Manny Pacquiao is the only fighter to win world titles at eight weight classes, a record which may never be broken.
The Filipino fighter won his seventh world title when Manny Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton before he hit the floor, in one of the most devastating finishes of his career.
However, that wasn’t enough for Pacquiao, who had dreams of not just beating the record for the most world titles, but absolutely decimating it.
As Pacquiao prepares to return to the ring and claim his 13th world title, we harken back to PacMan’s record-breaking eight-weight world title with a brutal victory.
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Manny Pacquiao dominated Antonio Margarito to earn the world title in his eighth weight class
Pacquiao made history one night in Texas on November 13, 2010, when he decimated Antonio Margarito in a world title fight.
Less than a year after Pacquiao had knocked out Miguel Cotto to win the WBO Welterweight title, he was not content being a record-breaking seven-weight champion.
The Filipino fighter targeted Antonio Margarito, a controversial Mexican-American fighter who held the WBO Welterweight title.
This was the holy grail for PacMan, the eighth and final title he needed to complete his octet to shatter records and confirm himself as an all-time great.
Despite failing to knock Margarito out on the night, he absolutely brutalized the champion in the ring en route to taking his belt away from him.
This was just a year after Margarito was caught using illegal hand wraps following his win over Miguel Cotto, so fan sentiment was deeply against the alleged cheater in Texas that night.
Despite Pacquiao standing nearly five inches shorter than Margarito, he hammered him with incredible speed and technique, causing three huge cuts on the champion’s head.
He battered him throughout the fight, with everyone but the referee insisting that the fight should be stopped. They made it all 12 rounds before the judges handed PacMan the unanimous decision victory and the record-breaking eight-weight championship.
Pacquiao sent Margarito to the hospital thanks to the beating he gave him, breaking the former champion’s orbital bone to add insult to injury after winning his world title.
No other boxer comes close to Manny Pacquiao’s achievements
The eight different weight classes in which Pacquiao won world titles show how talented and versatile he is as a boxer, in a way that nobody has ever come close to.
Pacquiao is the only eight-weight champion in history. In fact, no other boxer has even managed seven titles, with Oscar De La Hoya coming closest by winning titles in six different weight classes.
Even Floyd Mayweather, who famously beat Pacquiao in one of the biggest fights of all time, only managed to win in five different weight classes.
However, his undefeated record shows that maybe he could have managed more if he had decided to.
Pacquiao’s record is unmatched and may remain unmatched for some time, with nobody even coming close to equalling PacMan’s greatness at any size.
He won titles form Flyweight (112 lbs) to Super Welterweight (154 lbs), showing an incredible variation of opponents that he dominated during his prime.