Mayweather crowned pound-for-pound king once more
Along with the time Floyd Mayweather said something humble, the pound-for-pound king remains boxing’s biggest mythical legend. There is no belt, no title and no official champion, just a general consensus among the boxing fraternity.
After his magnificent win over Shane Mosley on Saturday night Mayweather has snatched the crown back from atop the head of his nemesis Manny Pacquiao. For the time being at least.
Before he retired after the Ricky Hatton bout in 2007 Mayweather was way ahead of the pack. Ever since he hung up his gloves “Pacman” has been the top dog in boxing. The Filipino effortlessly stepped in to Mayweather’s diamond encrusted shoes and carried on where “Money” left off. For the first time since his return to the sport Mayweather is now back on top, such was the quality of his emphatic win over “Sugar Shane”.
It would seem that Mayweather holds the title in higher esteem than any belt.
He has never really seemed that interested in individual straps having only ever contested WBC titles Although he has won in five different weight classes it’s always been about the accomplishment rather than the silverware, otherwise he would have surely been an undisputed champion at some point in his career.
It’s hard to say if that is testament to the man’s ego or ambition, right now he doesn’t even hold a belt and has no interest in fighting for one. He compares himself to the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson and as he has been so protective of his undefeated record you get the impression it is his legacy that really matters to him, aside from cold-hard cash of course.
Pacquiao seems to have transcended belts as well now, although he does actually hold the WBO welterweight title. When either of these two pugilists fights it’s more about the event itself than titles. As No. 1 and two in the rankings the only true way that the debate can be decided is to unleash them both in the ring. If only it was that simple.
Such a subjective honour is open to so much interpretation anyway who’s to truly say who the best is. Mayweather has the undefeated record, Pacquiao has been in outstanding form, both have a good knockout percentage and been successful in different weight classes, so there’s no question they are the stand out fighters in the world right now.
However despite what they may think they are not totally alone. All the usual suspects are up there as well waiting to see if they can sneak in if one slips up. Vitali Klitschko, Bernard Hopkins Juan Manuel Marquez are the stalwarts of the P4P rankings, mainly for the vast amount of time they have spent at the top of the game. Also there is likes of the ever-improving American light-heavyweight Chad Dawson who has quietly and effectively gone about his business for the last few years, while Juan Manuel Lopez and Lucian Bute could also make claims with their perfect records.
If you take into account the quality of opposition and the strength in the respective divisions it makes it even harder to come out with a clear winner. David Haye has an outstanding KO record and Paul Williams is top quality but massively avoided, so it’s the sort of question that is debated long into the night by boxing fans around the world.
They all have to take their hats off to Henry Armstrong though. In the 1930’s “Homicide Hank” was a featherweight champion who then moved up in weight and won the welterweight belt, before dropping back down and taking the lightweight straps simultaneously. This was back in the day when there was only eight divisions’ with one belt in each, a herculean effort.
Even Mayweather would admit that’s a mightily impressive achievement.
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