ShareThisThe legendary American boxer Roy Jones believes that Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is the best in the world and he fully deserves his top ranking as the pound-for-pound best in the world over undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Roy Jones Jr.
This developed as boxing promoter Bob Arum virtually ruled out Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez as the next opponent of Pacquiao. It will be their third fight in case it pushes through.
Arum made the statement, citing the Mexican champion’s “lack of marketability.”
The Top Rank chief said that although Marquez is an excellent boxer, he no longer has good name recall among casual fans as shown in his last fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last week.
Arum, citing a Yahoo Sports report, said that only 4,920 people saw the fight of Marquez against Australian champion Michael Katsidis at MGM.
“He’s a wonderful fighter and a great young man, but the casual fan doesn’t know Juan Manuel Marquez from [World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion] Juan Manuel Lopez,” Arum added.
“The casual sports fan just doesn’t know Marquez, as witnessed by the attendance on Saturday (Sunday in Manila, Nov. 28),” he said.
Arum’s decision leaves Americans Shane Mosley and Mayweather in the promoter’s radar.
If the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight pushes through, it will be the richest fight ever, with $50 million prize money as was planned earlier. The dream fight between the two great boxers, however, never materialized.
Mosley seems to be leading the race of boxers trying to secure a fight against Pacquiao, said Arum.
Arum said Mosley is a very strong candidate because of his name recognition, and, therefore, an easier sell.
“With Mosley, my gut feeling is that promoting that fight right, because of Mosley’s name recognition, will move the needle a lot. That will be a pretty high number,” said Arum.
Jones, who held the best boxer title in the world in the mid-90s to early 2000, said that the only way for Mayweather to reclaim his No. 1 ranking is to beat Pacquiao.
“ . . . Right now Pacquiao has [the pound-for-pound title] and Floyd’s going to have to take it from Pacquiao,” said Jones in a report of Jun Medina from Washington D.C.
Jones told Geoffrey Ciani of Boxing on the Ropes Radio that he was impressed by the way Pacquiao dominated former three-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito on November 13, despite giving up 18 pounds to win the vacant World Boxing Council junior middleweight title.
“Pacquiao is pound for pound the best fighter in the world, and he put on a magnificent performance—magnificent,” said Jones, the only boxer in history to start his career as a junior middleweight (154 pounds), and go on to win a heavyweight title.
“I mean I gave up 27 pounds and beat [former heavyweight champ] John Ruiz, but I’m a bigger guy, too. For him to give up the kind of weight like he did to this kid Margarito and beat him like he did, it was absolutely magnificent,” he was quoted by Jun Medina in his report.
Jones, 41, has captured numerous championships in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
As undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jones also has the record of holding seven championship belts—all the major and fringe alphabet titles—at the same time.
Jones left an indelible mark in boxing history on March 15, 2003 when he captured the World Boxing Association heavyweight title from Ruiz, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years.
In his prime, Jones was acknowledged as one of the most physically gifted athletes in the history of the sport.
Like Pacquiao, he also loves to play basketball as part of staying fit in between bouts and even during training.
Jones also has a passion for music and he had cut some records, just like the Filipino icon, who enjoys the added distinction of being elected congressman in the May 2010 elections.