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Manny Pacquiao will find himself in an elite group if
he succeeds in dethroning David Diaz Sunday for the World Boxing
Council (WBC) lightweight championship.
No Asian fighter has ever won a
fourth world title in as many weight classifications. When he
outpointed Juan Manuel Marquez three months ago for the WBC junior
lightweight crown (130 lbs), Pacquiao already made history by
becoming the first Asian pugilist to snare three world titles. The
Filipino had previously won titles in the flyweight (WBC, 1998-99;
112 lbs) and junior featherweight (International Boxing Federation [IBF],
2001-03; 122 lbs) divisions. He narrowly missed a fourth crown when
his first fight with Marquez for the WBA-IBF featherweight title
(126 lbs) in May 2004 was declared a draw.
There appears to be no denying
Pacquiao in his pursuit of a fourth title. As I write this piece,
the odds in favor of a PacMan victory had soared to 4-to-1.
The record book lists Thomas
“Hitman” Hearns as boxing’s first quadruple champion. Hearns
accomplished the feat in October 1987, when he knocked out Juan
Roldan with 59 seconds left in the fourth round to win the WBC
middleweight (160 lbs) title. Hearns had earlier won titles in the
welterweight (WBC, 1980-81; 147 lbs), junior middleweight (WBC,
1982-86; 154 lbs) and lightheavyweight (WBC, 1987; 175 lbs)
divisions.
A day after the historic feat,
Hearns made a guest appearance on the Late Show with Johnny Carson,
starred in a motorcade parade in his native Detroit and shook hands
with US President Ronald Reagan at the White House. “I made about
15 speeches in that one day,” recalled Hearns.
Hearns found himself in good
company when rival Sugar Ray Leonard also nailed his fourth world
title in November 1988. Leonard actually won two world titles (his
fourth and fifth crowns) that day when he knocked out Donny Lalonde—the
newly created WBC supermiddleweight crown (168 lbs) and Lalonde’s
WBC light heavy crown. It marked the only time a boxer won two
separate world titles in one day. Before taming Lalonde, Leonard had
been a champion in the welterweight (1979-80; 1980-81), junior
middleweight (1981) and middleweight (1987) classes.
Panamian slugger Roberto Duran
became the third four-time champ when he outgutted Iran “The
Blade” Barkley for the WBC middleweight title in February 1989.
Duran first reigned as world lightweight champion (135 lbs) from
1972 to 1979. He moved up to the welter ranks and defeated Leonard
in June 1980 for the WBC title. In 1983, Duran whipped Davey Moore
for the WBA junior middle plum. Believe it or not, Duran started out
as lightweight champ and went all the way up to the middleweight
division.
After Duran, other boxers who
successfully scaled the four-title plateau were Pernell “Sweet
Pea” Whitaker, Leo Gamez, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
and Roy Jones Jr.
Whitaker won titles in the
lightweight (1989-92), junior welterweight (1992-93; 140 lbs),
welterweight (1993-97) and junior middleweight (1995) divisions.
Gamez, the lightest quadruple champ, captured crowns in the
strawweight (1988-89; 105lbs), junior flyweight (1993-95; 108lbs)
and flyweight (1999) divisions.
De La Hoya, who is planning to
retire this year, was champion in the lightweight (1994-95), junior
welterweight (1996-97), welterweight (1997-99; 2000) and junior
middleweight (2001-03; 2006-07) categories. Jones is the heaviest
four-time champ, bagging titles in the middleweight (1993-94),
supermiddleweight (1994-96); lightheavyweight (1996; 1997-2004) and
heavyweight (2003 weight unlimited) divisions.
Mayweather collared his first
world title (WBC junior lightweight) in October 1998, made eight
defenses and then moved up to capture the WBC lightweight title in
April 2002. He won the WBC junior welter title in June 2005 and then
beat Zab Judah for the IBF welter crown in April 2006.
All of boxing’s quadruple
champions won their titles from the WBC, WBA or IBF—the three
generally recognized sanctioning bodies in boxing. Leonard, Whitaker
and De La Hoya are the only quadruple champs who also won a gold
medal in the Olympics.
Barring a major upset, Pacquiao
figures to be the sport’s ninth four-time world champion.
For comments, the writer can
be reached at atty_eduardo@ yahoo.com.
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