From Destroyer to Legend: The Evolution of Manny Pacquiao

By Fernando Jose - He used to be called “The Destroyer”, and rightfully so. ‘Cause as a dynamic 23 year old fighting in the super bantamweight division, destroying the opposition was the only thing running through Pacquiao’s mind whenever he was in the ring. At that time, the skinny southpaw from the Philippines had very little regard for defense and never seemed to care about winning or losing rounds. He was focused on one single goal which was to annihilate the opposition. Though always wild and reckless, he was just too powerful and too aggressive that no one could completely capitalize on his flaws. Manny “The Destroyer” was indeed a very exciting fighter. With sheer violence, he managed to become a two-time world champion. But he wasn’t really what you would call a “great” fighter. Well at least, not yet.

When he decided to move up to 126 and fight Ring featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera, Pacquiao was a 4-1 underdog. He defied the odds and beat who was then the third best pound for pound fighter in the world—and that he did in a dominant fashion. Pacquiao threw rapid punches from so many different angles that even Barrera, the great defensive fighter that he was, couldn’t do anything to protect himself.. Pacquiao was quite unorthodox and visibly one dimensional, but he was very successful nonetheless in giving Barrera the worst beating of his life. Beating Barrera who was considered the lineal champ made Pacquiao the man at the featherweight division. After that career-making fight, expectations went sky high for the Filipino.

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