The True Pound for Pound Champ

Professional boxing is older than the NFL, NBA, and NHL with fans across the globe. With an enormous and diverse fan-base, there is surprisingly one question debated time and again. “Who is the pound for pound best fighter in the world”? Over the last few years, this question has taken a more serious tone as several major events have made it impossible to determine who the true champion should be.

Although Manny Pacquiao was deemed the pound-for-pound champ by ring magazine in 2011, many still consider Floyd Mayweather (as seen on the right) the best. This spilt in decision making was caused in 2008 when Floyd announced his retirement after an illustrious and undefeated career. When he returned from retirement in 2009, Manny Pacquiao had been named the new pound-for-pound champion after a 15 fight-winning streak. Due to Pacquiao’s sudden and shocking ascent up the ranks, Manny had become boxing’s poster-boy and the economic bell-cow of the sport. Even with an entire country in his corner, the Philippines, and a crowd-pleasing fast-paced fighting-style, there are several fights that still haunt Pacquiao’s chances of resuming as the pound-for-pound best, the title he lost earlier this year.

One fight that rouses constant debate occurred against Juan Manuel Marquez 2004. The fight was extremely close between the two and ended in a draw. This fight has been brought back into the spotlight as Mayweather recently destroyed Marquez in 2009 by winning every single round. With an impressive showing against Marquez, Mayweather immediately jumped back into the pound for pound discussion.

Going into last week’s mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, most ringside experts had picked Manny as the best in the sport. This conception was shattered at the end of the night as Bradley pulled out a shocking and controversial win over Pacquiao. With a loss to Bradley, a contender that is not considered a top fighter in the 147-weight division, Pacquiao’s claim to the boxing throne seems to have crumbled. After the loss to Bradley, many thought that now would be the perfect time for Floyd to challenge Manny as he may be weakening due to old age.

After the Bradley fight, boxing fans assumed that Mayweather would be crowned the new pound for pound champion due to his 43-fight win-streak. This did not occur as Mayweather yet again announced his retirement from boxing. Mayweather’s decision to retire was just as shocking as the Pacquiao-Bradley upset as it was announced with no warning during a routine press conference.

To answer the question of who was truly the best, a match between Floyd and Manny had been in the works for years. It was rumoured that after the Bradley fight, the dream match fans have waited a decade for between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would finally occur. This now seems unlikely, as Pacquiao wants a rematch against Bradley and Floyd has all but disappeared.

The final impediment from discerning the true champion is Timothy Bradley’s place at the top of the 147-pound weight division. Although Timothy Bradley beat Pacquiao in a close fight, many ringside experts felt Pacquiao should have won so the title of pound for pound champion remains at large. Ring Magazine currently shows the number one position vacant and with both Pacquiao and Mayweather in second place.