Supreme honor for Manny Pacquiao
By Recah Trinidad
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 03 Jun 2020
Thomas Hauser.
THE eminent boxing scholar and authority Thomas Hauser, a Hall-of-Fame writer, said very few of today’s fighters have earned the right to be called great.
He blamed blind, excessive commercialism and loud, shallow publicity.
“The business of boxing today is as much about publicity and hype as it is about merit,” Hauser stated in an exclusive commentary for BoxingScene.
Greatness has to be earned, he said.
**
So how is greatness (in boxing) achieved?
“Greatness is forged in adversity,” Hauser said.
What else?
“It takes a body of work,” he added.
**
So does this make Floyd Mayweather a certified greatest of all time with his magnificent unbeaten record?
“No, a fighter doesn’t have to be unbeaten to be great,” Hauser stressed.
He readily added that Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard proved that.
**
Hauser pushed hard and referred to the great Angelo Dundee, trainer of Muhammad Ali.
“It’s what fighter does after he loses that makes him great,” Hauser quoted Dundee as saying.
Rating a fighter before his career is over is a perilous exercise in quantifying greatness, Hauser explained. Being immensely talented is different from greatness.
**
Hauser, who wrote the iconic Muhammad Ali biography, considered the greatest book on The Greatest, said not every fighter who has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame was great.
“He must possess the inquisitors that are necessary to prove greatness,” Hauser said, before zeroing in on the core of his thesis:
“Among active fighters today, Manny Pacquiao clearly meets the standard for greatness. In many ways, he’s a throwback fighter. Pacquiao has boxed almost 500 rounds over the course of 71 professional bouts. He has fought 18 times against ten fighters (including Floyd Mayweather and Oscar dela Hoya) who are either in or will be in the Hall of Fame.”
Great, indeed.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Recah Trinidad.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Vargas urges boxers to defy odds
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 16 Dec 2025GIORGIO VISIOLI SETS OUT MISSION TO LAND MAJOR TITLES AFTER TENSE FIRST FACE-OFF WITH ENGLISH TITLE RIVAL JOE HOWARTH
Tue, 16 Dec 2025Kevin Brown and Yoenis Tellez Shine at Boxlab Promotions’ “Night of Champions XIII” During the 104th Annual WBA Convention
Tue, 16 Dec 2025TRAINING CAMP NOTES: Justin Cardona Shares Insights Ahead of December 19 Showdown Against Avious Griffin
Tue, 16 Dec 2025JAS MATHUR JOINS MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS AS CEO TO LEAD STRATEGIC VISION, CREATIVITY AND GLOBAL GROWTH INITIATIVES
Tue, 16 Dec 2025Split-T Management Signs Amateur Standout Adrian Salazar
Tue, 16 Dec 2025INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME REMEMBERS CANASTOTA’S MANAGER / TRAINER / PROMOTER TONY GRAZIANO
Mon, 15 Dec 2025Catubig, Prado win Suy Foods Santa Run
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 15 Dec 2025Junior, Youth and Elite Divisions Awarded on Final Day of 2025 USA Boxing National Championships
Mon, 15 Dec 2025Jean Henri Lhuillier Applauds Cebuana Lhuillier Ambassadors for Bronze Finish at SEA Games 2025
Mon, 15 Dec 2025NOEL MIKAELIAN DETHRONES BADOU JACK TO BECOME THE NEW WBC CRUISERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Dec 2025FM Alekhine Nouri tops Kamatyas chessfest
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Dec 2025Dante Kirkman Dominates DePriest Johnson in Unanimous Victory at Fight Club OC
Sun, 14 Dec 2025Bantam and Intermediate Divisions Crowned on Day Five of 2025 USA Boxing National Championships
Sun, 14 Dec 2025Murat Gassiev Brutally Knocks Out Kubrat Pulev in Dubai
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 13 Dec 2025