As a massive Ricky fan, I begrudgungly agrre.

As of this moment Ricky hasn't demonstrated any signs which will grant him ATG status. Although he did strip the ranks at 140 and defeated an ATG in Kostya Tszyu he never really reinforced the case he presented against Kostya Tszyu. Sitting ringside at the Maussa fight I saw him throw away his gameplan and although he won every round he let an inferior boxer and fighter cut him severly and took a good deal of punishment. Subsequently, he scraped a win against Collazo and lostto Floyd.

However, it is not these results which I feel will affect his legacy. It is the performances which he invested in each fight that will be remebered. Against Collazo he tired easily and grappled to a messy and some say lucky win. When faced with Juan Urango he put on a masterful show until he tired and was forced to hang on for dear life. Not because of the efforts of Urango but because his body let him down. Against Mayweather although he fought bravely his body again tired and he looked poor and non-competitive from round 5 on.

Although it pains me to say this I think Ricky's legacy has been tarnished by his lifestyle. Having watched each of his fights I find it undeniable that recently his conditioning has waned and he has faltered at each obstacle. I feel this is largely due to his lifestyle and the time he takes off.

An attempt at being optimistic appears futile yet I will support him in every fight regardless of the competition. I feel he may indeed go down in history as an ATG if he can once more clear Light Welter defeating the likes of Witter, Malignaggi, Torres, Holt and Hopkins. Supplementary fights with the likes of Juan Diaz and Lazcano would be a nice bonnus for a fan like me. However, with talks of an impending fight with smaller man Manny Pacquaio I can't help but fear that Ricky will waste the remainder of his career as he has some of his talent, potential and physical ability.

I hope and pray that I'm wrong but with recent reports of four day benders in Tenerife and no fight scheduled any earlier than June I believe we've seen the best of Ricky.