In the wake of Saturday's dominance by unbeaten, six-time titlist, Floyd Mayweather over WBA welterweight (147 pounds) king, Shane Mosley, whose crown was not on the line, Mayweather will likely supplant seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao
, on most experts' list as the sports' No. 1 fighter, pound-for-pound.There are some, however, who will point out November's 12th-round knockout by the 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) that dethroned 29-year-old Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) as WBO welterweight champ -- this, over a man who unanimously decisioned Mosley in November of 2007 in defense of the WBA crown he held at the time.
Pacquiao is also coming off of a March 13, unanimous, 12-round decision over hard-punching, defensive specialist, Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs), during which he -- like Mayweather against Mosley -- won virtually every round on the judges' cards.
The 33-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), for his part, was equally, if not more, sensational during September's rout of WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion, Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), who has drawn, and, lost a split-decision to Pacquiao in May of 2004, and, March of 2008 -- two verdicts in which Marquez still insists that he was victorious.
"I watched the fight this past weekend, and I thought that Floyd did a very good job. It's clear, however, that Mosley is not the old Mosley, particularly when he had Floyd in trouble in the second round and he had nothing to follow up with," said Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao. "I think that Mosley should really seriously consider retiring. But that doesn't negate the fact that Floyd had an excellent performance."
Where Mayweather never has suffered defeat, Pacquiao is 12-0, with eight knockouts since losing a unanimous decision to former world champion, Erik Morales, at 130 pounds in March of 2005.
So who is truly boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound?
Obviously, it should be decided in the ring, which at this point, could be easier said than done.
At one point, in mid-December, it appeared that Mayweather-Pacquiao was a done deal and headed for the MGM Grand, with a source close to the negotiations telling FanHouse that contracts for a March 13 bout could "definitely be finalized this week."
The fighters had agreed on a 50-50 split of the purse, eight ounce gloves, and the welterweight limit rather than a catch weight.
"We agreed to everything in principle, but there are still some finer points that need to be negotiated," Pacquiao told FanHouse on Dec. 5, during his first interview with American media from the Philippines following his win over Cotto. "[Promoter] Bob [Arum] is going to take all of this back to Floyd Mayweather and then, hopefully, it will be all worked out. We believe that the deal will get done."
The negotiations had even survived an incident on the 78th birthday of Arum, who received a call from Golden Boy Promotions' CEO, Richard Schaefer, scuttling the next morning's trip to tour The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium with owner Jerry Jones and HBO's Ross Greenburg
"As far as I'm concerned, the deal is already done. The only issue is the venue. We've countered the offer and the majority of the things just have to be accepted by Bob Arum," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, at the time.
"We're not in a panic mode," said Koncz. "We're used to this for every fight. It's routine. We come to an agreement down the road, then the contract is sent to us for review."
Pacquiao had even agreed to Olympic-style, random drug tests -- which include the drawing of both blood and urine -- at the request of Mayweather's camp, which had insinuated that the Filipino star may have used steroids since he's maintained his punching power from 106 to nearly 147 pounds.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, he had "no problem" with the drug testing, and Koncz, speaking for Pacquiao, said that the fighter would welcome such a procedure.
"Our reaction is, 'So what?' We know Manny doesn't take any illegal drugs or anything. And none of this is getting under Manny's skin or anything," Koncz said at the time. "I'm here with Manny, and to him, it's like a joke. It's a laughing matter. It's something foolish anyway. Why would we be concerned? We know he doesn't do any of that s**t."
By late December, however, the deal was off after Pacquiao had apparently changed his mind about the random testing. Later, Pacquiao cited his belief that he would be weakened from having his blood drawn closer than within 24 days of the fight.
Pacquiao also filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against alleged steroid accusations, naming Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Floyd Mayweather. Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., and, the fighter's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather.
So what will it take to revisit Mayweather-Pacquiao?
"As far as I'm concerned, Mayweather is the one to dictate. Floyd Mayweather is the king of the world now. So, we all know that from watching 24/7 that the USADA drug testing and what it did for the sport. The respect that it brought to boxing," said De La Hoya, president of the promotional company that works with Mayweather Promotions.
"We know that all fighters can be clean and are clean because of what they showed on 24/7," said de La Hoya. "As long as we can keep on doing that, if fighters can agree to all of that, then we have fights, and we can make fights. But if they're not going to agree to it, then how can we make fights?"
Mayweather would likely demand a heftier side of the purse -- in other words, no more 50-50 split -- and insist that Pacquiao be randomly tested, as did Mosley, by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
"If you're a clean athlete, take your test," said Mayweather days before facing Mosley. "Show the world, you know what? I'm a natural athlete. Take the test. Let them come get you at any time and take the test."
Mayweather claims not to need Pacquiao, having earned a non-heavyweight record guaranteed purse of $22.5 million against Mosley's $7 million.
Mayweather could move into the middleweight (160 pounds) division and face Argentinian southpaw, Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 knockouts), a WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) king who dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) as WBO and WBC midddleweight titlist last month.
Pacquiao is running for congress in the Philippines right now, leading in the polls, and awaiting Arum's arrival and support, the promoter said. Arum, who departed for the Philippines on Tuesday, would not comment on a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.
"I'm not going to talk about it until I see the results of the election, and that's where we're really all coming from right now," Arum said of an election whose results will be announced on May 10.
"I'm going over to the Philippines to do what I can to provide moral support for Manny Pacquiao," said Arum. "And, very frankly, nobody is going to discuss anything about any fights with anybody until after the outcome of this election."
Arum has outlined options for Pacquiao should Mayweather not materialize.
There is a fight against former champion Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs), a January, 2009, knockout victim against Mosley, who takes on 29-year-old Roberto Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday night.
Garcia will be Margarito's first bout following a one-year suspension by the California State Athletic Commission over the discovery of a plaster-like substance in his gloves before facing Mosley.
Pacquiao-Margarito could take place at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium "if Margarito wants to come down to welterweight."
The winner of a June 5 bout between WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ, Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) and Cotto could be could be another possibility, particularly if Cotto wins and a rematch comes to fruition, affording Pacquiao a shot at a record eighth crown in as many weight classes.
"As far as that fight [Mayweather-Pacquiao,] people can keep discussing who is better. It's good for the sport," said Arum. "It's great that they're discussing it. It's clear that this [Mayweather-Pacquiao] is the fight that the fans want to see."
The question is, will they see it?
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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