QUARTER MASTERS
#1 FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. 50-0 (27 KOs), 1996-2017 Titles held: Junior lightweight (WBC); Lightweight (Ring, WBC); Junior welterweight (WBC); Welterweight (Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO); Junior middleweight (Ring, WBA, WBC) The Best Ever ? That’s a different discussion, one likely to draw everything from derisive scoffing to go-team
woofing. For this article, the race between Mayweather and Pacquiao was extremely close, edged only by a single vote. But that’s always the way it’s been between these two, with the fight that should have settled the question taking place well past the point of deciding anything but profit margins. And now they’re talking about doing it again. If we were ranking the effect fighters have had on the sport, Mayweather would probably top that list as well. He has set the bar, however unrealistically high it is, for what modern-day prospects want to achieve professionally. Unfortunately, many of those prospects forget the part about being a great fighter. Mayweather was actually one of the most promising figures at the end of the 20th century, winning the 1998 Fighter of the Year award at the age of 21 after
a seven-bout run that culminated in winning the WBC junior lightweight title against Genaro Hernandez and defending it against Angel Manfredy. He held the belt until 2002, when he began his march up the scale with a controversial win over Jose Luis Castillo for the Ring lightweight championship. At welterweight, Mayweather won a second FOTY award in 2007 for back- to-back wins over De La Hoya at junior middleweight and Hatton (the famous “check hook” fight) at welterweight. He could certainly find the knockouts when the opportunities presented themselves, but Mayweather’s brilliance was in his reflexes, timing, fast hands and defense, which allowed him to stand in front his opponents and either slip punches or deflect them off his shoulder while he laced pinpoint counters through
any gaps. His dominance didn’t require anybody else to make the first move, though. He could also lay down a beating, as seen in early fights against Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti. Overall, he excelled in virtually any situation, which was typically under his control after he figured somebody out and even more so after they got frustrated and started getting sloppy. Mayweather was often criticized for being a “safety- first” fighter, but there’s a healthy amount of bias in saying that if a fighter isn’t getting hurt, they must not be taking risks. In an unbroken string of victories against some of the best fighters of his time, Mayweather sometimes looked risk-averse because he made winning look so painless. »
#2 MANNY PACQUIAO 62-8-3 (39 KOs), 1995-present Titles held: Flyweight (WBC); Junior featherweight (IBF); Featherweight (Ring); Junior lightweight (Ring, WBC); Lightweight (WBC); Junior welterweight (Ring); Welterweight (WBA, WBO); Junior middleweight (WBC) No boxer’s story since Mike Tyson has captured the popular imagination the way Pacquiao’s has. In his rise from street urchin to senator, the Filipino icon has done incredible things, including the
Pacquiao decked Lucas Matthysse three times before stopping him in seven.
standalone achievement of winning titles in eight weight divisions. Perhaps more than anyone on this list, Pacquiao’s success as a fighter was built on extraordinary physical talents. His hands were searingly fast, but they also carried power (look at the faces of Antonio Margarito, David Diaz and Miguel Cotto after sharing the ring with him). His feet were just as quick, enabling him to step around and punch from the sides or launch signature lunging attacks from long range with destructive power in both the lead right and follow-up left. Adding another dimension to all of this was spine-cracking upper-body agility that allowed him to get very low or punch while tilted. Pacquiao’s reflexes and accuracy further complemented his speed. And it wasn’t just the speed of the attacks themselves, but also the relentless pace at which they came. Most of his opponents simply couldn’t handle the effort of fending him off. In his prime,
Pacquiao also had pure one-punch KO power, as seen most dramatically against Ricky Hatton in the 2009 Knockout of the Year. But all the things that made him “PacMan” may have also been his greatest liability. He sometimes relied too much on his superpowers to keep him safe and had a tendency to get reckless in his enthusiasm, leaving himself wide open for the right fighter to capitalize, as Juan Manuel Marquez did in the 2012 Knockout of the Year. There’s not enough space here to go through the names and numbers of Pacquiao’s landmark achievements, which include being The Ring’s Fighter of the Year three times, but it’s safe to say boxing will never see anything like him again.
Mayweather made Victor Ortiz pay for dirty tactics with a shuddering KO.
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