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Pacquiao got fighter of the decade for climbing the weight classes and fighting legitimate opponents through each one.
Mayweather is a great fighter but who has he beaten lately that was a competitive fight for him on paper? Not Marquez, he had to come up two weight classes for a catchweight Floyd didn't even pretend to honor. Not Hatton, who had struggled with Collazo (who isn't nearly as good as Mayweather). Not De La Hoya, even though the hype would have had you think otherwise. And I can keep going back through his resume until I start reaching his lightweight fights, where he really was a dominant fighter who took on and beat the best.
With the exception of Clottey (which wasn't competitive only because of Clottey's reluctance to fight), Pacquiao's last few fights have all seen him as the underdog for various reasons. For DLH, Hatton and Cotto leading up to those fights all I ever heard about was how Pacquiao was too small and would get roughed up by these guys. Even with catchweights these fights were viewed as very difficult challenges for Pacquiao. He won them so convincingly that it's difficult to even remember all that happening.
I give Floyd a lot of credit for fighting Mosley because even if he wins, and even if he dominates, it's a tough and competitive fight for him on paper. Mosley is quick, knows how to heat a fight up at a moment's notice, picks up his pace and skill level when he senses he's behind, and is bigger and stronger than most of Mayweather's recent opponents. If Mayweather wins I'll give him a boatload of respect and maybe even consider him the #1 guy again. But he's no Muhammad Ali, he hasn't fought the best guys or even guys that have any shot against him in a long while.
Mayweather is a great fighter but who has he beaten lately that was a competitive fight for him on paper? Not Marquez, he had to come up two weight classes for a catchweight Floyd didn't even pretend to honor. Not Hatton, who had struggled with Collazo (who isn't nearly as good as Mayweather). Not De La Hoya, even though the hype would have had you think otherwise. And I can keep going back through his resume until I start reaching his lightweight fights, where he really was a dominant fighter who took on and beat the best.
With the exception of Clottey (which wasn't competitive only because of Clottey's reluctance to fight), Pacquiao's last few fights have all seen him as the underdog for various reasons. For DLH, Hatton and Cotto leading up to those fights all I ever heard about was how Pacquiao was too small and would get roughed up by these guys. Even with catchweights these fights were viewed as very difficult challenges for Pacquiao. He won them so convincingly that it's difficult to even remember all that happening.
I give Floyd a lot of credit for fighting Mosley because even if he wins, and even if he dominates, it's a tough and competitive fight for him on paper. Mosley is quick, knows how to heat a fight up at a moment's notice, picks up his pace and skill level when he senses he's behind, and is bigger and stronger than most of Mayweather's recent opponents. If Mayweather wins I'll give him a boatload of respect and maybe even consider him the #1 guy again. But he's no Muhammad Ali, he hasn't fought the best guys or even guys that have any shot against him in a long while.
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