Tweet
I emailed Doug last week surprised he replied back
This is my email and his reply...enjoy, and debate
ATG RANKINGS
Me
Why do always rate PAC over mayweather when doing your lists? PAC is a ATG and an ambassador to the sport but mayweather has the edge in to many categories to list PAC over him…also that fighter of the decade accolade is pure crap considering PAC lost to a past prime morales and a draw with jmm…he let Marquez back in the fight by not adjusting and being on dimensional. Mayweather went undefeated and fought better versions of hatton and DLH….also mayweather has over twice as many title fight wins, far more title defenses, defeated more champions and still took no L….also mayweather is more skilled and on par with PAC on athletic gifts…you can’t measure the mind so people always look at aesthetic things…mayweather also better at making adjustments mid fight….no need for so many fight series if you win clearly…both are ATG but in my book mayweather is the best of this era…after may 2nd that has been made crystal clear. – OkDarrien
Dougie's reply
You can certainly make an argument that Mayweather is the best of this era, and thus ahead of Pacquiao on any sort of all-time pound for pound list. I guess it all depends on your criteria. Just to be clear, though, the recent list posted in this column (in Friday’s mailbag) simply named Pacquiao the fighter of the 2000s (so it didn’t factor in anything from the 1990s or 2010s).
I could have easily gone with Mayweather or Bernard Hopkins as the fighter of the 2000s. Like I said, it comes down to what you value in a fighter’s accomplishments. All three secured their eventual hall-of-fame enshrinements during the last decade. In terms of their entire careers, I consider Hopkins to be an all-time great and I rate him over both Mayweather and Pacquiao, but I have no problem with anyone who thinks that Floyd and Pac are also ATGs (or better fighters/legacies than B-Hop).
Anyway, I slightly favored the quality of Pacquiao’s opposition over those that Mayweather and Hopkins faced from 2000 through 2009. Did he dominate everyone he fought? Nope. Is he as good a boxer/technician as Floyd or Bernard? Nope. But he was fiercely competitive with everyone he fought, including Marquez and Morales (who was past his prime but still dangerous and still highly rated), and he also made for many memorable fights. Pacquiao gets a lot of points from me because he dominated Marco Antonio Barrera when the Mexican master was near the top of most pound-for-pound lists and then took on one of the most avoided fighters of the late 1990s/early 2000s in JMM. Pacquiao faced Marquez when the counter-punching technician was in his prime and they fought at Marquez’s prime weight class: featherweight. The two victories over Barrera, the trilogy with Morales, the draw and split decision over JMM, the chilling KO of Hatton and stoppage of Cotto held a lot of weight with me (not to mention his winning titles and champion recognition at 122, 126, 130, 135, 140 and 147 pounds).
By the way, just because Mayweather is undefeated doesn’t mean he absolutely dominated everyone he faced. He arguably lost to Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 and he struggled with Zab Judah and the 2007 version of De La Hoya.
This is my email and his reply...enjoy, and debate
ATG RANKINGS
Me
Why do always rate PAC over mayweather when doing your lists? PAC is a ATG and an ambassador to the sport but mayweather has the edge in to many categories to list PAC over him…also that fighter of the decade accolade is pure crap considering PAC lost to a past prime morales and a draw with jmm…he let Marquez back in the fight by not adjusting and being on dimensional. Mayweather went undefeated and fought better versions of hatton and DLH….also mayweather has over twice as many title fight wins, far more title defenses, defeated more champions and still took no L….also mayweather is more skilled and on par with PAC on athletic gifts…you can’t measure the mind so people always look at aesthetic things…mayweather also better at making adjustments mid fight….no need for so many fight series if you win clearly…both are ATG but in my book mayweather is the best of this era…after may 2nd that has been made crystal clear. – OkDarrien
Dougie's reply
You can certainly make an argument that Mayweather is the best of this era, and thus ahead of Pacquiao on any sort of all-time pound for pound list. I guess it all depends on your criteria. Just to be clear, though, the recent list posted in this column (in Friday’s mailbag) simply named Pacquiao the fighter of the 2000s (so it didn’t factor in anything from the 1990s or 2010s).
I could have easily gone with Mayweather or Bernard Hopkins as the fighter of the 2000s. Like I said, it comes down to what you value in a fighter’s accomplishments. All three secured their eventual hall-of-fame enshrinements during the last decade. In terms of their entire careers, I consider Hopkins to be an all-time great and I rate him over both Mayweather and Pacquiao, but I have no problem with anyone who thinks that Floyd and Pac are also ATGs (or better fighters/legacies than B-Hop).
Anyway, I slightly favored the quality of Pacquiao’s opposition over those that Mayweather and Hopkins faced from 2000 through 2009. Did he dominate everyone he fought? Nope. Is he as good a boxer/technician as Floyd or Bernard? Nope. But he was fiercely competitive with everyone he fought, including Marquez and Morales (who was past his prime but still dangerous and still highly rated), and he also made for many memorable fights. Pacquiao gets a lot of points from me because he dominated Marco Antonio Barrera when the Mexican master was near the top of most pound-for-pound lists and then took on one of the most avoided fighters of the late 1990s/early 2000s in JMM. Pacquiao faced Marquez when the counter-punching technician was in his prime and they fought at Marquez’s prime weight class: featherweight. The two victories over Barrera, the trilogy with Morales, the draw and split decision over JMM, the chilling KO of Hatton and stoppage of Cotto held a lot of weight with me (not to mention his winning titles and champion recognition at 122, 126, 130, 135, 140 and 147 pounds).
By the way, just because Mayweather is undefeated doesn’t mean he absolutely dominated everyone he faced. He arguably lost to Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 and he struggled with Zab Judah and the 2007 version of De La Hoya.
Comment