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At times the speed differential was so obvious that Corley looked visibly frustrated. Floyd Mayweather definitely has some of the fastest hands in boxing. And like somebody else we all know, namely the pre-Ruiz Roy Jones, fans expect that the speed and skill should be enough for Floyd to be considered #1 Pound for Pound in the world.
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There was nobody arguing that Zab Judah should have been considered the top Pound for Pound in the world after that win. Nobody. He was lucky if he was considered in the Top 25 and now look at him, he's struggling to win spilt-decisions against guys that are 10 years past their prime.
Mayweather is better than Judah is, I'm not denying that. He's knows more about what he's doing in the ring and he's much tougher than Judah. It would be hard to imagine Floyd getting knocked out by one punch like Judah did against Kostya Tszyu. But then again it was pretty tough to imagine Roy Jones Jr. getting knocked out the way he did.
So, with all this considered, why is Mayweather's win over Corley considered enough to vault him into the top spot?
Isn't there a little fighter by the name of Bernard Hopkins that everybody keeps forgetting about?
Fans and critics alike seem all too willing to place Floyd into the imaginary "top spot" blatantly ignoring the accomplishments of Hopkins. For those unaware or possibly blinded by Mayweather's speed I will go over some of them now:
• "The Executioner" has defended the world Middleweight title 16 straight times (17 if you count the no-contest against Robert Allen back in 1998. In that fight Hopkins was leading on the judges cards when Referee Mills Lane accidentally pushed Hopkins out of the ring, causing an injury to Hopkins arm). His championship run dates back to 1995 and he has scored 11 knockouts in that span.
• Bernard knocked out Felix Trinidad after breaking him down for 11 and a half-brutal rounds. He has been the undisputed Middleweight champ for over 3 years. And, not that this really matters, but he recorded the earliest knockout ever in a world middleweight title bout (vs. Steve Frank at: 24 of Round 1 in his first title defense).
• He hasn't lost a fight in over 11 years and that was to Jones. And that fight was no blowout as Jones won the decision with scores of 116-112 on all the judges' cards. The only other fight he lost was in his first pro bout where Hopkins lost a 4 round majority decision. In that fight Bernard weighed in at 177 pounds.
• Some notable names on Bernard's "hit list" include William Joppy, Robert Allen, Antwun Echols, Andrew Council, Keith Holmes, Simon Brown and the aforementioned Felix Trinidad.
He has done all of this and has at the same time been an advocate for the plight of boxers. He has argued for the rights of fighters and against the tactics used by greedy promoters and networks that exploit them.
Hopkins has a resume that is as impressive as almost anybody in the sport and still fans give Mayweather more credit, allowing Floyd to "leapfrog" Hopkins in the rankings. Is it because Floyd is flashier? Does his trainer talk a better game than Hopkin's trainer? What is it?
Mayweather has had one major, dangerous fight and that was against Diego Corrales and granted, he looked great in disposing of Corrales, but can anybody say that Corrales was more dangerous than Felix Trinidad?
Bernard shocked the world when he knocked out Felix.
If there is any such thing as the "mythical" Pound for Pound rankings then the World Middleweight Champion for the last 11 years has got to be #1. And if he's not, then the rankings don't mean a whole lot.
