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By Cliff Rold
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.)
Career Titles: World Flyweight/112 lb. champion (1998-99); World Featherweight/126 lb. champion (2003-2005); World Jr. Lightweight/130 lb. champion (2008); ; World Junior Welterweight (2009-10); 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: November 13, 2010 vs. Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO)
The Take on the Top Two: 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 13) 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 is that 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.
Where they have been on the scale is weighed against where they are right now and the right now wins. Where they are is Welterweight and both have shown to belong physically in the class but Floyd, of note, didn’t need any catch weights for his best win in class. Mayweather is the best Welterweight in the world until proven otherwise and in a choice between two active Welterweights, that’s enough for number one here.
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
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.)
Career Titles: World Flyweight/112 lb. champion (1998-99); World Featherweight/126 lb. champion (2003-2005); World Jr. Lightweight/130 lb. champion (2008); ; World Junior Welterweight (2009-10); 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: November 13, 2010 vs. Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO)
The Take on the Top Two: 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 13) 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 is that 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.
Where they have been on the scale is weighed against where they are right now and the right now wins. Where they are is Welterweight and both have shown to belong physically in the class but Floyd, of note, didn’t need any catch weights for his best win in class. Mayweather is the best Welterweight in the world until proven otherwise and in a choice between two active Welterweights, that’s enough for number one here.
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
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