Thread: P4P Stats Analysis - Part 2

Afternoon folks, after my previous look at the stats of the p4p top 10 looking at the records of their opponents, and took on board a few comments about what other stats should be considered, and here's a few more stats, but this time, I've used the current p4p list of Ring Magazine, after someone complained Ricky Hatton wasn't on there.

Here's the original thread:
http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxing_fo...c,50065.0.html

Ok, first up going by their position on the list, is a look at the previous champions they've faced, (WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF only) and also the total number of reigns that those champions they've faced.

Name Previous Champions Faced Combined title reigns
Floyd Mayweather Jr 10 20
Manny Pacquiao 8 11
Rafael Marquez 5 8
Juan Manuel Marquez 8 15
Winky Wright 7 10
Bernard Hopkins 10 22
Joe Calzaghe 7 9
Ricky Hatton 7 9
Marco Antonio Barrera 15 22
Cotto 4 6

One of the most important things in my opinion, was to balance these figures, with the number of fights each has had, otherwise Barrera, Hopkins and Wright have had a lot more fights at the top than Cotto, for example.

First up, here's the number of champions or former champions that each one has fought, as a percentage of their whole number of fights, and the theme that seems to carry on from my previous look at the stats, is the Floyd Mayweather is head and shoulder above everyone else, in everything. Even were he not to come out of retirement, my look at his career has confirmed in my mind that he is already a p4p great, despite my opposing view about his attitude and persona. Anyhow, Barrera and Hopkins come in highly as well, which is probably a reflection of their long period at the top of their game.

% of Former Champions Faced of all fights

Floyd Mayweather 26.3
Marco Antonio Barrera 22.1
Bernard Hopkins 19.2
Manny Pacquiao 16.3
Joe Calzaghe 16.3
Ricky Hatton 16.3
Juan Manuel Marquez 15.7
Miguel Cotto 13.3
Winky Wright 12.7
Rafael Marquez 12.5

One of the things that did surprise me was that the Brits, in Calzaghe and Hatton had performed quite well and faced more former champions than some of their more illustrious and heralded boxers such as Wright and JMM. Of course this stat can be coloured if there is one dominant champion holding two or three belts at a time during a period, which can make facing champions more difficult.

The second stat I looked at was to do with the number of title reigns that the champions each fighter had faced, and for me, this one is probably more accurate to the quality of the fighter, because as we all know sometimes weak champions can win a title once, but if they've won more than that, then they're more likely to have a bit of quality.

Combined Title Reigns of fighters faced/Number of Fights

Floyd Mayweather 52.6
Bernard Hopkins 42.3
Marco Antonio Barrera 32.4
Juan Manuel Marquez 29.4
Manny Pacquiao 22.4
Joe Calzaghe 20.9
Ricky Hatton 20.9
Rafael Marquez 20
Miguel Cotto 20
Winky Wright 18.2

As you've probably noticed by now, Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe are almost identical within their records, with Calzaghe having one more KO than Hatton being one of the few differences, and Hatton's single venture to Welterweight making him a two-weight champion.
Once again, this shows that, as a rule, the longer that career, the more likely the p4p fighter to be higher up the rankings, with Hopkins, Barrera and Pacquiao performing well, and once again Floyd Mayweather is way ahead.

And finally, looking at those champions again, if we divide the number of reigns by the number of champions faced, we get a marker showing how many titles those champions are likely to have held, and shock horror!, MAyweather isn't top.

Average Titles Held by Champions Faced

Bernard Hopkins 2.2
Floyd Mayweather 2.0
Juan Manuel Marquez 1.9
Rafael Marquez 1.6
Marco Antonio Barrera 1.5
Miguel Cotto 1.5
Manny Pacquiao 1.4
Winky Wright 1.4
Joe Calzaghe 1.3
Ricky Hatton 1.3

This is the ultimate stat to define the quality of each champion faced, and this one will certainly give ammunition to the critics of Calzaghe and Hatton who say they haven't faced enough real champions. But the real thing for me is the stat for Bernard Hopkins, who has, on average faced champions who are usually two-time champions in his fights.

Anyhow, comments and questions much welcome, and what do you reckon of these figures? And while I will agree that numbers never tell the whole stories, they can be an useful guide.

Now this is what I'm talking about. Great great information.

It is no suprise that B-Hop and Maywether came up so hight in champions with multiple reigns. Remember that by the time they both fought DLH he was like a 7 or 8 time champion (not sure right now). Add Trinidad to the record of B-Hop who was a three division champ with a total of five titles.

Cotto is pretty low here because he has never beaten a current champion. Both his titles were vacated at the time he won them.

Originally Posted by The Rookie Fan

Now this is what I'm talking about. Great great information.

It is no suprise that B-Hop and Maywether came up so hight in champions with multiple reigns. Remember that by the time they both fought DLH he was like a 7 or 8 time champion (not sure right now). Add Trinidad to the record of B-Hop who was a three division champ with a total of five titles.

Cotto is pretty low here because he has never beaten a current champion. Both his titles were vacated at the time he won them.

Yup, both valid points. Having Oscar on your record does boost those stats, and according to my counting, it was six seperate title reigns, not including unifications. I think that younger fighters, with the remarkable exception of Mayweather are not going to do as well as B-Hop and Barrera, because they've been around at the top for so long. Be interesting to see what the shakes are in 18months to 2 years time.