Manny Pacquiao Pulls the Wool Over Boxing Fans' Eyes, Says Hall of Famer Mark Johnson

Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson is creating a stir just when a lot of young and new boxing fans (and "boxing fans") may have learned his name for the first time after he was elected to the Hall of Fame this week, telling Lem Satterfield and The RING that Pacquiao is not in his league historically:

"There is no comparison. Let me tell you something: like I have said before, nobody called me out, I called them out. So, I didn't fight no dead men. I didn't have to pull the wool over anybody's eyes," said Johnson.

"I didn't have to pull the wool over the eyes of people who don't know boxing by fighting guys like Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and even all of those guys like Antonio Margarito. Them guys were already dead. Everybody I fought was alive."

Johnson, a former two-division champion who retired with a record of 44-5 (28 KO) in 2006, also said that Juan Manuel Marquez was "40% dead" in his fight with Pacquiao on November 12, and exposed Pacquiao.

[ Related: Johnson Elected to Hall With Hearns, Roach ]

Johnson, who turned 40 this past August, isn't saying anything a lot of other people haven't said, but the difference is he's a Hall of Fame boxer who fought in the same era. Hell, back when Pacquiao won his first world title in 1998, Johnson held a world title in the same division. I mean, these are guys who could have fought at some point -- not saying Pacquiao ducked him, so put your shirt back on, just that it could, theoretically, have happened, unlike say, Pacquiao vs Roberto Duran or something. So it's a perspective we don't hear a lot. Most of Pacquiao's critics are pretty transparent, but I wouldn't know what Mark Johnson's agenda is even if he had one.

[ Related: Johnson on Khan vs Peterson, HoF Election ]