THE FOUR ?P4P? CONTENDERS OF 2008
San Mateo, CA- In 2007, Floyd Mayweather crossed over from best ?pound for pound? fighter to the number one star of the boxing world. His win over Oscar De La Hoya broke every box office boxing record. His fight with Ricky Hatton proved that Mayweather (against opponents smaller than him) can make for an entertaining bout. However, Mayweather claims that he is bored with boxing and plans on taking at least a year long break. Therefore, moving forward into 2008, it?s time to move and find the next fighter to put boxing on the map. The following is a list of the four boxers trailing Mayweather in the mythical pound for pound race and what they should do to claim the crown for themselves.
Manny Pacquiao. Beat Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz, and Juan Diaz? 2007 was a rebuilding year for Pacquiao as the legal battle between promotional titans Top Rank and Golden Boy sidetracked the momentum Pacquiao brought from his 2006 campaign. His fight with Jorge Solis in April was a forgettable fight at best and Marco Antonio Barrera did his best not to get knocked out in their rematch. However, a huge 2008 could be in store for Pacquiao and it starts with finishing a goal he set in 2003. The goal was to knock out the three greatest featherweight fighters in the past 20 years (Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez). This March, Pacquiao will have a chance to finally accomplish that goal facing Juan Manuel Marquez for a second time. Should he win, many would already crown Pacquiao the ?pound for pound? king, but a move up in weight class would bring new opposition and more importantly bigger fights. An attempt to capture a Lightweight title from a former flyweight (112 lbs.) champ would truly be a historical event. If all goes to according to the plan, a mega bout against Juan Diaz could set records in the lower weight class.
Joe Calzaghe. Beat Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik. All signs point to one of the biggest light heavyweight clashes of all time when Calzaghe moves up form 168 lbs. to challenge Bernard Hopkins at 175. Hopkins has a decision over Winky Wright last July, while Calzaghe dominated late and bested Mikkel Kessler. Calzaghe would ride that momentum into being the favorite to beat the ?old? Hopkins. Calzaghe could draw the same appeal as fellow Brit Ricky Hatton when he fought in the United States. Hopkins is still only conceding his loss to Roy Jones back in the 1993 and if Calzaghe can beat Hopkins without any controversy, he would finally be crossover as an international star. Looking past Hopkins, Calzaghe could fill up another 50,000 seat stadium against fellow Brit Clinton Woods or face a true challenge against Chad Dawson (a fighter no one wants to fight). However, because it?s for pound for pound title, he should fight Kelly Pavlik. Assuming Pavlik once again stops Jermain Taylor, Pavlik has no choice but look north of the middleweight division for real challenges. There would be no bigger fight than those two as Pavlik is well on his way to become one of the top drawing fighters in boxing. Both fighters would be undefeated and has all the makings of a terrific battle against two sharp shooting straight punchers.
Miguel Cotto. Beat Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, and Shane Mosley. Activity would be Cotto?s best option as the absence of Floyd Mayweather makes Cotto the biggest draw with a deep pool of talent. Throwing out a name like Oscar De La Hoya would just bring hype, but a win over De La Hoya at this point of Oscar?s career is beginning to lose its luster. Looking forward, a fight with Antonio Margarito could be explosive. Margarito has been one the most dangerous welterweight fighters for several years now and he would bring everything to table to try to beat Cotto. Assuming Cotto beats Margarito, he should face the toughest fighter at welterweight (147) right now in WBC champ Paul Williams. Whoever Williams faces next, he?ll stop him. If Cotto can figure out how to beat a six-foot straight ahead volume southpaw boxer in Williams, then Cotto would be the best welterweight and could do what Pacquiao is attempting to do and that?s collect big paydays. A rematch with Shane Mosley would draw the most money for Cotto. Mosley did enough to at least earn a rematch with Cotto and they did have an exciting brawl at the Garden.
Kelly Pavlik. Beat Jermain Taylor, John Duddy & Joe Calzaghe. I have totally bought into Kelly Pavlik stock. Not only is Pavlik a devastating puncher but he can be a huge star in boxing. It will be interesting to see how his fight against Taylor in Las Vegas would draw. If it does as well as the first fight did in Atlantic City, then Pavlik has then entire United States to make big fights. A fight with John Duddy in New York would be another example of Pavlik?s expanding drawing power. If the writer?s strike continues and networks cannot put original programming late spring and into the summer, a Pavlik fight would be perfect for network television. Finally, his biggest challenge would be against Calzaghe, and a win over Joe would make Pavlik the ?pound for pound? king.
