Commentary: Seems every time a highly notable fighter in the sport steps on the grand stage, the act is immediately followed with a shift in the mythical P4P list. From day one in the sport as a boxing scribe I’ve maintained that the term P4P, as defined in a textbook manner and subsequently agreed to by the likes of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward and others, has more to do with a skill level profound enough to transcend any era and any other weight class of all-time, be it present, past, or future.
In example: Any fighter born a heavyweight, straw-weight, or anywhere in between, whose pure level of skill and God given attributes would allow him to compete IN LEGENDARY FORM regardless of era, or level of competition. In today’s version of the mythical strap, popularity, KO’s, and fan rave seem to be the “gospel”, evidenced in how the list shifts after every KO or stunning victory by a star in the sport. The best example of this can be witnessed in the past 4 weeks.
Fightin’ Filipino Manny Pacquiao endured many years of blood, sweat, and tears to reach his current status in the sport. In the words of Emanuel Steward, (and I fully co-sign), his historical legacy wasn’t cemented by the various weight classes we’ve recently seen him slide up and down. His legacy was cemented as a true P4P fighter in the history of the sport by the efforts he gave years ago against the likes of a prime Morales, Barrera, and so forth. What we see now is a proverbial “cherry” on top.
In the presence of an active Floyd Mayweather Jr., it was difficult to give Pacquiao the mythical (best-in-the-game-today) P4P honor solely, because there was a man in the sport who had simply done it longer, remained undefeated while doing it, and without hesitation, simply has a much better set of pure fundamental skills – which no one can argue. This common knowledge led most to see Mayweather’s pure skill level a cut above, making him 1-A, and Pacquiao 1-B, or simply a close #2.
In the presence of an active Mayweather, there was room for debate between the two. In the absence of Mayweather, there is no fighter in the sport with even a remote claim to the mythical or textbook P4P mantle above Pacquiao, yet within a few weeks we’ve seen a very good, yet still somewhat unmeasured Nonito Donaire earn the title in the minds of some; and following a stunning performance of his own, now Sergio Martinez is said to be the new “man” atop both Donaire and Pacquiao. All after defeating a man who was good, yet few even knew of or had ever really seen.
Yes, he’s on a roll, but this doesn’t separate him from other greats of today, it only equates to him being amongst the greats of today. It’s one thing to be thee best fighter in the sport today, or one of the best fighters in the sport today, but regardless of the definition, (mythical or textbook), how is it possible to truly place either man ahead of Pacquiao in comparison? He has proven more, on a much bigger stage, for a much longer period of time, and technically, against a much more diverse level of competition. So, the fact that this list has continuously changed in the minds of several scribes around the industry serves as proof that P4P today means little more than “best of the rest today”, which is fine, but should be duly noted and described as such.
To further solidify this statement, take in example the way that many scribes of the sport will say “Mayweather has lost his position due to inactivity, so we’ll bump him down to #4” (or whatever). Think about the logic here. It translates to: “since Mayweather isn’t active, we’ll let the guy FANS LIKE MORE, (Donaire, Martinez), skip him, but not advance those other fighters on the list who have worked equally as hard as Donaire and Martinez, and have also been active, yet have seen far less opportunity to prove themselves”!
Crazy! If a man is truly inactive, he falls off the list…..in totality……period! You don’t bump up a few fan-fave fighters to replace him and not advance the others on the list who are also active and evolving. So…..next time you hear a scribe speak of a P4P list, correct him, and let him know there’s only 4, maybe 5 fighters in the sport today who truly have a position cemented amongst our sports legendary echelon. Everyone else is simply the-best-of-the-rest-today!
In no particular order, one of those true P4P fighters today is not active, (Mayweather jr.), one is in the process of making history, (B-Hop), then you have two that are simply on another level (Pacquiao & Vitali Klitschko), with two other possibilities, depending on how loosely you judge (a prime Jones Jr. and Wladi-K). These men could represent their talent at the highest level at any point in history…..past or present. Any other fighter you see on such a list is nothing more than what I would call a “good-fighter-in-training” who has separated himself from the rest of the best of today, but has yet to cement his legacy on era’s of yesterday and tomorrow, which equate to true P4P greatness.
I end this piece in both rhetorically asking and answering the aforementioned title: AM I WRONG IN MY ASSESSMENT THAT THE MYTHICAL P4P LIST MEANS NOTHING? NO…..BECAUSE BY DEFINITION, P4P IS NOT ALL ABOUT TODAY……IT’S ALL-TIME ENCOMPASSING! Anything less is simply a very good fighter trying to get where these legendary figures have already gotten. Point given…..point (hopefully) well taken. One Love……
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), & Facebook).