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By Cliff Rold - Who is the best professional boxer in the world? The question fascinates many and has for years, allowing for comparisons of accomplishment and skill across the weight scale.
It’s a question asked too often the wrong way.
No matter how much mythical mumbo jumbo goes into the silliness of “pound-for-pound,” if Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fought tomorrow, the only question being literally settled, beyond doubt, would be who is the best Welterweight in the world in 2011.
In other words, who is the real champion at 147 lbs…and the winner would have a strong championship claim indeed, the division all but wiped out at that point between the two of them.
Real boxing doesn’t happen in a virtual cell of the imagination where Jimmy Wilde and Jack Dempsey can be magically matched at equal sizes. Real boxing happens in the ring, in weight divisions (or the occasional catchweight) and in those divisions there is no shortage of men calling themselves champions.
Really.
No shortage at all.
With interim belts and ‘super’ champs to be found dotted all over the scale, picking out those fighters who truly represent championship excellence isn’t always easy. It’s worth it anyways. Once a year, it’s more than fair to put the pretend of pound-for-pound aside and ask about the reality of championship excellence. [Click Here To Read More]
It’s a question asked too often the wrong way.
No matter how much mythical mumbo jumbo goes into the silliness of “pound-for-pound,” if Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fought tomorrow, the only question being literally settled, beyond doubt, would be who is the best Welterweight in the world in 2011.
In other words, who is the real champion at 147 lbs…and the winner would have a strong championship claim indeed, the division all but wiped out at that point between the two of them.
Real boxing doesn’t happen in a virtual cell of the imagination where Jimmy Wilde and Jack Dempsey can be magically matched at equal sizes. Real boxing happens in the ring, in weight divisions (or the occasional catchweight) and in those divisions there is no shortage of men calling themselves champions.
Really.
No shortage at all.
With interim belts and ‘super’ champs to be found dotted all over the scale, picking out those fighters who truly represent championship excellence isn’t always easy. It’s worth it anyways. Once a year, it’s more than fair to put the pretend of pound-for-pound aside and ask about the reality of championship excellence. [Click Here To Read More]
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