There's been talk lately about Manny Pacquiao being the best fighter in the world pound for pound. He is. Pound for pound means all things considered, means his skills against a heavyweight's although Pacquiao is too small to beat a heavyweight. You know all that.
This discussion got me to thinking, or recalling. The best fighter who ever lived, pound for pound, was Sugar Ray Robinson. This is hardly my opinion. It is as close to fact as you can get. It's like saying the world is round or gravity makes things fall down.
You use the phrase pound for pound with Ray because he was a middleweight -- 160 pounds -- and could not beat a big heavy, say, 220 pounds. But he was better than all of them.
Of course, Ray was better than Manny Pacquiao. No one disputes that, but I'll explain anyway. Ray fought in an era of better fighters. Manny fights in a depleted era when boxing has become a minor sport. Ray beat better guys pound for pound than Manny will beat. Ray beat Jake LaMotta 4 times. He beat Kid Gavilan. He beat Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio and Randy Turpin and Fritzie Zivic and Rocky Graziano.
I could go on. Manny never will have to face guys like that. Ray had 202 fights. Manny won't. Ray moved like a lighweight, hit like a heavy, threw combinations, was a righty but knocked out Fullmer with the greatest left hook ever thrown. Ray had everything Ali had and he was a harder puncher. Ray was a tactical genius and he had a killer instinct.
I appreciate Manny for making me recall Ray Robinson, truly the greatest pound for pound.
Usually I would dispute your thoughts. However, because you are from Brooklyn (where Boxing was religion in the early years), you may have a valid argument.
the only fighters who've given me genuine aesthetic pleasure in terms of graceful and efficient movement on both offense and defense were Robinson and Ali, as as Mr. Cohn states, the smaller fighter had the greater punch.
So, again, what was this exactly? A hate piece on Pac simply for the fact that he's currently the best in the world? Underlying animosity that people aren't showing enough respect for the golden age of boxing in the 40's (even though you say yourself that Sugar Ray is universally regarded as the best p4p ever)? I do not get you.
The funny thing is, with modern training the way that it is, most of pac's competition would absolutely wipe the floor with the par competition of Sugar Ray. Ray was astoundingly ahead of his time, but that doesn't change the ultra impressive late career surge that pac has put in. One of the best late career surges of any athlete I can think of. Hmmm, might even be something a sportswriter could write on...
Tristran, This strikes me as a very cranky comment. I like and admire Pacquiao. If you're a reader of the Zohn you know I picked him to knock out Hatton. I'm also a boxing fan and tried to expand the notion of best pound for pound and to give a historical context. That led me to write about Ray Robinson. I intended no disrespect to Manny.
Lowell Cohn