QUOTE (KYLE THEEE SPINKS FAN @ May 15 2010, 04:05 PM)

Ben, it's not who Manny beat when he retired, but how he beat them. Pacquiao-De La Hoya wasn't even considered a serious fight by most. It was just a gimmick to get a name on De La Hoya's resume. Pacquiao went out there and dominated him piller to post for 8 rounds. Nobody saw that coming. Sure, De La Hoya came in weight drained, but that's his problem not Manny's. Mayweather got a split decision over Oscar, and Oscar was competitive in that fight. A few even felt it should have been a draw. Which one looks better to the eye....Yea it's Manny's one-sided beatdown in a fight where he was a big underdog.
Kyle, if the manner in which a fighter beats an opponent is THAT important, then Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright would have NEVER been on anyone's P4P list. Look, I'm not saying that Manny Pacquiao doesn't deserve credit for what he's accomplished, because he certainly does, but the fact remains, why should he get MORE credit for beating two guys that Mayweather had already defeated 2 years prior? I mean, for all we know, the damage was already done once Mayweather fought them. Case in point, De La Hoya looked like CRAP against Steve Forbes, another small guy, when he fought him right after the Mayweather fight...and on top of that, Hatton looked like CRAP against Juan Lazcano, another small guy, when he fought him right after the Mayweather fight. Again, that's not taking anything away from what Manny Pacquiao did to them, but to say he deserves to be #1 P4P based on the fact that he beat two guys more convincingly 2 years after Floyd fought them...well...I think that logic is flawed. I mean, that's like saying Kelly Pavlik should have been ranked higher than Bernard Hopkins on the P4P list because he beat Jermain Taylor more convincingly. Hell, Bernard didn't even "beat" Taylor, but I think most people would probably agree that those two fights with Bernard Hopkins essentially damaged Taylor as a fighter.
Not to mention, Oscar wasn't competitive against Floyd...I'm not even trying to hear that bullshit. I mean, I guess if you can call winning 4 rounds being competitive, then okay...I'll give you that...but a split decision? Get the fuck outta here with that. The ONLY reason why it was a split decision is because judge Tom Kaczmarek was too busy staring at De La Hoya's nuts to realize that his boy was getting tagged with right hands all night. Oscar was NEVER in that fight. In fact, I've never seen Oscar De La Hoya look more like an amatuer than I did in that fight. But that's a whole different argument for a totally different thread. The point is, I don't think I would use the two performances against Oscar De La Hoya as a barometer for who should be ranked higher when you consider that Floyd fought him at 154 with 10 oz. gloves and Manny fought him at 147 with 8 oz. gloves. Shit, I'm sure if Floyd could have got Oscar to suck down to 147, he would have looked spectacular too. So, in my opinion, what looks better to the eye is Floyd moving up to 154, Oscar's natural weight, and beating him there. Asking Oscar to suck down to 147 was a bitch move, in my opinion, by Freddie Roach, who knew firsthand after working with Oscar for the Mayweather fight that he'd probably struggle to get down to the weight. Hell, Roach even told everyone who would listen before the fight, "Oscar can't pull the trigger. If Manny doesn't knock him out, he doesn't have to pay me."
QUOTE (KYLE THEEE SPINKS FAN @ May 15 2010, 04:05 PM)

Also, Manny did struggle against Marquez, but it was at his normal weight of 130. In 2006 Juan Manuel Marquez was fighting as a featheweight. He basically went from weighing between 130-135 to 142 and having to fight a natural welterweight. Marquez at 130 is way different than Marquez at 142 fighting a natural welterweight.
At his normal weight of 130? Okay...I'll give you that...but ironically, on the night of the fight, Manny Pacquiao weighed 145 pounds...welterweight! When he fought Barrera (at 130), the night of the fight, he weighed 144 pounds...welterweight! When he fought Morales (at 130), the night of the fight, he weighed 144 pounds...welterweight! When he fought David Diaz (at 135), the night of the fight, he weighed 147 pounds...welterweight! When he fought De La Hoya, the night of the fight, he weighed 148 pounds...welterweight! Floyd doesn't blow up in weight like that...when Floyd fought Corrales at 130, the night of the fight, he weighed 136 pounds. When he fought Castillo at 135, the night of the fight, he weighed 138 pounds. When he fought Zab Judah at welterweight, the night of the fight, he weighed 146 pounds. When he fought Baldomir, the night of the fight, he weighed 149 pounds! When he fought De La Hoya at 154, the night of the fight, Floyd weighed 150 pounds...just 2 pounds more than Manny weighed when he fought De La Hoya (and yet, one division higher).
The point is, Floyd Mayweather is not a fighter that sucks down to make weight. He fights at the weight he walks around at. Manny Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been sucking down for quite some time now. Marquez fighting Pacquiao at 130 is the same Marquez fighting Mayweather at 147...both times, he was fighting natural welterweights. When Pacquiao stepped into the ring to fight Juan Manuel Marquez in March of 2008, he had damn near the exact same weight advantage that Floyd Mayweather had when he fought Marquez in September of 2009. If anything, you might be able to argue that Pacquiao's performance may have been affected by his own struggle to make weight, but shit, if that's true, how can you not think that De La Hoya's performance and/or Cotto's performance wasn't affected by their own struggle to make weight?
QUOTE (KYLE THEEE SPINKS FAN @ May 15 2010, 04:05 PM)

