By Cliff Rold
After a win which was dominant both in terms of skill and physical mastery, Floyd Mayweather made clear what was hinted at in his win over Juan Manuel Marquez last year.
He’s back.
More to the point, he never really left. When he played like he had for a brief period between 2008 and 2009, he was seen by many as the best fight in the world pound-for-pound with only one real competitor.
Nothing has changed and anyone who sees a discernible gap between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is probably really saying one of two things:
1) Who their personal favorite between the two is; and/or
2) Who they think would win a fight between the two.
That’s it. Given that both have separated from the pack across multiple divisions and at Welterweight, that they are contemporaries who can make a real rather than imaginary ‘pound-for-pound’ fight, it all comes down to a question borrowed in paraphrase from Mayweather-Mosley.
Who would you be picking?
In terms of accomplishments, competition, and dominance they just aren’t that far apart. Mayweather beat Mosley by a score of no less than 10-2; Pacquiao beat Miguel Cotto last year while losing maybe three rounds before stopping him in the twelfth. Cotto beat Mosley about 7-5 a few years ago, making his edge approximately the rounds difference of control between Mayweather-Mosley and Pacquiao-Cotto.
Pacquiao has made title claims in more weight classes generally (seven) and lineally (a record four) than Floyd (five and three). Floyd has the singular best title reign of either so far, posting a historically significant run at Jr. Lightweight. And, while lagging behind Pacquiao in terms of divisions competed in, he’s bested more current or former titlists (15 to 12) and more current or former lineal World Champions among them (eight to five). If one considers the Mayweather-Mosley fight as legitimately for lineal honors at Welterweight, in spite of Floyd’s ‘good on him’ refusal to pay WBA sanctioning fees, he also has won more title fights, stretching to 19-0 versus Pacquiao’s 13-1-2.
Against common opponents, Pacquiao was more dominant against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton after they had lost to Mayweather; Mayweather was more dominant against a Juan Manuel Marquez who took Pacquiao to the wall twice in a draw and loss. What each man took out of those foes, and what mitigating circumstances might have existed, are open for debate. The results are not.
The bottom line: discussion of the best fighter in the world across all seventeen of boxing’s weight classes is a two-man race. The rest of the world is playing for third and is well lapped by the men up top. Thinking from the perspective of a fan, Pacquiao might rate ahead. His fights are usually more thrilling, an electricity not seen since the heyday of Mike Tyson. Thinking clinically, Mayweather is the best technician since the prime of Pernell Whitaker.
If it all comes down to who would be most likely to win a clash between the two, and after the Mosley win it’s the only sincere way to analyze the race, then it’s put it in language BoxingScene readers can appreciate.
Skills pay bills.
1) Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KO)
Age: 33
Current Title: World Welterweight
Career Titles: World Jr. Lightweight champion (1998-2001); World Lightweight champion (2002-04); World Welterweight/147 lbs. (2007-09); additional alphabelts at 130, 135, 140, 147 & 154 lbs.
Last Five Opponents: Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Carlos Baldomir
Up Next: TBA
2) Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO)
Age: 31
Current Titles: WBO Welterweight (147 lbs.); World Junior Welterweight (140 lbs.)
Career Titles: World Flyweight/112 lb. champion (1998-99); World Featherweight/126 lb. champion (2003-2005); World Jr. Lightweight/130 lb. champion (2008); additional alphabelts at 112, 122, 130, and 135 lbs.
Last Five Opponents: Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, David Diaz
Next Opponent: TBA
Let’s hope these two make THE FIGHT before 2010 has expired.
As to the rest of the list, Mosley exits. His exit is chosen due to a combination of factors. He had a strong two rounds against Mayweather but couldn’t compete much beyond that. The quick turn to retirement talk after the fight for the 38-year old was a strong indication of where he’ll likely be going forward. Mosley has had a great career and can take pride in his being elected to the Hall of Fame some day, but he’s probably not one of the ten best in the world anymore.
Mosley’s exit elevates some of the men below him. Other recent activity and results since the previous update on April 7th make this a prime time for updating slots 3-10 of the BoxingScene Pound for Pound Top Ten.
3) Paul Williams (38-1, 27 KO)
Age: 28
Current Title: None
Career Titles: Two alphabelt reigns at Welterweight
Last Five Opponents: Sergio Martinez, Winky Wright, Verno Phillips, Andy Kolle, Carlos Quintana (twice)
Next Opponent: May 8, 2010 vs. Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KO)
The Take: Williams may not have a notable title right now, but, if only for strict and slick promotional purposes, he should probably be calling himself the “uncrowned Middleweight Champion of the World.” After all, try as he might, he couldn’t quite get Kelly Pavlik in the ring for the title and the man who did, Sergio Martinez, beat Pavlik. Williams bested Martinez late in 2009 in a Middleweight classic and a rematch between the two is a must at some point. For now, Williams prepares for hard punching Kermit Cintron in what looks like a stay busy fight. With eye catching speed, volume punching, and speed, Williams presents match-up problems for everyone under 160 lbs. With wins over Antonio Margarito, a shutout of Winky Wright, and Sergio Martinez, he has evidence of the success those problems bring him.
4) Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO)
Age: 27
Current Title: Interim WBC Light Heavyweight
Career Titles: Another Alphabelt at 175
Last Five Opponents: Antonio Tarver (twice), Glen Johnson (twice), Epifanio Mendoza, Jesus Ruiz, Tomasz Adamek
Next Opponent: August 14, 2010 vs. Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO)
The Take: This Light Heavyweight star in the making has put together an impressive run since toppling veteran Eric Harding in 2006. His win over Adamek was almost bell to bell control; Adamek has since established himself as the best Cruiserweight in the world and is now busting up Heavyweights. Johnson and Tarver give him wins over two recent, popular choices for Light Heavyweight champion of the World. Johnson was hell the first time around but Dawson showed his learning curve in a decisive technical victory in their November 2009 rematch. What Dawson has lacked is a compelling young opponent who can match his speed and play on his willingness to fight, sometimes to his own detriment. The Johnson rematch victory gave Dawson the interim WBC belt at 175 and now it’s the WBC’s regular titlist Jean Pascal. The two are headed for a clash and, given the speed and willingness to battle both men have, it should be a circled date on any boxing fan’s calendar. Should Dawson win, his claim to the Light Heavyweight crown is made complete.
5) Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KO)
Age: 35
Current Titles: World Middleweight; alphabelt at Jr. Middleweight
Last Five Opponents: Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron, Alex Bunema, Archak TerMeliksetian
Next Opponent: TBA
My Take: There were plenty of folks who thought Martinez deserved the decision against Paul Williams last year; more than plenty who saw him stop and then ultimately win more rounds against Cintron only to end up with a draw. Everyone watching saw him beat Pavlik and he was rewarded as such by the judges, allowing him to claim one of the most storied titles in all of sport. Since a stoppage loss to Antonio Margarito in February 2000, Martinez is a stellar 29-1-1. Regularly entertaining and among the best athletes in the sport, the southpaw Martinez came late to boxing and is making the most of a long learning curve with remarkable speed and the ability to fight moving forward or backwards. With potential rematches out there against both Pavlik and Williams, and a rising crop of young talent at Middleweight the likes of which not seen in more than a decade, Martinez will have plenty of chances to improve on his standing in the year, maybe even years, ahead.
6) Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO)
Age: 36
Current Title: World Lightweight/135 lb. Champion (2008-Present)
Career Titles: Alphabet titles at 126, 130 lbs.
Last Five Opponents: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Diaz, Joel Casamayor, Manny Pacquiao, Rocky Juarez
Next Opponent: July 31, 2010 vs. Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO)
The Take: Marquez’s last outing, the ill fated move to Welterweight to try Floyd Mayweather, could obscure what Marquez got done in the fights preceding to earn acclaim. He gave Pacquiao everything he could handle, gave Casamayor and Diaz more than that. Now it appears Marquez and the younger Diaz will do it again for the Lightweight crown. Both will come in off of losses, above 135 lbs., but still are among the very best Lightweights in the world. How the 36-year old Marquez performs will say much about whether and where he remains on this list; so too will pending performances from those around him on the list. Marquez at his best was a special technician and his accomplishments provide him a measure of a benefit of the doubt for now, bumping him up a slot in the wake of the Hopkins removal.
7) Fernando Montiel (41-2-2, 31 KO)
Age: 31
Current Title: WBO Bantamweight (2009-Present); WBC Bantamweight (2010-Present)
Career Titles: additional alphabelts at Flyweight and Jr. Bantamweight
Last Five Opponents: Hozumi Hasegawa, Ciso Morales, Alejandro Valdez, Diego Oscar Silva, Juan Alberto Rosas
Next Opponent: TBA
My Take: Bantamweight is one of the four best weight classes in boxing both in terms of depth and quality…and it has a new leader. There is sometimes a separation between pound for pound thinking within a given moment and against the stretch of history. Some fighters are better regarded when viewed as bodies of work rather than as performers from fight to fight. Mexico’s Montiel is proving to be one of them. Traveling to Japan to face the red hot Hozumi Hasegawa, Montiel landed an impaling pair of left hands to hurt his man and finished him along the ropes to win the first unification match at Bantamweight in almost forty years. Hasegawa left with a broken jaw and Montiel arrived, finally, at the sort of accolades predicted for him many years ago. Montiel, who is 9-0-1 since his last defeat, might have crashed the ratings even higher were it for the “draw” in that run two fights ago. A non-title fight against Alejandro Valdez which saw both men on the floor probably should have ended in a stoppage loss on a cut after round three, a reminder of why Montiel has been on the pound-for-pound fringes for so long: he’s had a tendency to have bad night at the wrong times. A titlist in three weight classes whose record in title fights now stands at 17-2 with 13 stops, Montiel has finally found a way to get his body of work and the moment to line up.
8) Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KO)
Age: 26
Current Title: WBO Jr. Welterweight
Career Titles: Additional alphabelt at Jr. Welterweight
Last Five Opponents: Lamont Peterson, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt, Edner Cherry, Junior Witter
Next Opponent: TBA
My Take: Bradley is the best active fighter in arguably boxing’s deepest pool of talent today. There are some divisions which struggle to field more than five real candidates for the top of the class. Jr. Welterweight has a top ten which isn’t big enough for all of the talent swimming around. Bradley burst from the pack in 2008 with an upset win, on the road, over the long avoided Brit Junior Witter to win the WBC belt. Since then, he’s only faced one fighter (Cherry) who would be considered a softer touch and through 2009, Bradley found ways to look better in each outing. He came off the floor to win a unification battle with Holt and was dominating veteran former Lightweight titlist Nate Campbell before an accidental cut shortened their affair in the third. Perhaps most impressive, Bradley bested the unbeaten Lamont Peterson while showing off a fully developed toolbox. Bradley began aggressively, dropping Peterson, and then met him in the trenches for sustained warfare as Peterson willed himself back into the fight. As Peterson got close, Bradley changed tactics again, moving and boxing to contain the affair. He has become a genuine jack of all trades, a combination of elite speed, footwork, defense, and offensive activity who reminds that the application of the sweet science need not be dull.
9) Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (75-3-1, 39 KO)
Age: 32
Current Title: World Flyweight/112 lb. Champion (2010-Present)
Career Titles: World Flyweight (2001-07)
Last Five Opponents: Koki Kameda, Rodel Tejares, Takahisa Masuda, Julio Cesar Miranda, Shahram Toradide
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: Thailand’s Wonjongkam walked onto undefeated Koki Kameda’s home turf in Tokyo, a little slower and a little more reserved than he was in his prime, but with all the education that his many rounds have given him. He left the ring having regained lineal and WBC Flyweight honors, added recognition from Ring Magazine, and probably sealing his eventual induction to the Hall of Fame. The Kameda win also allowed for a new perspective on Wonjongkam. He was built and continued through an increasingly disappearing approach, lots of activity against lesser lights keeping him sharp for the taxing fights he would take. In recent vintage, since losing the title to rival Daisuke Naito in their third fight in 2007, he’s gone 10-0-1, made a strong case to having reclaimed the title in the fourth Naito fight, and bested solid contender Julio Cesar Miranda. Across his career, since the lone stoppage loss of his career in 1996, Wonjongkam has gone 66-1-1; he’s broken Hall of Famer Miguel Canto’s consecutive title defense record at 112 lbs. by three with seventeen; and now he has masterfully outboxed the biggest young star in the world below Bantamweight to reclaim his title. It all adds up to earned recognition as one of the best fighters in the world.
10) Ivan Calderon (33-0-1, 6 KO)
Age: 35
Current Title: World Jr. Flyweight/108 lb. Champion (2007-Present)
Career Titles: Additional alphabelts at 105 & 108 lbs.
Last Five Opponents: Rodel Mayol (twice), Hugo Cazares (twice), Nelson Dieppa, Juan Esquer, Ronald Barrera
Next Opponent: June 12, 2010 vs. Jesus Iribe (16-6-5, 10 KO)
The Take: Calderon’s hold on the number ten spot is tenuous and he could be gone by the summer. A June tune-up sets up a mandatory with Johnriel Casimero (14-0, 8 KO). It’s probably not enough. Casimero is a decent young contender but others like Ward, Lopez, and Gamboa all have more meaningful fare coming up. For now, like Marquez, he retains some benefit of the doubt. He’s been inactive for less than a year and his last two opponents have gone on to impress. Mayol followed two competitive, if cut shortened, challenges of Calderon by winning a major title at 108 lbs. The man who, to date, has been Calderon’s defining rival, Hugo Cazares, has emerged as a legitimate force in the talented Jr. Bantamweight class. Combine that with an undefeated mark, quality title reigns in two weight classes, and Calderon’s standing as one of the, if not the, best pure boxer of his time and he remains rated for now.
Five More Who Could Easily Be Here: Chris John, Nonito Donaire, Anselmo Moreno, Bernard Hopkins, Lucian Bute
Five More Who Could Be Here Shortly: Andre Ward, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, Celestino Caballero, Devon Alexander
As always, feel free to agree…and disagree. This list is for entertainment purposes only and based purely on imagination, hypotheticals and conjecture just like every other pound for pound list ever written. Neither it nor any other such list made up of such illusory ingredients should be used to forward corporate agendas of any kind.
That doesn’t make it any less fun to argue about.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
