What if the sky was green rather than blue?
What if elephants were the size of golden retrievers?
What if a McDonald?s Big Mac was actually considered healthy rather than creating clogged arteries that ultimately lead to a premature and untimely death?
What if Juan Manuel Marquez had received the decision in his rematch with Manny Pacquiao?
The answers to all these questions are as follows: money might be baby blue rather than ornery green, everyone would have a friendly pet named ?Babar?, a healthy Big Mac is an antagonism and therefore is unfathomable, and neither Manny Pacquiao nor Juan Manuel Marquez would currently be ranked number one on boxing?s pound-for-pound list.
It?s the truth is it not?
Manny Pacquiao is considered the number one pound-for-pound fighter by most recognized boxing ?experts? of today. Unfortunately for the Filipino icon and his legion of worshippers, he?s done so by default and on technicalities.
It?s similar as to how Felix Sturm and Arthur Abraham have achieved their ?championship? status within the middleweight division. It has occurred by default rather than by actually defeating the legitimate champion of their time. Bernard Hopkins held the IBF, WBC, and WBA titles when he defeated Oscar De la Hoya who held the WBO crown. Jermain Taylor defeated Bernard Hopkins for all four crowns who was subsequently defeated by Kelly Pavlik who for one reason or another now only holds two of those ?championship? belts.
Sturm and Abraham are default champions just as Manny Pacquiao is the default pound-for-pound king with the ?retirement? of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I?m obviously in the minority but I happen to believe that there is no such thing as a default champion.
Champions, especially those sitting atop the throne of a pound-for-pound ratings system must be head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of ability. While Pacquiao is undoubtedly an exciting fighter to observe with an extremely crowd-pleasing style, to crown him as the pound-for-pound champion is a huge overstatement in the current landscape of boxing.
His fight this upcoming Saturday against David Diaz is considered by most to be a soft touch for the offensively gifted southpaw. While this may very well be true, I can virtually guarantee that most boxing fans will reconsider the notion that Manny is a true pound-for-pound champion following the bout. At this point in his career, Pacquiao is far from one-dimensional but he hardly shows the numerous wrinkles and adaptability that did the ?Pretty Boy?.
Some food for thought is to ask yourself the following? how might you currently rank the ?Pacman? had he not gotten the nod against Marquez this past March? It?s a legitimate question to ponder as many spectators both on television and in person had tabbed the bout for ?Dinamita? by the slightest of margins. Would it have an effect as to how you would rank Manny in the pound-for-pound sense?
Of course it would.
Am I stating that Pacquiao doesn?t belong in the top ten fighters pound-for-pound?
Absolutely not.
All I?m stating is that it seems a bit awkward to award a man with such a prestigious unofficial title due to an inheritance of the crown by default in addition to coming off a razor thin and somewhat controversial victory in his latest bout.
There is and will continue to be a slew of tough competitors within the 135 pound division which will give Manny Pacquiao the opportunity to legitimately make his claim as the best fighter in the world ounce-for-ounce. The only question is whether he?ll continue to campaign within the lightweight division or continue moving up in weight in search of more lucrative paydays against older and somewhat spent opposition.
This upcoming fight against David Diaz will not be easy just as none of the top lightweights will provide easy work for the ?Pacman? in the future.
Should the dynamic fighter from General Santos end up atop the heap of the 135 pound division sometime down the road? he will obviously have solidified himself as the best fighter in the world hands down. It would be a monumental feat for anyone as his current weight class surpasses all others in terms of overall danger as there are plenty of dangerous combatants ready to make their claim as king of the hill?
