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Now that the dust has settled following welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr’s comprehensive outpointing of Shane Mosley, the focus once again returns to a potential showdown between Mayweather and fellow multi-weight champion Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather has gone on record saying that anyone he fights from now on must undergo FDA approved drug testing, a demand that has already scuppered a potential clash with Pacquiao and resulted in a war of words through the press between the two camps that could be heading to the courtroom.
Is this all just one long build-up designed to fatten the financial pie by sharpening the already whetted appetite of boxing fans worldwide or is it just a convenient deal killer for both fighters intent on preserving their currently golden legacies rather than to engage in a very risky bout?
Over the past five years, Pacquiao and Mayweather have met a fair bit of opposition past their sell by dates.
Let’s look at Mayweather’s CV during that time period: Arturo Gatti, Sharmba Mitchell, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.
Only Baldomir was in his prime and while he held a title at the time, has never been a truly world class operator. Hatton and Marquez were on the outer edge of their prime and both had to come up in weight while Gatti, Mitchell, Judah, De La Hoya and Mosley were all well past their best.
It might even be said that the last in-form top class opponent in their prime weight class that Mayweather has met was lightweight Jose Luis Castillo, who many believe in fact defeated “Pretty Boy Floyd” in their first contest in 2002, despite losing on points.
Pacquiao also is guilty of meeting opponents past their dangerous eras such as De La Hoya, Hatton and Oscar Larios as well as the second bout with Marco Antonio Barrera and the second and third with Erik Morales.
During the time period under review, Pacquiao has shared the ring with sub-top class opponents such as Jorge Solis and Hector Velazquez while David Diaz holds a similar place on Manny’s resume as Baldomir does on Mayweather’s.
The Filipino southpaw has been in with an in-form Morales in their first clash and a still top shape Marquez in their second bout but most importantly for this look at a potential Mayweather vs. Pacquiao clash, he’s defeated two world class welterweights who weren’t past it, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.
That 147 pound achievement provides Pacquiao the edge over Mayweather during the last five years.
Without question, Mayweather is a tremendous talent but the last division he cleaned out was the super featherweights and since the difficult Castillo bouts, has been very, very selective with the opponents he has faced.
Pacquiao is also a supremely gifted fighter but the last division he cleaned out was also the super feather class before, somewhat like Mayweather but less so, he started playing opponent hopscotch.
This is obviously down to steering their careers to the greatest financial gain but not losing is part of that equation and the dynamic between those two concepts could, more than any drug testing demands, keep Mayweather vs. Pacquiao from ever taking place.
One thing that this potential blockbuster has already provided to the boxing world is the furthering of the idea that titles, and more importantly the sanctioning bodies that offer these crowns, don’t really matter.
Let’s hope that idea not only sticks but grows.
