FILIPINO ring legend Manny Pacquiao was among the galaxy of boxing stars invited to be at ringside for the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou heavyweight fight in Saudi Arabia.
Manny Pacquiao at Fury vs Ngannou ringside
Pacquiao, 44, posted on his IG account sort of a class picture that gathered past champions, Hall of Famers, and current fighters who all came to the capital city of Riyadh for the special event.
Among those in the photo are Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis, Oscar Dela Hoya, Erik Morales, Antonio Tarver, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, Michael Spinks, Miguel Cotto, Joe Calzaghe, Dmitry Bivol, Frank Sanchez, Frank Bruno, Bakhodir Jalolov, and even trainer and boxing commentator Teddy Atlas.
“Honored to be among the legends of the sport of boxing,” said Pacquiao on his caption.
The MMA fighters won’t be missed out too, as also in the photo are Chuck Liddel, Randy Couture, Israel Adesanya, and Rampage Jackson.
Pacquiao’s series of photos also showed him together with Leonard, Jones, Lewis, Duran, and Khan, his former stablemate at Wild Card.
But what caught the fancy of most boxing fans were his solo pictures with Dela Hoya and Hatton.
Pacquiao retired Dela Hoya in 2008 after brutally beating him for eight full rounds before the "Golden Boy" quit on his stool in their welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The one-sided victory propelled the Filipino into full superstardom in boxing.
Five months after the Dela Hoya fight, Pacquiao demolished Hatton in just two rounds to win the IBO welterweight belt.
In one of the most vicious knockouts ever in boxing history, the Filipino flattened Hatton on his back unconscious after landing a wicked left hook right on the jaw.
Billed as ‘Battle of the Baddest,’ and promoted by Top Rank, the featured bout pits Fury, the reigning WBC heavyweight title holder, against Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion.
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