Manny Pacquiao’s star is fading, Andre Ward has been labelled dull by fight fans so many times he has stopped caring, and Sergey Kovalev may well see himself closely, narrowly outboxed and outscored by S.O.G in their June return. So who today is deserving of the mythical but also lofty title of pound-for-pound king?
It seems we have to make way for the new guard, for the news stars: Vasyl Lomachenko, the pick for many even before this past weekend’s utter dismantling of a very good fighter in Jason Sosa, and Terence Crawford, he of the speed, accuracy and power, and also Keith Thurman, a throwback in terms of constantly seeking out the very best opposition and thus far beating them.
Are these the three young studs, all in their 20’s, who now must battle it out for p-4-p supremacy? It looks like it from where this writer sits (for what it’s worth).
Lomachenko, already a two-weight world ruler despite having had just 9, yes, nine, pro fights, does seem quite untouchable right now. What are “Hi-Tech’s” weaknesses! Please send your answers in on a postcard, if you have any, that is. The same could be said of Crawford – and what a superfight Lomachenko-Crawford really would be – with the two-weight king looking a class above all opposition so far.
Thurman, arguably the best welterweight today, and maybe for some time (the man Pacquiao should really be fighting next, not Jeff Horn) seems to have both the star quality and the ability to always grit it out and win if a fight does get tough. Then again, Thurman also has the stuff needed to get an opponent out of there (even if he hasn’t scored a KO for a while now; much to his own annoyance).
What about Gennady Golovkin, fans may ask when it comes to listing today’s p-4-p best? Okay, GGG is a fine fighter (still, in light if his almighty struggle with Danny Jacobs), but is he really, at age 35, better than Lomachenko, Crawford and Thurman?
Well, what do ESB readers think?