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Las Vegas?Even with Hubris presenting itself like an unguarded glass chin, Manny Pacquiao coyly refused to deliver the knockout punch.
Popular within boxing circles for his post-fight humility, the new World Boxing Organization welterweight champion deflected praises trumpeting him as the greatest fighter of all time Saturday, preferring to refer to himself as just another ?ordinary fighter.?
At a post-fight press conference, Top Rank chief Bob Arum listed Pacquiao above boxing?s revered icons?even the one who once called himself The Greatest.
?I know I get carried away a lot,? Arum said as his pre-statement apology. ?But Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter I?ve ever seen and that includes [Muhammad] Ali, Sugar Ray [Leonard] and [Marvin] Hagler.?
Pacquiao, who entered the post-fight press room with puffy eyes and a bandaged ear as a result of blood drained from it to relieve swelling, simply smiled off the comment.
?I don?t want to compare my achievements with that of other boxers,? said Pacquiao, whose 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto made him the first boxer to win world titles in seven weight divisions.
?When I think of what I?ve achieved in boxing, even for me, it?s unbelievable,? he added.
Freddie Roach agreed with many that Pacquiao is currently the world?s pound-for-pound great, having fought and beaten the best fighters all those seven divisions had to offer.
But era-for-era?
?I think it?s safe to say that he the greatest fighter of his era,? said the three-time trainer of the year awardee.
Pacquiao, however, corrected his mentor.
?I?m just someone who does my job to give a good fight and enjoyment to the people,? he said. I?m just an ordinary fighter.
Coach interrupted his most famous pupil, saying: ?You?re not ordinary.?
?But that?s what I tell myself,? Pacquiao said. ?Sorry , master.?
Since the prefight conference for ?Firepower,? Pacquiao has been calling Roach his boxing master, and last night, he credited the trainer for playing a huge role in his rapid ascent to the summit of his sport.
?I call him master Roach now. Thanks, master,? said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao even praised Cotto after the match, calling the courageous Puerto Rican warrior ?respectful,? ?strong? and with ?lots of power.?
?I respect him as a fighter,? Pacquiao said. ?He?s different from other fighters because he?s respectful. He?s also strong and he has lots of power.?
