With 50 wins, 38 coming by way of knockout, just 3 losses and 2 draws, Manny Pacquiao has beaten out a "Who's Who" list of all-time greats to be selected as the World's Greatest Ever Featherweight by fans across the globe. With a whopping 52% of the votes, Pacquiao easily took the victory, with Willie Pep (15%) coming in a distant second and Salvador Sanchez (8%) behind him in third.
On-line voting at www.greatestever.com gave boxing fans throughout the world the opportunity to select the greatest boxer in each of the original eight weight classes, including Heavyweight, Light heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, Bantamweight, Featherweight and Flyweight. Each division was limited to a select number of nominees, which were determined by a nominations committee comprised of Thomas Hauser, Al Bernstein, Colin Hart, Jean-Philippe Lustyk and Ron Borges.
Although he currently makes his home in the welterweight division, Pacquiao was nominated for his accomplishments in the Featherweight division, which include victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez to name a few. Other nominees in the Featherweight division included:
- Abe Atell (73-11-19, 39 KOs)
- Kid Chocolate (135-10-6, 51 KOs)
- Wille Pep (229-11-1, 65 KOs)
- Sandy Saddler (144-16-2, 103 KOs)
- Salvador Sanchez (44-1-1, 32 KOs)
- Alexis Arguello (82-8, 65 KOs)
- Azumah Nelson (39-6-2, 28 KOs)
- Jeff Fenech (29-3-1, 21 KOs)
- Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs)
As for who was voted all-around pound-for-pound World's Greatest Ever Boxer of all time, that distinction still belongs to the great Sugar Ray Robinson, who also picked up honors for World's Greatest Ever Welterweight and World's Greatest Ever Middleweight. Over 500,000 votes were cast since June and fans of all ages agreed that the legendary Robinson is still the model of greatness that fighters strive for. What may surprise some, however, is the fact that the man who referred to himself as the Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali, finished in third place, behind Manny Pacquiao, according to the voting.
Here's a list of all the winners in each category:
World's Greatest Ever Boxer Overall
- Sugar Ray Robinson
- Manny Pacquiao
- Muhammad Ali
- Muhammad Ali 48%
- Mike Tyson 16%
- Rocky Marciano 11%
- Roy Jones Jnr 37%
- Archie Moore 17%
- Joe Calzaghe 14%
- Sugar Ray Robinson 47%
- Marvin Hagler 24%
- Bernard Hopkins 12%
- Sugar Ray Robinson 39%
- Sugar Ray Leonard 36%
- Oscar de la Hoya 10%
- Roberto Duran 33%
- Henry Armstrong 22%
- Floyd Mayweather 14%
- Manny Pacquaio 56%
- Willie Pep 15%
- Salvador Sanchez 8%
- Wilfredo Gomez 32%
- Ruben Olivares 12%
- Carlos Zarate 10%
- Ricardo Lopez 27%
- Jimmy Wilde 20%
- Michael Carbajal 12%