Manny Pacquiao’s impact reminiscent of Muhammad Ali

Manny Pacquiao and Muhammad Ali

Manny Pacquiao's career and impact inside and outside of the boxing ring is being likened to that made by Muhammad Ali because the two great champions have transcended their sport more than any other in boxing history.

Both fighters have been dominant in the ring and possess the charisma that brought awareness of bigger issues much larger than any boxer would care about. But their paths to greatness were different.

Muhammad Ali was a skilled and dominant fighter inside the ring. He brought his bravado outside it in voicing his opposition against the Vietnam war based on his religious beliefs and became a symbol for the civil rights movement. Now aged and stricken with Parkinson's, he remains a beloved public figure worldwide, certainly "The Greatest."

Or is he? Manny Pacquiao is steadily making his own journey to greatness in the past decade. He rose from abject poverty to become a champion in eight different divisions to become the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world today. Along the way he never forgot to offer his victories to the Filipino people and brought pride to his poor countrymen.

Comparisons between Pacquiao and Ali may be unfair. But Bob Arum, who had the fortunate chance to promote the two boxers, says he considers the two as very similar. "I thought Ali was once-in-a-lifetime character and now, here I am, living it again," Arum said, referring to Pacquaio. "It's truly incredible."

Muhammad Ali's career is over and his legacy is secure. But the Filipino fighter is not done yet. On May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Sugar Shane Mosley will face the great Manny Pacquiao.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday February 18 2011, 4:09 AM EDT. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0