Photo by Gerhard Joren
As Manny Pacquaio closes out his illustrious career, few will argue his place among the all-time greats is secured. Moreover, all bets are off that Pacquiao has cemented his spot as the greatest boxer to ever come from the continent of Asia.
There may be more arguments, however, if boxing writers and fans alike paid some attention to the astonishing achievements of the Asian greats that may have paved the way for the success Pacquiao and some of his contemporaries are enjoying today.
In 2002, Ring Magazine included Fighting Harada from Japan, Khaosai Galaxy from Thailand, Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde from the Phillipines in their list of the 80 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years.
There is no doubt since that list came out in 2002, other Asian greats including Manny Pacquaio must be added to the list.
While there have been some exceptionally talented championship-level boxers from Asia, few boxing fans in Europe and the Western Hemisphere know much about these Asian icons because many of them did fight outside their respective homelands and none of them enjoyed the international fame and status that Pacquaio has for the past decade.
In honor of perhaps the best Asian boxer ever, Manny Pacquaio, who will reportedly retire from the sport after the Timothy Bradley this Saturday, April 9, 2016, here is an earnest attempt to compare achievements and rank the top 10 Asian fighters of all time.
