Pacquiao & Ali: Figures on the World Stage

Kevin Iole writes at Yahoo! Sports:

LAS VEGAS – This is the story of a young man with an incredible gift for boxing, who rose from humble beginnings to become the best, most popular, fighter in the world. He was fast, agile and had an uncanny awareness of what was happening in the ring.

He fought all comers, big and small, and was soon lauded the world over for his magnificent skills.

But as wondrous as his boxing talents were, he transcended the sport and became an international figure because of his work outside of the ring.

Fifty years ago, the story was about Muhammad Ali. Today, it is about MANNY PACQUIAO.

The men took opposing routes to reach their status. Ali was a controversial and divisive figure whose personal beliefs overshadowed his magnificent boxing ability. Pacquiao’s stunning rise through eight weight classes and his ability to defeat men much larger put a microscope on his efforts to aid the people of his homeland.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum had a front-row seat for each man’s rise to world-figure stature. Arum was a lawyer just out of the Kennedy administration when he promoted Ali. He was a Hall of Fame promoter winding down a long career when he promoted Pacquiao.

Though their paths were different, Arum noted that each arrived at the same spot.

“Ali transcended the sport, as we know, because he was a very controversial figure and took stands, some of which were not in accordance with the majority opinion in the public at the time, though they eventually came around,” Arum said. “The whole Vietnam War thing. For many people, he was a symbol of the civil rights movement, he was a symbol of the anti-Vietnam feeling and when an athlete really is admired, or even hated, for those positions, he’s more than just a great boxer.”

Read the full article HERE.