Manny Pacquiao’s masterful demolition of Antonio Margarito in Dallas recently saw him claim a record eighth divisional title.
It also saw the Filipino phenomenon finally move back to the top of our ‘pound-for-pound’ rankings. Prior to meeting ‘The Tijuana Tornado’ in Texas I was of the opinion that Floyd Mayweather was the superior craftsman.
I felt he was technically a notch above Pacquiao with height and reach advantages and that he would edge any duel should the pair ever meet in a mega-fight.
Now I am not so sure. You can never rule out a talent as outrageous as Mayweather’s and on a personal level I would walk for miles barefoot over broken glass to see him and the ‘Pac Man’ finally get it on in 2011.
However, the result of a fight between the two is now seriously in doubt in the eyes of this writer.
What’s not up for debate is that fact Pacquiao now deserves recognition as the best ‘P4P’ practitioner in the game.
The way he totally bewitched and befuddled Margarito, a two-time world champion who was some 17 pounds heavier on the night, was breathtaking. Pacquiao’s preparations going in were meant to have been less than stellar with Freddie Roach claiming it was his man’s worst camp ever and that politics had turned his head.
Despite this he arrived in top shape and used speed, power, guile and cunning to do an absolute job on Margarito, who it’s worth remembering was considered ‘pound-for-pound’ material himself not so long ago after beating a prime Miguel Cotto.
Granted, the Mexican was made to order for Pacquiao: slow, ponderous and unable to cut off the ring effectively. However, Margarito has always been a tough hombre, a rugged world-class scrapper with legitimate KO power and an excellent chin.
Yet he simply had no answers against a buzz-saw of a boxer who was once again a master of timing and distance against a fighter significantly bigger than him.
I had made the mistake in the past of not fancying Pacquiao against bigger men. Against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton I was of the opinion he may have bitten off more than his small but perfectly formed frame could chew. But the Asian wonder proved once again that in boxing bigger does not necessarily mean better.
The smaller man was lethal on the night, giving Margarito a hellacious working over to the point he required an extended stay in hospital afterwards and surgery to repair a broken orbital bone.
It was a performance that left the cognoscenti struggling for superlatives once more.
When comparing Pacquiao to Mayweather you would have to say that the former has the faster hands and must arguably now be considered the bigger puncher. Mayweather is definitely the better defensive fighter of the two but would he hit hard enough or more importantly be busy enough to keep Pacquiao off?
It sure would be fun finding out but there is no doubt that after all Pacquiao has achieved over the last three or four years Mayweather needs his scalp more than the other way round if you are talking about their respective boxing legacies.
Floyd may be unbeaten but he’s also been largely untested for the most part and if he exits the game without Pacquiao’s name on his resume there will be a huge question mark against his credentials as one of the best ever.
Not so Pacquiao, who could easily walk away now and be remembered always as one of the game’s true all-time elite.
Thankfully it looks as though retirement might still be a few years off and so fight fans can still dare to dream that these two ‘pound-for-pound’ superpowers settle their argument in the New Year.
Elsewhere on the ‘P4P’ beat, Sergio Martinez gatecrashes the top 10 courtesy of his stunning KO of Paul Williams. The pair put on a Fight of the Year candidate in 2009 and their recent return was much anticipated.
Many felt sublime southpaw Martinez was unlucky in their first fight but he left no room for argument or controversy this time round by scoring the KO of the year with a picture perfect left hand in the second stanza.
Williams has long been a ‘pound-for-pound’ staple but was taken out emphatically by Martinez, who at 35 proved he still has plenty in the tank. The much-travelled Argentine immediately called out Pacquiao knowing a fight with Manny would secure his financial future but that’s not a bout I see happening anytime soon.
However, having beaten Kelly Pavlik to win the WBC and WBO middleweight belts before blitzing Williams and having tasted defeat just twice (one avenged) in a 13-year pro journey few can argue against his inclusion here.
Juan Manuel Lopez also underlined his talent with an ultra impressive stoppage win over Rafael Marquez recently and the word is that he is now on a collision course to meet fellow featherweight prodigy Yuriorkis Gamboa in 2011.
Sportinglife.com pound-for-pound world top 10:
1 Manny Pacquiao
2 Floyd Mayweather
3 Juan Manuel Marquez
4 Miguel Cotto
5 Bernard Hopkins
6 Sergio Martinez
7 Shane Mosley
8 Yuriorkis Gamboa
9 Juan Manuel Lopez
10 Nonito Donaire
Honourable mentions: Andre Ward, Paul Williams, Timothy Bradley, Wladimir Klitschko and Fernando Montiel.
