Martial Arts Sparring

Bruce Lee is the greatest martial artist of the 20th century and Manny Pacquiao is the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world. Both of them are similar size in height and weight though Pacquiao is still going up in weight class.

If they were to fight with boxing rules only I honestly think Pacquiao would tear up Lee because obviously Pacquiao is trained way more in that discipline alone. Lee did win a boxing competition when he was in high school but that wasn’t even a professional fight. Pacquiao is a world class boxer.

However, if it was a street fight, I think Pacquiao would have no chance at all. As Dana White once said, "..and Bruce Lee..is the father of Mixed Martial Arts". Though Pacquiao has good defense and terrific boxing-specific footwork, Lee could outdo him at striking because he also incorporates arm-trapping and locks and his footwork is incredible because it’s an overall kind of footwork. Pacquiao has had training in Muay Thai but he hasn’t nearly trained enough at kicking as Lee. Because Lee is such a well-rounded fighter, I think if he didn’t want to do striking with him, he could also take the fight to the ground where Pacquiao has no chance at all. Obviously striking was Bruce’s thing, but who’s to say he wouldn’t use grappling/submission? He had so many real fights after he created his Jeet Kune Do concept and especially later on after he starred in shows and movies. It doesn’t mean all of those fights ended up the same exact way every time. I don’t think he learned Jiu-Jitsu from Wally Jay for no reason. Just because you don’t see him use grappling/submissions in his movies (with the expection of Enter the Dragon and his unfinished movie Game of Death) doesn’t mean he never used it in real life.

I honestly think though, if Bruce spent more time on boxing specifically, he could beat Pacquiao at a boxing match. If Manny started training in mixed martial arts and got epically good at all aspects of the game (and I bet he could), he would at least be even with Bruce.