career was 14 ½ years undefeated in professional boxing, 10 of which were as a champion of the world without ever losing a fight, is sincerely a sin," said Sulaiman.
"All those mentioned are for me, without question, some of the all-time heroes of the sport of boxing, where I certainly also place Manny Pacquiao, with the greatest of all-time being the one and only Muhammad Ali, who in his time was voted in an international poll the most-known face in the world, even over The Beatles, President Ronald Reagan, Elvis Presley, Pelé, and even over his Holy Sanctity, The Pope."
As for Pacquiao's next ring appearance, Sulaiman looks forward to seeing the much sought after Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather showdown come into reality by next year as it is a superfight fans all over the world would love to see.
"Let us leave nostalgia aside to express our hope to have in the coming 2011 the most wanted fight by the boxing fans of all the world, Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather, both being the only five-time champions in five different divisions in the 50 years of the WBC - Pacquiao with the flyweight, super bantam, super feather, lightweight and super welterweight titles; Mayweather with super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight, and super welterweight titles."
Boxing pundits estimate that Pacquiao stands to earn a staggering US$70 million or P3 billion if the bout pushes through. (FREEMAN)