by Michael Brady: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and Shane Mosley. The top three welterweight fighters of our generation, and some of the best period. Pacquiao a fearless seven weight world sensation; Mayweather an unbeaten technical master, and Mosley a devastating lionhearted warrior.

After Mayweather’s “schooling” of Mosley I now rate all three boxers on fairly similar plateaus, with Floyd possibly just above Pacquiao and Shane just below Manny. A boxing master-class unfolded last night as Floyd beat Sugar Shane at his own game. Call it old age, call it ring rust or just call it Mayweather’s undeniably astonishing ring generalship; but never have I seen anybody beat Shane Mosley in that fashion. Mosley’s only breakthrough was round two, where he clearly wobbled Mayweather, knee’s buckling and balance momentarily impaired he seemed to be close to toppling over. Shane on the cusp of a fantastically dramatic upset (one I wanted to see, I admire Shane as a warrior and a gentleman). However; Mayweather, who’s chin I have only ever seen tested properly once before (Corley) came back showing it was built with rubber attributes, bouncing back to his senses so rapidly from punches that would have fragmented many other fighters.

The impressive part of the situation, was Mayweather’s ability to lose no ground under Shane’s furious onslaught, no matter how badly Floyd was rocked, he remained there in front of Shane; and that shows that taking a punch is just as much mental will as it is physical. Mayweather’s ability to adjust and adapt proved vital, never making the same mistake again, leaving Shane with an even smaller window of punching opportunity.

Mosley is relentless, look at the Margarito fight; and yet Mayweather managed to derail any thoughts Shane had on pressuring him. Nervous and hesitant Mosley had been neutralized and disabled, Mayweather forcing him to second guess himself constantly. Never before have I seen another fighter do this to him.

I still stand by this now, the fighter I felt had the best chance of beating Floyd Mayweather, was Shane Mosley; he had all the properties and the capability to beat him, I still think when fighting Mayweather it’s crucial you gain control over the centre of the ring, which Shane did not do.

I feel Shane would have faired much better against Manny, as he has always had difficulties with technically sound boxers, Pacquiao is not a technically sound boxer. Instead he uses superlative stamina and punch output to dominate opponents, whilst combining it with speed and power. Defence wise he doesn’t stack up well.

That’s the type of fighter that Mosley has always faired better with and more often than not winds up with a knockout.

In my book, Floyd edges Manny, it’s tough but after what I witnessed last night I now know Mayweather is capable of adapting and switching to any style he likes and is easily the technically best boxer on the planet. He could “school” Pacquiao as he did Mosley, but that’s not an easy task.

I also think Mosley would have a solid chance against Pacquiao, more so than he did with Mayweather, but then, it doesn’t take much imagination to see Manny doing to Mosley what he did to Cotto.

Mayweather is beatable, the blueprint on beating him is far from a mystery, the question is, is anybody actually capable of executing it successfully? 41 have tried, 41 have failed. Love or hate the man, you have to respect his sensational ability in the ring, beating Shane like that has silenced every critic and he’s one of the greatest of all time.

Pacquiao is without doubt the most exciting boxer, blistering speed and deceiving power. Freddie Roach could be the key within a Mayweather fight, coming so close before with DLH. Once in the ring he seems unstoppable, defying odds and logic everytime. The man is fearless and his legacy is unquestionable, but will his scrappy defence and rough technical ability be exploited?

Mosley like Pacquiao is capable of dominating any division he’s in, one of the best lightweights of all time and a future hall of famer. His conduct outside of the ropes has to be admired, and his work in the inside them is engrossing; fusing speed, power and a warrior mentality to batter and destroy his opponents. At 38 however he’s not what he used to be, and Mayweather may have dented him permanently now.

And lets not get started on Berto, Clottey, Cotto…

Safe to say; the welterweight division is the most enthralling and is burning bright at the moment, with anybody seemingly able to beat anybody, who knows what’s around the corner?…