Next, the Hatton fight also passes the eye test. Mayweather went 9 rounds with Hatton and even lost a couple rounds. That was at 147 pounds too, which is not Hatton's natural weight. Hatton was almost knocked out by Louie Collazo at 147, and really didn't look like the same fighter. 140 was really his best weight class, and Manny took him on at that weight. He dominated Hatton in his weight class, and personally I think that victory is a lot more impressive than Floyd's.
Boxing math at it's finest. LOL. So Pacquiao beat him faster, therefore he deserves more credit for the performance? Please! Honestly, getting knocked out early is probably a lot better than taking 12 rounds of right hands to the dome. Sure, Pacquiao "dominated" Hatton, but would he have been able to dominate him like that had Hatton not been knocked the fuck out 2 years prior by Floyd? Hell, even Juan Lazcano had Hatton on queer street after the Mayweather fight. But hey, I don't want to take anything away from Pacquiao, because it was a great performance, but I'm just saying, I don't necessarily think he deserves MORE credit for a performance that came 2 years after Floyd's performance. He definitely deserves credit, but to say that he should be ranked higher than Floyd because he beat him faster, I think that's a bit far-fetched. Again, Pavlik's wins over Taylor were FAR more impressive than Bernard's losses to him, but how many people put Pavlik above Hopkins on their P4P list?

QUOTE (KYLE THEEE SPINKS FAN @ May 15 2010, 04:05 PM)

Manny earned the p4p status when Floyd retired. He moved up in weight and won titles at those weight classes. I give Floyd a lot of credit, he's a great boxer. However, if you really look at the body of work Pacquiao should be # 1 p4p. Mayweather retired, and relinquished that status. He's come back and beaten Marquez at 147, when really Marquez's best weight class was 130. Yes, the Mosley victory was extremely impressive, but to me was expected. You don't think Mayweather's handpicking opponents? Mosley was made for him, as was a small Marquez, and 147 lb. Ricky Hatton. Manny has done a lot more recently to hold onto that slot. One fight should not put a person back at # 1 p4p, when that fighter decided to retire and relinquish that crown. Of course there's one way for all this chatter to go away.....if they just make the damn fight.
Manny earned the P4P status when Floyd "retired" no doubt...but he earned it by beating guys that Floyd had already beaten. Beating David Diaz at 135 for a lightweight title is laughable. Beating Miguel Cotto at 145 for a welterweight title is a sham. Beating Oscar De La Hoya at 147, a division he hadn't fought at in nearly 8 years...I mean...body of work? Are you truly looking at the body work? LOL. You want to discredit Floyd's win over Marquez because "his best weight class was 130," but at the same time, you want to give Pacquiao all this praise for dominating De La Hoya at 147, even though his best weight class at the time was 154...and Cotto at 145? LOL. Come on man...lay off the Pacquiao Kool-Aid. Floyd "retires" for 18 months and relinquishes the crown...Mosley and Hopkins don't "retire" and can't get a fight for 18 months, but they lose no stock as far as their ranking is concerned? LOL. Since Floyd "retired", the only thing that Manny Pacquiao has done that Floyd hasn't done is beat Diaz at 135, Cotto at 145 and Clottey at 147...that's it...and quite frankly, if you're saying that's "a lot more," well, I'm not impressed. I'll take Floyd's beatdown of Shane Mosley over all 3 of those fights...the Marquez beatdown was just an added bonus. When Floyd "retired" he was the best P4P fighter on the planet and when he returned, guess what, he's still the best P4P fighter on the planet. I have yet to see anything in him which makes me believe he's lost a step since December of 2007. Hell, truth be told, I think he looks a little bit better now than he did before. In December of 2007, nobody thought Manny Pacquiao could beat Floyd Mayweather and I have yet to see anything in Manny Pacquiao which leads me to believe that anything has changed.
Of course, you're right...there is one way for all this chatter to go away...just take the damn tests and we will have a fight!