With the publishing of the Yahoo pound for pound rankings earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather found himself relegated to third place, behind Manny Pacquiao and now also middleweight ace Sergio Martinez.
In just two months however, he will find himself out of the rankings altogether.
Some pound for pound rankings such as Yahoo’s or The Ring’s are based on the opinions and votes of a panel of experts, others such as BoxRec’s use a points system to decide placings.
What most have in common is the removal of any fighters inactive for a year or more without another fight scheduled in the future, and one fighter who will soon fit into that category is former pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather.
As usual there have been all kinds of rumors regarding a Mayweather ring return, some of them started by Floyd himself. So far though none have amounted to anything, and with a pending court date in April, the chances of Mayweather announcing a fight before he becomes ineligible for entry into most rankings is looking increasingly unlikely.
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Mayweather’s fall from grace isn’t a sudden thing though, and arguably began when Manny Pacquiao first rose to global prominence, beating former Mayweather opponents such as Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton before winning the WBO welterweight title from Miguel Cotto in 2009.
That same year Mayweather beat Juan Manuel Marquez, and has fought just once since, a decision victory over Shane Mosley in May of last year. In the same stretch of time Pacquiao fought three times including Cotto, and has a fourth bout coming up in May.
So while Mayweather and Pacquiao have fought a similar level of competition over the last few years, the main difference between them has been that Pacquiao has fought more than twice as often.
While he might be out of most ranking systems in a couple of month’s time though, Mayweather likely won’t be out of the public eye for some time, even if he never fights again.
Between his regular inflammatory statements about other fighters, (most notably his series of steroid accusations aimed at rival Manny Pacquiao), and his intermittent legal trouble, Mayweather isn’t a fighter easily forgotten, even for those fans who don’t find his demeanor or boxing style particularly endearing.
It is that need for attention and to have people take notice of him that many believe will eventually drive Mayweather back to boxing.
Of course should Mayweather finally be provoked into action when his name isn’t topping any ranking lists, his path back to the very top of the rankings is a clear one.
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Taking on and beating either Manny Pacquiao or Sergio Martinez would almost certainly catapult him back to being regarded as the best fighter in the sport. A fight against Martinez in particular would be easy to put together given that he is promoted by Lou DiBella rather than Pacquiao’s Top Rank, who have been embroiled with a feud with Mayweather partners Golden Boy for several years.
The question is whether he still cares enough to want to risk it.
Sam Ellis, Pittsburgh: “If Mayweather beats Amir Khan next year he will be close to the top again, or if him and Pac finally fight”
Harrison Boru, Philly: “Floyd will fight again this year I think, but he won’t ever get back to the top again”
