To be the best you must be the best, right?
When it comes to boxing and its mythical pound-for-pound list, the answer is both yes and no.
Defeating ‘the best’ certainly merits champion status if the bested fighter was a champion at the time – But gauging pound-for-pound ranking is altogether different.
Defeating the No. 1 ranked fighter won’t necessarily make the victor top dog.
Why? Boxing’s pound-for-pound credentials are a bit like America’s NCAA Football and Basketball rankings. . When a No. 2 or 3 team defeats an opponent ranked No. 1, the victor “often” replaces their vanquished foe, becoming the new No. 1. But when a No. 10 defeats the highest ranked team, they rarely vault to the top spot immediately after the win.
In boxing, the term “pound-for-pound’ was historically used to describe a fighter’s value in relation to fighters of different weight classes based on:
1) quality of opposition 2) record and consistency, and 3) (sometimes) margins of victory (i.e. Is he crushing all of his opponents or winning split decisions?)
If Canelo defeats Mayweather, where will the young Mexican rank?
For starters, it depends on how he wins. A first round knockout will catapult his ranking higher than a hard-fought decision – And, of course, a controversial win or victory by disqualification would raise his rank the least.
Tim Bradley’s highly debatable upset win over Manny Pacquiao last year did little to change either fighter’s RING Magazine rank nor the rankings for the same list for most reputable publications. On RING’s list, Manny entered ranked No. 1 and Bradley No. 10. After the bout, RING made Pacquiao and Mayweather co-pound-for-pound kings while keeping Bradley at No. 10.
Historically, in order to be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, a boxer has usually had a lengthy career, been consistently successful for a number of years and tallied wins against a handful of elite-level opponents – not just one or two
So while a win over Mayweather would certainly vault Canelo into the top 3 or 4, it may not be enough to surpass Andre Ward and Juan Manuel Marquez in the eyes of most.
Canelo will have defeated two elite fighters (including Austin Trout) but Andre Ward, Juan Manuel Marquez and even Manny Pacquiao would still have stronger resumes. After all, Ward has defeated four elite fighters in Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Chad Dawson. Moreover, minus ‘King Arthur,’ all were established, well-respected Top 10-12 Pound-for-Pound fighters at the time.
And while Pacquiao and Marquez split bouts with each other in 2011 and last year, each were rated in the Top 3 (on most lists) and both bouts were hotly contested. As a result, neither fighter’s ranking suffered much because he lost to a Top 3 opponent.
To be considered the best, one must have paid his dues. Not only must he have beaten elite fighters, the element of consistency must be there.
If Canelo Alvarez defeats Floyd Mayweather and the win is followed by a victory over Erislandy Lara, Gennady Golovkin, Vanes Martirosyan or Sergio Martinez within a year of that bout and the aforementioned fighters maintain their current positions, we’ll then perhaps be able to start considering him as a “candidate” for the mythical title of ‘Boxing’s Baddest Man.’
But more than likely, he’d have to beat at least two of the aforementioned fighters to make a case for No. 1 if Ward remains unbeaten.
Canelo’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking (as of July 25, 2013)
RING Magazine – 10 FightSaga – 14 BoxRec – 5 BoxingScene – (not ranked in Top 10) ESPN – (not ranked in Top 10) Sky Sports – 9
