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Because some cats question why Manny Pacquiao isn't #1. And that tells me people are only looking at ONE dimension when there are MULTIPLE dimensions that must be considered to consider calling someone "P4P" with a straight face.
You see, I don't care if you say Fighter A is a GREAT fighter. Terence Crawford has shown himself to be a great fighter. But he's not P4P.
I don't care if you say Fighter B is THE MOST SKILLED fighter. Lomachenko has shown himself to be a highly skilled fighter. But that's all he is.
So then you get someone asking, "why wouldn't ________ be P4P #1?" It's easy when you look at ALL DIMENSIONS instead of just one.
DIMENSION: Accuracy, timing, quality of punches
Crawford has this down, Canelo has this down, Spence has this down, Thurman has this down, Fury has this down.
Loma does not. Manny does not. Porter does not. Wilder does not. Ruiz does not. They're not trying to. Their punches are to bamboozle their opponent into making mistakes, set up traps and making them pay. That's fine, but you're higher quality when you can connect quality shots regardless of your opponent's defense.
Then you look at guys like Broner and Danny where, their punches are quality, but their output is too low to make any damn difference. Or Mikey, where his punches are quality against lesser opposition only. Or Golovkin where his punches are quality against stationary targets.
DIMENSION: Defensive stance, punch deflection, evasion
Tyson Fury is the master. Canelo is second master. Mikey is on this list. Spence is on the border. Loma is on the border. Usyk is on the border. Everyone gets hit at least once. The question is HOW OFTEN?
Crawford is NOT in this list. He takes punches from almost everyone he's in the ring with that's faster than him. Way too many at times. There's just no reason why Amir Khan should have been able to land as much as he did.
Wilder is NOT on the list. He relies on his big right hand to keep him safe, but when he's not throwing, he gets hit easily.
Porter is not on the list for obvious reasons.
Manny is NOT on the list. While he has moments of defensive strategy, by and large he's there to be hit when he's mid throw. Jessie Vargas was landing on him and Broner was landing on him late in the fight.
DIMENSION: Ring generalship, control, dominance, presence
Canelo - yes. Tyson Fury - yes. Errol Spence - yes. Lomachenko - yes. Usyk - yes. Porter - yes. Wilder is on the border. Crawford is on the border. Manny used to be a yes but has slipped to border. Golovkin is only a yes when he's in there with someone who's afraid of him, which goes to presence.
DIMENSION: Asses in seats, draws money, recognizable
Canelo - yes. Wilder - yes. Manny - yes. Loma is on the border, Crawford is a no, Spence is border, Porter is border, Thurman is border. Ruiz is probably border but may end up yes soon, Joshua is a yes. Fury is a no (for the moment). Usyk is a no. Danny Garcia is a no. Tevin Farmer is a no.
DIMENSION: Resume, WHO did you beat, how many did you beat, and does anyone know who they are, did you beat them CLEAN (no low blows, no rabbit punch stoppages, etc)?
Canelo - yes. Manny - yes. Loma is border. Crawford is border. Spence is border. Thurman is border. Joshua is border. Fury is border. Porter is a no, Wilder is a no.
DIMENSION: Losses, not just whether you lost, WHO beat you?
Canelo - only ever lost to The Best to Ever do it.
Tons of guys haven't lost yet.
Porter's lost, but only ever to undefeated champions.
Thurman's lost, but only ever to Manny.
Golovkin's lost, but only ever to Canelo.
Danny Garcia's lost, but only to Porter and Thurman.
Meanwhile there are 7 ways to beat Manny. I'll subtract one because that was The Best to Ever do it. But losing to Jeff Horn adds it back as a double ding against him.
Joshua only lost once, but look who it was to. A complete underdog.
Loma only lost once, but again, look who it was. Certainly a grizzled veteran but should not have been able to beat the guy.
Now in those dimensions, there's only ONE that checks all boxes: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
You see, I don't care if you say Fighter A is a GREAT fighter. Terence Crawford has shown himself to be a great fighter. But he's not P4P.
I don't care if you say Fighter B is THE MOST SKILLED fighter. Lomachenko has shown himself to be a highly skilled fighter. But that's all he is.
So then you get someone asking, "why wouldn't ________ be P4P #1?" It's easy when you look at ALL DIMENSIONS instead of just one.
DIMENSION: Accuracy, timing, quality of punches
Crawford has this down, Canelo has this down, Spence has this down, Thurman has this down, Fury has this down.
Loma does not. Manny does not. Porter does not. Wilder does not. Ruiz does not. They're not trying to. Their punches are to bamboozle their opponent into making mistakes, set up traps and making them pay. That's fine, but you're higher quality when you can connect quality shots regardless of your opponent's defense.
Then you look at guys like Broner and Danny where, their punches are quality, but their output is too low to make any damn difference. Or Mikey, where his punches are quality against lesser opposition only. Or Golovkin where his punches are quality against stationary targets.
DIMENSION: Defensive stance, punch deflection, evasion
Tyson Fury is the master. Canelo is second master. Mikey is on this list. Spence is on the border. Loma is on the border. Usyk is on the border. Everyone gets hit at least once. The question is HOW OFTEN?
Crawford is NOT in this list. He takes punches from almost everyone he's in the ring with that's faster than him. Way too many at times. There's just no reason why Amir Khan should have been able to land as much as he did.
Wilder is NOT on the list. He relies on his big right hand to keep him safe, but when he's not throwing, he gets hit easily.
Porter is not on the list for obvious reasons.
Manny is NOT on the list. While he has moments of defensive strategy, by and large he's there to be hit when he's mid throw. Jessie Vargas was landing on him and Broner was landing on him late in the fight.
DIMENSION: Ring generalship, control, dominance, presence
Canelo - yes. Tyson Fury - yes. Errol Spence - yes. Lomachenko - yes. Usyk - yes. Porter - yes. Wilder is on the border. Crawford is on the border. Manny used to be a yes but has slipped to border. Golovkin is only a yes when he's in there with someone who's afraid of him, which goes to presence.
DIMENSION: Asses in seats, draws money, recognizable
Canelo - yes. Wilder - yes. Manny - yes. Loma is on the border, Crawford is a no, Spence is border, Porter is border, Thurman is border. Ruiz is probably border but may end up yes soon, Joshua is a yes. Fury is a no (for the moment). Usyk is a no. Danny Garcia is a no. Tevin Farmer is a no.
DIMENSION: Resume, WHO did you beat, how many did you beat, and does anyone know who they are, did you beat them CLEAN (no low blows, no rabbit punch stoppages, etc)?
Canelo - yes. Manny - yes. Loma is border. Crawford is border. Spence is border. Thurman is border. Joshua is border. Fury is border. Porter is a no, Wilder is a no.
DIMENSION: Losses, not just whether you lost, WHO beat you?
Canelo - only ever lost to The Best to Ever do it.
Tons of guys haven't lost yet.
Porter's lost, but only ever to undefeated champions.
Thurman's lost, but only ever to Manny.
Golovkin's lost, but only ever to Canelo.
Danny Garcia's lost, but only to Porter and Thurman.
Meanwhile there are 7 ways to beat Manny. I'll subtract one because that was The Best to Ever do it. But losing to Jeff Horn adds it back as a double ding against him.
Joshua only lost once, but look who it was to. A complete underdog.
Loma only lost once, but again, look who it was. Certainly a grizzled veteran but should not have been able to beat the guy.
Now in those dimensions, there's only ONE that checks all boxes: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.