| Pound for Pound Top 5 To End 2006 by Greg M. 12-31-06 It is a debate as old as boxing. At any given moment in history, men would gather at bars and barbershops and around television sets across the globe and debate just who is the best fighter in the world at that moment. Each guy surely had their own criteria, but the debate in the end came down to who would beat who if the guys lived in a magical world and all of them weighed the same. Other factors such as quality of opposition, and punching power are certainly weighed into the equation. Some times, as was the case with Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez, fight fans were lucky enough to see two pound for pound greats battle it out to decide it for the public. Other times, as was the case with the great Roy Jones, a fighter never had another great or even very good fighter to engage them in their prime. What is this all leading to? The debate rages today in message boards across the web. Who is the best at this moment? It depends on who you ask. Do you like the pure fury of Manny Pacquiao or the styling’s of Floyd Mayweather. Read on for this one anonymous man’s opinion on the great P4P debate, circa December 31, 2006. 1.Manny Pacquiao It has been a long time, and I mean long time since the boxing world has seen a fighter like Manny Pacquiao. Power, speed, relentless aggression all rolled into one little fighter. No other elite fighter has taken on and beaten such a high level of opposition in recent memory. Since bursting on to the international scene in 2001 with a fifth round knockout of Lehlo Ledwaba, Pacquiao has a KO win over Marco Antonio Barrera, a draw with Juan Manuel Marquez (in which Marquez was down three times), two KO victories and a close loss to Erik Morales, a two round bludgeoning of Jorge Julio, a three round TKO of Emannuel Lucero, and a twelve round decision of Oscar Larios. That is hall of fame stuff there folks. We are witnessing a legend in the making. He has recently added a right hook and a hint of defense to his arsenal, so the task of dethroning him has become that much harder. 2.Ronald Winky Wright After years of toiling under the radar of many mainstream boxing fans, Wright was given the opportunity to show his stuff against Shane Mosley in March of 2004. Wright took full advantage of that major opportunity with a complete dominance of the once pound for pound king Mosley. After another dominant performance against Mosley in the rematch, Wright would make future hall of fame fighter Felix Trinidad look like a rank amateur winning every second of every round. Wright would then take the bold step up in weight to challenge middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. After twelve hard fought rounds, many felt that Wright had earned the decision, only to see a split draw as the verdict. A recent win over former champ Ike Quartey cements his standing near the top of the P4P heap. Fight fans have also been pleased by a more aggressive style by Wright in recent fights. As he gets older, he’s beginning to sit down a little more on his punches. At 35 years of age, one has to wonder how long Wright can remain this dominant. 3.Floyd Mayweather Probably the most gifted athlete among the current crop of P4P entrants , Mayweather has been so dominant in recent years that most of his fights end up looking more like sparring sessions than athletic contests. One problem with that statement, though, is that many, myself included, question Mayweather’s recent choice of opponents. While Pacquiao and Wright actively seek out the best opponents, Mayweather has traveled the path of least resistance since his two close fights against Jose Luis Castillo in 2002. Since that time, Mayweather’s resume is filled with a bunch of has beens and never weres. Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N’dou, Demarcus Corley, Henry Bruseles, Arturo Gatti, Sharmba Mitchell, Zab Judah and Carlos Baldomir do not a pound for pound king make. A major step up in competition looms as he faces the grizzled veteran Oscar de la Hoya in May of 2007. It’s Mayweather’s chance to make a permanent mark on the face of boxing. 4.Miguel Cotto Cotto moves up to Welterweight after a devastating tour of the 140 pounders. He was 3-0 with 2 knockouts in 2006 and his opponents combined record was 80-1-1. He seems to be getting better and a showdown with Antonio Margarito looms. Cotto has taken to the habit of rearranging his opponents faces en route to devastating wins and for that reason The Eight Count does not believe that he will ever touch gloves with "The Pretty Boy". 5.Bernard Hopkins I know I know, Hopkins retired. Well he may have been, but he is not anymore. I guess fake promises to deceased mothers don’t mean as much as they used to. Hopkins recently announced to the boxing press that he is indeed un-retiring. After years of reigning as the middleweight king with ko victories over welterweight greats Felix Trinidad and Oscar de la Hoya, Hopkins would be dethroned by upstart Taylor and subsequently lose the rematch. In possibly the closest 24 rounds ever engaged in between two fighters Taylor would be 2 and 0, while Hopkins would be on the outside looking in. What did the old man do for his supposed going away fight? Dominate Light Heavyweight king Antonio Tarver. The old man had a little left in the tank after all. So after being retired since June, Hopkins has the itch again. Possible fights with Joe Calzaghe or possibly, improbably Oleg Maskaev have all been thrown around. Whatever happens, don’t count Hopkins out. |
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