Published: May 25 2011 by: Scott Levinson
Listen Up Pacquiao Fans....
I admire the way Filipinos support Manny Pacquiao. I can only wish boxing heroes were treated that way here in the USA. As one cruises the Internet, however, it appears that it has gone overboard. I understand it. After all, some are begrudging in giving Manny his just due as an all-time great. Couple that with the unsubstantiated drug accusations levied against Pac by Floyd Mayweather and his fans, and it’s not hard to figure out why Pacquiao fans are shot out of a cannon.
I regard Manny as the best in the sport. I also sided with him 100% in the whole drug debate. I found it troubling that Floyd’s half-baked theories were given any credence whatsoever. After all, doesn’t Floyd being a rival of Pacquiao’s cut into his credibility a little bit? That’s like letting the Yankees write the book on the Red Sox—I just don’t take seriously the criticisms of people with such an obvious vested interest and bias. The venom of Pacquiao supporters is somewhat justified in that area.
But now, it seems like Pacquiao fanatics are actually doing their man harm. The dialogue has become intolerable. Anyone making remarks that are even remotely negative toward Pacquiao catch a ton of flack. Even if you write an article about Muhammad Ali [or Bernard Hopkins] a bunch of weirdos will jump on there and ask why isn’t the article about Pacquiao? For educated boxing fans, the Internet is hard enough to stomach. But now, it has been made utterly unbearable.
I want all the Pacquiao fans to consider the following points with equanimity. Keep an even temper and actually ponder some of these points. Then maybe we can get to the business of serious boxing talk instead of juvenile pissing contests that go nowhere.
01. Boxing and its history are areas of knowledge that take years to develop just like any other subject. Being a Pacquiao fan does not necessarily make you an expert on boxing or the history of sport.
02. The belief that Americans and the U.S. press are predisposed to dislike foreign fighters is a preposterous notion. It’s more of a case of the top dog always catching flack. Go look at how other pound-for-pound #1 fighters in recent years were treated by the press and then tell me there is something abnormal about what Pacquiao is forced to endure.
03. There are at least 15 fighters in boxing history who have more than a good case for being ranked ahead of Pacquiao on the all-time list. You might think he’s the best of all-time and are entitled to your opinion. But to lambaste a person who dare suggests that Harry Greb was better (a man with 25 wins over fighters in the Hall of Fame) makes you look profoundly ignorant to any person who knows the history of the sport. Just so you know.
04. Strong opinions, bluster, and insults are no substitutes for actual knowledge. Go put in your 25,000 hours studying the sport and then you’ll be qualified to compete. Until then, you resemble a poodle pissing on an elephant’s leg. You’re in no position to question the expertise of certain people. Knowing your true strengths is also knowing your limitations. True expert status is not something you just magically acquire in any area of life, so why boxing?
05. You cannot judge boxing history accurately with the presence of bias. If you’re coming from a predisposed slant, I can pretty much predict everything that you will say. And those are the last people who get taken seriously when discussing boxing history.
06. To love a fighter and champion his cause is good. To call someone’s mother into question because he suggested Tommy Hearns in his prime might defeat Pacquiao is childish.
07. You can tell a boxing conversation is low-level when insults make up a large part of the dialogue. The real minds in the business of boxing history are able to discuss and disagree in a civil manner. People who are “in the know” build up a vast reservoir of knowledge upon which they carefully mold an opinion based on years of careful deliberation. You got the game all twisted. You began with a strong opinion and then built a case to support it.
08. Overly-obnoxious fans are actually accomplishing the opposite of what they intend—having turned off a ton of people with this infantile Internet campaign.
09. Real fans, historians, and the real clever minds in the business are not the same people you see slurring Pacquiao on lowly message boards and other places upon which you paint an impression of the typical American fan. You have allowed 1% of the fans to dictate the agenda to you.
10. Why does the fact that Pacquiao has achieved the bulk of his glory right here in the USA not speak louder to you than what a handful of asswipes might be saying on YouTube?
11. The levying of insults and even racism toward Mayweather and his fans detracted from the superior case Pacquiao has in this whole debate. Pacquiao fans could have won the debate on drugs or who the best is with superior evidence and point-making. By following Mayweather and his fans into the gutter, you took the focus off the actual merit of Pacquiao’s case.
12. It’s not too late. By elevating the level of boxing talk, you can start to nudge people the right way, rather than turn them off. The whole point here is for Pacquiao to get his just due and not be unjustly labeled as a cheater, isn’t it? So educate instead of denigrate. Explain the case and don’t just whack people over the head. Filipinos know their boxing. It’s time to show it. Leave the kid stuff for the kids.
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