Pacman popularity points toward Floyd fight -- we hope

The first indication that Manny Pacquiao had evolved from mere stardom into something universally larger came this month when he appeared in Time magazine's Asia edition, making him one of the few Filipinos to ever grace the cover. One of the others was former President Corazon Aquino, who was once dubbed by the magazine as the "saint of democracy."

When you're a boxer and in the same company with a saint, that's not too bad.

The second indication also came recently when he was accused by at least one boxer of using steroids.

With a visit from Mickey Rourke, it becomes official: Manny Pacquiao is a pop-culture phenom. (AP)

According to the website Nowboxing.com, fighter Kermit Cintron told Ring Talk he believes Pacquiao's strength is enhanced, and not by pushups or flaxseed oil.

"I honestly think that he is taking something, because a lot of fighters coming up in weight like that, 40-something pounds. ... He just looks ripped like Bruce Lee," Cintron said during a Ring Talk interview. "A lot of people who come up in weight like that don't look as ripped as he is, they hold a lot of water weight. I just believe he is taking something. I think he is taking something that's for sure.

"I don't know what it is; whatever he is taking, it's not coming up in the drug test. I honestly believe he is taking something. No 112-pounder comes up to 147, to look the way he does. He is taking something. Definitely, people who come up in weight like that, they look soft, they don't look as ripped like when they fought at the weight they started. It's definitely questionable."

It's the fame and fortune two-step, a sort of sports determinism: First come the platitudes and then arrives the microscope. And what is more symbolic of American sports superstardom than a good, old-fashioned steroid accusation?

Whether the statement from Cintron (and he's not the first to speculate about Pacquiao) is a calumnious mess or accurate, no one will likely ever know, and that isn't really the point. The point is, by almost every conceivable measuring stick, both decent and otherwise, the Pacman has arrived into the mainstream.

Pacquiao was also on Jimmy Kimmel's show, yet another indicator that Pacquiao's fame has hit DefCon status.

All of the media attention (and attention in general) is due to one fact alone: The media and boxing world know that Pacquiao holds a great deal of power, and it isn't just from his devastating punches.

If Pacquiao can convince a nice chunk of the public to watch his WBO welterweight title fight Saturday against Miguel Cotto, and if Pacquiao can win (which is no certainty), it would dramatically propel interest in Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.

And that's where Pacquiao's power comes in. If Pacquiao-Mayweather were to occur, it would be the biggest bout in recent boxing history and one of the landmark sporting events of the decade.

It's been said before (and overstated) how one fight can re-energize boxing. A Pacquiao fight against Mayweather wouldn't be one of those exaggerations.

It would, indeed, not just save the sport, but propel it back to mainstream relevance.

Mayweather would likely beat Pacquiao, but the buildup would be massive and the fight likely highly entertaining.

All of that is at stake for the Pacman-Cotto fight. The bout itself is a good one (but not a great one). So the attention it's receiving isn't so much for this fight as it is for the potential of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.

This fight is a stepping stone to a possible blockbuster, just as long as Mayweather's fat ego doesn't mess things up.

Which is always possible.

Because there aren't enough galaxies in the cosmos to hold Mayweather's ego.

Pacquiao's journey to this point has been a remarkable one. While he's not a new name to boxing -- he beat Oscar De La Hoya and is attempting to win a world title at a record-breaking seventh weight division -- it seems he's nevertheless beginning a journey into the mainstream of American sports after a wild ride of an early life.

He's claimed to have slept on cardboard boxes on street corners while growing up, and now Forbes ranks him as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.

From the streets to Kimmel to Time.

Now if only he could continue the dream by beating Cotto and then facing Mayweather.

Please. Pretty please.