Oscar Larios thought he had what it takes to dispose of Manny Pacquiao.  He trained hard and sacrificed a lot and when it was time to fight the Pacman, he believed in his heart that he would not join the group of Mexican losers against the Filipino ring idol.

Larios, however, came up short, so short of everything needed to falsify the claim that Pacquiao is the Scourge of Mexican Boxers.  He had the heart but lacked the necessary heft.  He had the inspiration but not enough of ammunition to destroy The Destroyer.  He had the stuff but not enough to avoid joining the group where Emmanuel Lucero, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Hector Velasquez and Erik Morales belong.  Manny Pacquiao is indeed the scourge of Mexican boxers.

But a closer look into these men reveals something that should bring your respect for Manny Pacquiao to a higher level.  Five of these Mexicans were no ordinary fistmen; they were of the excellent kind, perhaps in the mold of Mexican boxing legends like Ricardo Lopez and Julio Cesar Chaves.

Emmanuel Lucero was an emerging star in Mexican boxing.  Prior to his meeting with Pacquiao, he held a perfect record of 21-0-1, 12 of his wins by knockout.  But when he met Pacquiao, his brightening future in boxing suddenly became dim.  He lost two of his next three fights after his knockout loss to the Pacman.  His loss was even a show of the kind of magnificent power of the Pacman.  One powerful blow of the vaunted Pacquiao left hand hit his jaw and Lucero kissed the night with a sad goodbye.

Marco Antonio Barrera is a living legend in the land of the Aztecs.  His outstanding ring record easily qualifies him in most pound-for-pound lists and his boxing tradition is enough to qualify him to the Boxing Hall of Fame.  He, however, had to suffer at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.  In their duel, Barrera was by no means the legend that he was and after receiving the worst beating of his career, his corner threw in the white towel, an act telling more of mercy than of surrender.  That fight was to be remembered as the Fight of the Year.  It registered the second Mexican victim of the Pacman and a most defining moment for Pacquiao as he was able to beat what many believed to be the greatest featherweight that time.

Juan Manuel Marquez did not lose against the Pacman but he did not win either.  He escaped with a controversial draw.  Thanks to an error of one old judge who erroneously scored round 1.  Marquez, then the WBA featherweight titlist, hit the floor three times in that round to demonstrate the awesome firepower of Manny Pacquiao.  He may have retained his belt but he was not to deny that Pacquiao packs the power, the power that previously floored two and subsequently three of his compatriots.

Erik Morales, nicknamed “El Terrible” was no less the terrible when it was his turn to face Pacquiao.  His rich boxing experience afforded him to be the only ring tactician to neutralize the young, powerful and relentless Filipino pucher.  He won a unanimous decision against the Pacman but it was a win that couldn’t be duplicated in their second encounter.  If he was the “Terrible” winner the first time, he was the “Terrible” loser the second time.  “El Terrible” did not only lose; he was beaten by the Pacman.  In round 10, he was to experience the worst loss, a TKO loss in his storied career, and in the process he had to accept the fact that Pacquiao is really the scourge of Mexican fighters. 

There’s a third part of the Pacquiao-Morales bout.  After November 2006, date of their third meeting, Morales might just decide to hang up his gloves with less glory to decorate it.

Hector Velasquez was an old Mexican fighter just trying to survive his years in boxing.  When he faced the Pacman, he knew he would just be another Mexican to receive the scourge from the Pacman.  Fate had it that way.

Oscar Larios, a former champ in the lower division, was by no means a patsy.  He is one of the pride of Mexico but, just like his predecessors, he had to suffer at the hands of a vastly improving Manny Pacquiao.  He trained hard but it was enough to only last the distance.  Excellence is what he has but it was not to even come up to the level of the Pacman’s excellence.

Six Mexicans, five of them outstanding and Pacquiao decked all of them.  Manny Pacquiao is now the scourge of excellent Mexican boxers.