Now the other shoe drops.
On Sunday we wrote that a defeat to Manny Pacquiao could jeopardize Oscar De La Hoya’s hall of fame status. Here is the post.
Today, we ask if a loss to De La Hoya drops Pacquiao from the top of boxing’s pound-for-pound ratings. Again, it’s a legitimate question. This one is a little easier to answer, because P4P ratings are all about the present. Really, any loss would knock you from the top spot. So the answer is yes, a loss to Oscar would drop Manny from the top spot.
But does Manny deserve to be there to begin with?
Just remember that his biggest wins have come against faded superstars Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. In the opinion of this corner, Manny is there by default, a fighter to fill the void when Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired.
A quick glimpse at The Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound ratings has Manny first, Juan Manuel Marquez second, Joe Calzaghe third and Bernard Hopkins fourth. Fair enough. But the question remains, is Manny there for lack of a better idea?
Here’s a note regarding the Oscar De La Hoya hall-of-fame post. Don in Yuma left an interesting, spirited response to the question, Can Manny knock Oscar out of the hall of fame. Don compared Oscar losing to Manny like Sugar Ray Robinson and Jou Louis losing late in their career. To Don’s point, Oscar losing to Manny is like Joe Louis losing to a middleweight or Sugar Ray Robinson losing to a lightweight.
And no, even if Louis had lost to a middleweight in his final fight and Robinson lost to a lightweight in his final fight, it would not preclude them from the hall of fame. But Don, can you really compare the career of Oscar to that of Louis or Robinson. Name the hall-of-famers that Oscar has defeated? A faded Pernell Whitaker? A shot Julio Cesar Chavez?
Don — and all those who post comments — thanks for reading and keep the comments coming.
— CASSIDY
