Floyd Mayweather Jr. was a bigger draw than Pacquiao- the operative word being "WAS"

It doesn't require a lot of common sense to understand the trend I am trying to emphasize. Yes, Once upon a time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the consensus Pound for Pound king of the sport. Dig the archives, I gave him his due recognition at that point in time. But that was then, this is now.

Even Michael Jordan had to yield his crown at some point. Well, perhaps if he had not come back once too many times and donned the Wizards jersey, he could've walked away knowing he was still the best player in the game. But just like all true competitors, it's not all about winning and being the best and quitting while you are ahead. It's about competition. Real winners wake up salivating at the scent of a challenge- that someone out there might be better than you, but you simply could not allow it, thus you go out of your way to re-stake your claim as the best.

THE IRONIES OF PACQUIAO & MAYWEATHER IN POETRY >> CLICK TO READ

Floyd Mayweather Jr. already peaked. His career hit a climax then he walked away from the game. A lot of criticism about his career revolves around his choice of opponents and has gotten quite some flack for not taking on the biggest challenges available to him like Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. Will he continue that trend and duck the best fighter in the business right now?

The world is asking for Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao. Incidentally, Pacquiao's formula for success has been the opposite of Mayweather's criticisms. Pacquiao has steadily risen through the ranks by beating legend after legend and the top-caliber opponents even moving up in weight just to seek out the toughest competition. You can call it his Pound-for-Pound best expedition. And if Mayweather was the bigger draw then, he definitely has lost that title together with the Pound-for-Pound crown to Pacquiao. Even pitted next to the best Mexican fighter on Mexico's Independence day, Mayweather could not even sell out the MGM and despite showing the fights in theaters all across the country, his Pay-Per-View numbers were exceeded by Pacquiao's recent battle with Miguel Cotto.

BATTERED AND BRUISED, COTTO SHOWED THE HEART OF A CHAMPION >> CLICK TO READ

I got to give it to Floyd and Team Mayweather though. They really do a good hype job to pimp out their fighter. The proof is in the pudding however, and the verdict is, Pacquiao's fights are simply more exciting and explosive spectacles that are "can't miss" classics. So when his adviser Leonard Ellerbe, or "L" as some call him said, "It's not one manager's opinion, not one promoter's opinion. The numbers don't lie. If your argument is that you did a better number based on the Cotto fight, all you have to do is ask yourself this question: clearly, Cotto has a much better pay-per-view pedigree as evidenced by the success he has had on HBO pay-per-view in a number of high-profile fights with high-profile fighters such as Antonio Margarito, "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Zab Judah. Cotto has been the A side in every one of those fights." For instance, Cotto-Antonio Margarito did about 500,000 buys in July 2008. "When it comes to Marquez, even though he is a great fighter, he has had no success fighting on pay-per-view," Ellerbe said. "For example, the only time he was the A side he did less than 100,000 buys on HBO pay-per-view against Joel Casamayor. So if they are hanging their hopes on Pacquiao's success in his last fight against Cotto, it is a weak argument, at best." (as published by Boxingscene.com.) I'm afraid he is contradicting and twisting facts to his liking by living in the past too much.

WHY MAYWEATHER IS AN EASIER FIGHT THAN COTTO FOR PACQUIAO >> CLICK TO READ

Yes, Mayweather was a draw then and he did sell a lot of Pay-per-Views in his last fight due to the "intrigue" of his comeback fight and all the Pacquiao fans as well buying into their curiosity. Tell you what though, Mayweather is angling himself to fight Ricky Hatton again to capitalize on Hatton's popularity and his recent affinity with Reebok and the British market. Why? Does he not have confidence he could sell a fight by himself? Numbers don't lie. And the numbers have swung in Pacquiao's favor because of the momentum he has created with a constantly improving career and giving fight fans the bouts and excitement they crave. Some people may be living in the past too much. You know what numbers really matter right now?

7 = The number of divisions Pacquiao has conquered.

1.25 Million = The highest Pay-per-View buys this year for a boxing event.

2009 = The year those buys happened which is now.

We can count how many more knockouts and knock downs Pacquiao has scored over Mayweather in the past 5 years and how many more legends he has slain, but what's the point? If the numbers truly don't lie and if things aren't really so obvious, then why has Mayweather together with his camp done so much talking to sway things to their favor while Pacquiao is simply chilling selling out sold-out concerts from Las Vegas, Hollywood all the way down to Manila?

Now you tell me who the real draw is.