How can we determine the pound-per-pound king? It used to be easy. We just had to wait for Sugar Ray Leonard to announce his comeback; for us to go through our boxing know-it-all tut-tutting, saying he didn?t pay his dues for a shot against middleweight champion Marvin Hagler or light heavyweight champion Donnie Lalonde or whomever was his target; and for Leonard to shock the world by becoming, again the pound-per-pound best in an exciting display. Those were the days.
Today things aren?t that easy because many big money events featuring the pound-per-pound king often serve as expensive but less addictive versions of valium or Halcyon. These include Trinidad-De La Hoya, Mosley-Forrest, Hopkins-Taylor, and most recently Mayweather-Baldomir. Other events featuring the second tier pound-per-pound fighters, however, are often compelling, keep us awake on Saturday night, and give us something to talk about the next week. These include Barrera-Morales, Pacquiao-Marquez, and, well, Pacquiao against anybody. These fighters, though, never reach that top spot in the pound-per-pound rankings. But that might change, especially when Floyd Mayweather?s fight against Carlos Baldomir a few weeks back and Manny Pacquiao?s dismantling of Erik Morales just a week ago are added to the equation. It might also change if another category is added to the ranking criteria, namely ?Sugar Ray Points.? My rough calculations show that only two fighters can make a case for the top spot. With this either-or proposition, either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, I?m now definitely on the side of ?or.?
If anyone who saw Floyd Mayweather come out of nowhere to decimate Genaro Hernandez for the junior lightweight title in 1998 fell into a coma soon after the fight and woke in 2006 with friends saying Mayweather is still one of the best around, he would yawn and say, ?tell me something I don?t already know.? Mayweather, that night, appeared destined for greatness. Now, when he tells us how great he is, he grates on us. Still, he is smart, cagey, picks his spots, rolls with punches, and dominates the punchstat numbers. He?s athletic, physically gifted, and adapts in the ring. Since Hernandez he has outlasted Jose Luis Castillo for the lightweight title, destroyed Arturo Gatti for the junior welterweight title, and boxed wisely to the welterweight championship against the rugged Carlos Baldomir.
In between these title wins, the numbers are impressive. He defended his junior lightweight title eight times, his lightweight title three times, and used the junior welterweight title merely as a jumping off point for the welterweights. He has dominated several name fighters including Angel Manfredy, Jesus Chavez, Carlos Hernandez, Zab Judah, and Sharmba Mitchell. At this point in his career, he seems unbeatable even against the current Sugar Ray Leonard clone Oscar De La Hoya who he?s scheduled to meet in May.
Twenty-nine year old Mayweather has gained recognition as a master boxer while the other pound-per-pound contender gained it for his killer left hand. Twenty-seven year old Manny Pacquiao began his career in the Philippines as on OPBF champion and has gained pound-per-pound status by moving up in weight, knocking out world class opponents, and putting on good fights. He won WBC flyweight title in 1998, then the IBF super bantamweight title. He became the featherweight champion when he knocked out Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003, and the super featherweight champion against Hector Valezquez in 2005. Since his debut in America in 2001, he has defeated Lehlohonolo Ledwaba , Erik Morales twice, and Oscar Larios.
He has also had set backs, but the kind of set backs that are good for a boxer and for boxing both. He drew with Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight in which he knocked down Marquez three times in the first round and lost to Morales in their first match. Although not as flashy as Mayweather, Pacquiao has built a reputation as a fearsome puncher who seems more powerful as he gains weight. He is still an improving boxer, especially with defense and his right hand, and a man who will take on all comers. And most important, from a fan?s point of view, he puts on a good show every time.
I now put Pacquiao ahead of Mayweather for a few reasons. First, in the last few years, he has faced better fighters. He has been defeating top-fighers who were still in the mix and who owned pound-per-pound credits themselves. Marco Antonio Barrera is a great example of one of these opponents. When Barrera fought Pacquiao, he was considered indestructible, coming off a win against Prince Naseem Hamed. From Pacquiao, though, he received a beating that many thought was career ending. Barrera coming back, winning the featherweight title again, and still holding a foot or two on many pound-per-pound lists adds not only to his greatness but also to Pacquiao?s. Would Barrera despite regaining his title win a rematch against Pacquiao? Don?t count on it.
Other than his two wins which some still find controversial against Jose Luis Castillo, Mayweather?s opponents simply don?t measure up to Pacquiao?s. How about Gatti, Mitchell, and Baldomir, Mayweather?s recent prizes? Do we expect them to be carrying a belt soon? Don?t count on it. Unlike Pacquiao?s opponents, they were aging fighters who still had skills but were fading fast. The same thing could be said of Morales, but Pacquiao had a little something to do with that, bruising him in their first two bouts. Mayweather has also missed chances to fight some top fighters not just now in the welterweights but also when he skipped over the junior welterweights. He had the chance to face the undisputed junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton and didn?t do it. These gaps and questionable opponents don?t work in his favor in a pound-per-pound sense.
Next, if we look at the literal aspect of the pound-per-pound list, Pacquiao has accomplished more. He started as a flyweight and put on 18 pounds through six weight classes, but Mayweather since beginning as a super featherweight has put on 17 pounds through four weight classes. Compared to their original sizes, Pacquiao has put on a higher percentage of mass, and although winning the same number of titles, four, as Mayweather, he has made bigger jumps in weight.
Finally, Pacquiao wins in the Sugar Ray Leonard department of the pound-per-pound rankings. Leonard, like De La Hoya today, ascended the ranks with each comeback. Each comeback, whether against Hagler or Lalonde, fit the same pattern. Before the fight Leonard was criticized for his choice of opponent, for his influencing sanctioning bodies to fight for the title he wanted, and for his making huge money without paying his dues in a series of tune-up fights. After the fight, these complaints were forgotten. Instead people would talk about his amazing show in the ring, about his new fight of the year, about his new title or titles, and about how exciting the fight was. During and after the fight there was never a downside to Leonard, so he received pound-per-pound credits.
As for Mayweather, before the fight, people are pissed about his opponent, whether Gatti or Baldomir or even De La Hoya; are pissed about his manipulating titles as he did after his fight with Judah when he called himself the welterweight champion despite Carlos Baldomir really holding these honors; and are pissed after his fights for the way he performs in a one-sided twelve-round fights that aren?t worth the price of admission or pay-per-view. I won?t even mention the post-fight sob-fest since it?s embarrassing for everyone, but that?s what everyone was talking about after the Baldomir fight. They weren?t talking about the fight. He doesn?t score well with ?Sugar Ray Points.?
As for Pacquiao, people may be pissed about his fighting Morales after he lost to Raheem or fighting Morales after it was clear the Mexican didn?t have much left, but the fans went away thinking what an exciting demolition it was. His fight against Barerra, his war with Marquez, his wars with Morales, even his fight against Larios in the Philippines were all memorable events, a word that has a Sugar Ray ring to it. Even if he faces the overmatched Marco Antonio Barrera next, he will receive more ?Sugar Ray Points? with the show they will put on.
Pacquiao, thanks to his ?Sugar Ray Points,? has put himself above Mayweather and into top spot on my pound-per-pound list.
