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Armstrong vs. Pacquiao: Catchweights Make Alltime P4P Comparisons a Moot Point
144 pounds. 143 pounds. 170 pounds. Catchweights have suddenly become all the rage in boxing. Fighters want to move up in weight , but only to a point. They feel that if a fighter really wants to get them in the ring then he will be more than willing to drop a few pounds to accomplish this goal. This is where the pound for pound rankings end up becoming a joke.
Years ago the great Henry Armstrong held titles at featherweight , lightweight and welterweight , all at the same time. There was none of the arguing over two pounds. Armstrong almost had a fourth title when he moved up to middleweight. He lost the fight but many at ringside thought he had won. He fought for the title while weighing in at a reported 153 pounds. He didn't ask the champion to drop five pounds to fight him.
This is the era we live in today , big money makes a fighter give in to certain demands that should not even be considered. Shane Mosley is willing to come down to 144 pounds to fight Manny Pacquiao. Mosley realizes that he is near the end of his career and would like to have that huge bout that is sure to rake in millions. But is Mosley giving up too much? Shane has one of the best physiques in boxing and short of cutting off a leg it is hard to imagine where three more pounds can fall off of his body. Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao know this. Fighters dehydrate themselves to make weight and even more weight loss makes that fighter vulnerable to getting seriously hurt on fight night.
Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world today. He is also the most exciting fighter in the world today. But if he wants to fight as a welterweight then he needs to fight as a welterweight. If not then he needs to stay at 140. Of course it takes two to tango and there are too many fighters that take money to be made in consideration over health.
So where do these fighters rate alongside Armstrong. "Homicide Hank" fought at a time when there were only eight weight divisions. To fight for a title north of you meant a jump of 11 or 12 pounds. Catchweights are making a mockery of what people like Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson achieved during their careers. Maybe if the Cottos and Mosleys of the boxing world start saying no to Pacquiaos then we'll see who the real pound for pound kings are . Until then we'll get good matchups with bad results. Where's Henry when we really need him.
Years ago the great Henry Armstrong held titles at featherweight , lightweight and welterweight , all at the same time. There was none of the arguing over two pounds. Armstrong almost had a fourth title when he moved up to middleweight. He lost the fight but many at ringside thought he had won. He fought for the title while weighing in at a reported 153 pounds. He didn't ask the champion to drop five pounds to fight him.
This is the era we live in today , big money makes a fighter give in to certain demands that should not even be considered. Shane Mosley is willing to come down to 144 pounds to fight Manny Pacquiao. Mosley realizes that he is near the end of his career and would like to have that huge bout that is sure to rake in millions. But is Mosley giving up too much? Shane has one of the best physiques in boxing and short of cutting off a leg it is hard to imagine where three more pounds can fall off of his body. Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao know this. Fighters dehydrate themselves to make weight and even more weight loss makes that fighter vulnerable to getting seriously hurt on fight night.
Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world today. He is also the most exciting fighter in the world today. But if he wants to fight as a welterweight then he needs to fight as a welterweight. If not then he needs to stay at 140. Of course it takes two to tango and there are too many fighters that take money to be made in consideration over health.
So where do these fighters rate alongside Armstrong. "Homicide Hank" fought at a time when there were only eight weight divisions. To fight for a title north of you meant a jump of 11 or 12 pounds. Catchweights are making a mockery of what people like Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson achieved during their careers. Maybe if the Cottos and Mosleys of the boxing world start saying no to Pacquiaos then we'll see who the real pound for pound kings are . Until then we'll get good matchups with bad results. Where's Henry when we really need him.
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