Word-for-word, there has been nothing to say about pound-for-pound, mostly because Manny Pacquiao stopped the debate the way he stopped Ricky Hatton. But the argument is about to resume in September and continue through at least Nov. 14 with the Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto showdown.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. reinvigorates the debate with familiar trash-talk that precedes his re-scheduled return on Sept. 19 against Juan Manuel Marquez. It’s reasonable to argue that Mayweather shouldn’t be in the mix at all because of inactivity. He hasn’t answered an opening bell since beating Hatton in December 2007, or more than 18 months ago.
But if Israel Vazquez and Bernard Hopkins are still in the argument, then so is Mayweather. Marquez hasn’t fought since March, 2008. Hopkins hasn’t been in the ring since his stunner over Kelly Pavlik last October. Besides, pound-for-pound is only an argument, lots of talk. Without Mayweather’s noisy return, there just wouldn’t be much an argument at all.
Welcome back, Floyd, who has says repeatedly that he is still entitled to be No. 1 because nobody took the top spot from him. But there’s a price for being idle. Call it a vacation, as in vacate. Mayweather drifted away and down a few notches. His challenge is to now reclaim what he argues is still his.
Here’s a quick look at just one top 10 before the fall, or at least a likely shuffle:
1. Pacquiao. In Cotto, he might be facing the first live body at a heavier weight since he moved up the scale and forced Oscar De La Hoya to retire.
2. Marquez. Everybody seems to say that the great featherweight and lightweight has no chance against the bigger Mayweather at any weight. Don’t believe it. Few are as well-conditioned as Marquez, who has a reasonable argument that he beat Pacquiao in their last meeting. A postponement because of a Mayweather injury has only given Marquez extra time to add and adjust to extra pounds.
3. Sugar Shane Mosley. His stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January was a brilliant statement that he’s back. A sure sign of that is Pacquiao, who doesn’t sound as though he is any rush to fight Mosley. It looks as if Joshua Clottey is next. That’s not an easy assignment, but it should keep Mosley in line for a shot at the Filipino, especially if Mayweather talks his way out of the biggest fight in years with outrageous demands.
4. Paul Williams. Underrated and avoided for too long, it is time to find out if the middleweight can attain lasting stardom.
5. Mayweather. He’s back, but for how long? Sometimes, inactivity is the most dangerous opponent. There also are worrisome signs, including legal trouble for trainer/uncle Roger Mayweather and a big bill from the Internal Revenue Service. Then again, Mayweather without dysfunction in his life just isn’t the fighter we’ve come to know. Maybe, trouble is more motivation than distraction.
6. Cotto. Guts and skill defined him in a gritty victory over Clottey in June. It was a tough, bloody fight and there’s some talk that there were signs Cotto might be a step past his prime. We’ll find out against Pacquiao.
7. Israel Vazquez. Classy and tough, the super-bantamweight has been idle too long for a game with too few fighters like him.
8. Chad Dawson. The unbeaten light-heavyweight, who faces Glen Johnson on Nov. 7, is one fighter Roy Jones Jr. does not want meet and is also somebody Hopkins should probably avoid, no matter what he says.
9. Hopkins. At 44, I’m not sure how he stays in the debate. But he talks enough to keep himself in the mix. If he fights the Dawson-Glen Johnson winner in January, this might be the last time we see him in the top 10.
10. Juan Manuel Lopez. The unbeaten junior-featherweight, the heir apparent to Cotto as Puerto Rico’s favorite son, is a newcomer. Maybe, it’s too early to rank him. Then again, why not? He is going to be among the top 10 for a long time.
Source: 15rounds.com
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