Manny Pacquiao has faced a real who’s who of boxing stars over the course of a storied 30-year career.
Despite having turned over in 1995, the Filipino legend is still boxing now, aged 46. Back in July, he rolled back the years once more with a draw with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, and is now said to be targeting a different opponent for his next bout.
He has already become the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 when he beat Keith Thurman in 2019, and is the only boxer in history to win twelve world titles in eight different weight divisions, from flyweight all the way up to light middleweight.
Along the way, he has squared up to the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, Tim Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley and many more over his 73-fight career.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine’s Best I Ever Faced feature, Pacquiao admitted that one opponent was tougher than all the rest.
“Antonio Margarito [had the best chin]. That fight was a war. It was brutal. I threw everything at him, and he not only took it but came back for more. Incredible.”
This fight took place back in 2010 for the vacant WBC super-welterweight title at the AT&T Stadium in Texas. Pacquiao went into the fight shorter and lighter but still quickly imposed himself with his speed and technique.
He beat Margarito so bad he was pleading with the referee to stop the fight, but it ended up going the distance with ‘Pac Man’ picking up a unanimous decision and scorecards of 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109.
Margarito finished with a record of 41 wins, 8 defeats and 1 no contest, but saw the final few years of his professional career marred after a controversy regarding tampered hand wraps.
