From an offense-oriented fighter who made his US debut in June 2001,Manny Pacquiao has metamorphosed into a do-it-all punching machine now regarded as the best boxer in the world pound-for-pound and appears headed towards becoming an all-time great. I have a lot orf respect for Manny. Not only is he a great boxer, he is a very good person.


Pacquiao starts every fight with a fervent prayer while on his knees and expresses sincere concern for his fallen foes and love for his family, supporters, and the Filipino people. He is a very humble high profile athlete. Something lacking in today's in your face, me, me ,me athlete. Neither boxer is American, and we Americans often like to see American athletes here in America.

Last Saturday, after seeing Ricky Hatton get knocked-out cold by a Pacquiao left hand to the chin, one can’t help but feel concerned for his health.

Indeed, the Brit who never lost to anyone before in the weight class of 140 lbs. woke up and recovered enough to walk back to his dressing room. Still, it would be hard to believe that he did not suffer some sort of a permanent damage which may show up in the future.

On the other side of the coin, while we feel for Ricky Hatton, we have nothing but contempt for his trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. I mean, the man is a motor mouth and he was telling everyone within an ear-shot weeks before the fight that he is the best and “Freddie Roach is just a “joke”.

Thanks to Manny Pacquiao the true Mayweather colors came shining true.

After the fight, Mayweather showed total lack of class and very poor sportsmanship.

The guy who loves to proclaim himself as the “best there is” did not even show up at the podium with the Team Hatton during the official post-fight conference.

Was he perhaps scared that the media will expose him?

If his absence was because he rode with Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya to the Valley Hospital, I would have thought more of him as a trainer.

But he did not!

To make things worse, he could not even muster enough guts to admit that they lost! Or perhaps accept the reality that Hatton did not learn anything from him sufficient enough to counter what Roach has taught Pacquiao.

And, he still continues to be adamant that he is better than Freddie Roach!

In fact, if Hatton’s performance last Saturday was the best Mayweather could do to get Hatton on par with Pacquiao, Mayweather totally failed as a trainer.

Mayweather insisted that Hatton did not hold his hands up as instructed.

If one is on the blaming game, they should look no farther.

Mayweather did not train Hatton well enough. If he could not even train him to listen and carry such a simple instruction how can he expect him to learn the many other things needed to beat Pacquiao?

But why put all the blame on Hatton? Could he not at least accept the fact that he is partially responsible for the loss too?

Word is Mayweather may not be part of Team Hatton anymore. That is well and good for Team Hatton.

Apparently he and Gareth Williams, Ricky Hatton's attorney do not see eye to eye.

Word leaked out that Mayweather was in many occasions late for training and after the fight, blamed Hatton for the lost. Of course such misgivings would not sink well on Team Hatton. And, it would not be a surprise if they let him go.

By unseating Ricky Hatton, Manny won his 6th title in as many weight divisions. 5th recognized title. More so, he is the first fighter to win a 4th lineal or real championship in 4 weight divisions. He has now won the flyweight, featherweight (which many erroneously do not recognize), junior-lightweight and now junior-welterweight lineal championship.

Manny's Lineal titles:

Flyweight -112 lbs (KO Sasakul)
Featherweight - 126 lbs (TKO Barrera)
Jr. Lightweight - 130 lbs (SD JMM)
Jr. Welter - 140 lbs (KO Hatton)

World Titles recognized by sanctioning bodies:

WBC world flyweight champion
IBF world super bantamweight champion
WBC world super featherweight champion
WBC world lightweight champion
IBO world Jr. Welterweight champion

World Titles recognized by the public at large:

WBC world flyweight champion
IBF world super bantamweight champion
Ring Magazine world featherweight champion
WBC world super featherweight champion
WBC world lightweight champion
IBO world Jr. Welterweight champion

Ring magazine titles:

World featherweight champion
World super featherweight champion
World light welterweight champion

Non world titles:

OPBF flyweight champion
WBC international super bantamweight champion
WBC international super featherweight champion

In professional boxing, the lineal championship of a weight class is a notional world championship title. It is initially held at some moment in time by a boxer universally acclaimed as the best in the class. Another boxer can only win the lineal championship by defeating the reigning lineal champion in the ring. The lineal champion is described as "the man who beat the man".

A boxer loses his lineal championship if he is defeated,moves up in weight class or retires.