In the run-up to his bout with Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather insisted he was better than Muhammad Ali and ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson.
Talk about laying it on thick!
But if you are going to persist with the braggadocio you need big performances to back it up and Mayweather again stepped up to the plate at the MGM Grand as he pitched a near shutout decision win against future first ballot Hall of Famer Mosley.
It was a genuine career-defining display. Another fistic masterpiece by ‘Money’ made all the more impressive in that it came against one of the most dangerous welterweights in the sport.
Before the fight there were plenty who felt Shane had the size and the speed to take Mayweather to places he had never been before in a ring. The now 46-6 Mosley had gone on record as saying he felt that Floyd had regressed as a fighter and that he was ready to capitalise, but in the event Mayweather did what Mayweather nearly always does. Dominate.
There was a brief moment in round two when Mosley had his man hurt. Two monster right hands seemed to have the Grand Rapids, Michigan native holding on. But he rode out the brief storm and it was business as usual thereafter.
Such was his dominance that on more than one occasion Naazim Richardson thought about pulling Mosley out. But Shane eventually made it to the final bell as Floyd coasted home by scores of 119-109 (twice) and 118-110.
Afterwards talk turned to Mayweather possibly moving up to light-middle to face Argentine dangerman Sergio Martinez, who produced a fine display of his own recently in out-pointing former undisputed middleweight ruler Kelly Pavlik.
But the reality is there is only one fight out there for Mayweather at this moment in time and that’s against Filipino phenomenon Manny Pacquiao.
Such was Mayweather’s dominance against Mosley, I feel I have been left with no choice but to elevate him back to the top of our ‘pound-for-pound’ list for the first time since his ring ‘retirement’ following that TKO win over Ricky Hatton at the end of 2007.
There is a case to be made for ‘Money’ and the ‘Pac Man’ sharing top spot until they sign to meet each other and truth be known if that fight goes ahead the odds men will surely chalk it up as a 50-50 pick ’em job.
Mayweather v Pacquiao is a truly intriguing contest between two men still at the peak of their powers. Both men are brilliant at what they do. Pacquiao has to be regarded as the best offensive (and most exciting) fighter in the sport right about now while Mayweather is without equal defensively.
However, as good as Pacquiao is and despite the remarkable strides he has made in the last few years, my hunch is that Mayweather will find a way to prevail should the pair of them eventually get it on.
And after looking sensational in two fights against Juan Manuel Marquez (a fighter Pacquiao has twice gone life-and-death with) and now Mosley since his return, I feel Floyd deserves to regain his P4P moniker.
The two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year has won nine world titles in five weight divisions and has yet to taste defeat in 41 pro bouts.
But I am on the record as stating that he needs to meet and beat Pacquiao if he is to truly cement his legacy among the Ray Robinson’s, and Ali’s.
It’s a fight that has to happen and my gut feeling is it will. There is too much money at stake for petty squabbling over drug tests to scupper it and it’s a chance for both men to stake their claim once and for all to being the best ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter of their era.
Elsewhere on the P4P beat this month Mosley trades places with Chad Dawson off the back of his Mayweather defeat. 27-year-old southpaw Dawson faces Jean Pascal in what should be a cracker next up, but the fight he really craves is against Bernard Hopkins, who looks like he may finally be about to bow down to Ol’ Father Time.
Hopkins looked all of his 45 years in his return fight with Roy Jones and while he got the win neither fight emerged from the action with much credit. It was a foul-filled maul between two men who should know better. Roy needs to turn it in while Hopkins needs to sign to fight Dawson or call it a day while his faculties are in full working order.
He stays out four on our latest list but if you truly are only as good as your last fight then he won’t be there for long.
