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Emanuel Steward interview "Pacquiao is beyond the Hall of Fame" (Podcast available)
November 15th, 2009
8CountNews caught up with the legendary trainer/HBO commentator Emanuel Steward and got his thoughts on the spectacular performance put on by Manny Pacquiao. Steward leaves no question as to where he feels Pacquiao should be ranked amongst the all time greats, and that's at the top. Steward shares his thoughts on history in the making, and breaks down the big fight. Check out what one of the games brightest minds had to say in this exclusive one on one interview.
8CN - Manny it was an incredible performance put on by Manny Pacquiao, give me your thoughts on the fight.
ES - I thought Manny Pacquiao looked sensational last night. I saw him fight more seasoned and relaxed than I had ever seen him. He made Cotto look like an inferior type fighter. He showed punching power, boxing ability, combination's, ring intelligence, ability to take a punch, and angles.
8CN - You're very good at looking at a fight early on and being able to tell what the outcome will be. Did you have this fight figured out early?
ES - Yea, I had Pacquiao favored close before hand. I didn't think he would win by that kind of margin. The speed in the beginning, and the different strengths he showed changed the fight. All of the sudden Manny got into his rhythm and that's what threw Cotto off. Manny can punch, move, whatever and Cotto is a straight more forward fighter. He can't throw all of those punches and combination's. You see Manny can throw punches from all angles and twists, and turns, and his punches are coming from all angles. I said at the 3rd round that this was going to be a very good fight, and then all of the sudden Manny gets the knockdown, and Miguel never got his confidence back anymore.
8CN - Manny now has seven world titles in seven different weight classes. You have seen a lot of great fighters, so where do you see him now? He's got to be in the greatest of all time ranking now, no?
ES - You said it right there, he's the greatest of all time. He's the only modern fighter.... I mean Bernard Hopkins will go to the Hall of Fame, and De La Hoya will too, but none of them has accomplished what this man has. He's been in America for the last 8 or 9 years fighting the top in the business all the way up to the top welterweights, and been consistent in all of his fights. Even the one fight he lost, he still fought a great fight, and then came back and knocked him out in the next fight. Everybody that's been available to him, he's put forth great performances against. He's definitely an all time great. He's beyond Hall of Fame, he's an all time great with the Muhammad Ali's and the Ray Robinson's.
8CN - If a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao happens next, how do you see that fight playing out?
ES - I haven't had enough time to really think about it yet. Mayweather is a different animal, he's a lot more technical. But also, Manny will be difficult for him because Mayweather had a stationary target in front him in Marquez. Manny is a moving target and punches from all angles. I think it's going to be a very interesting fight, and I definitely think it's going to take place.
8CN - Describe the atmosphere last night in the MGM Grand.
ES - It was thick, the crowd became so big that the ring just became a little dot in the middle of it all. The Puerto Rican fans and the Filipino's were all there to support their guy. It was like two guys, two bad kids from the neighborhood that were going to fight and everyone was there to take bets on who's going to win. The atmostphere was like war, because of the mindset in both guys.
8CN - Thank you for doing such a good job giving the fans a great perspective of the fight from your angle. Thanks for doing this interview on short notice.
ES - Thank you, and I enjoy doing your show.
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Great interview.
