Paul Williams Falls and Floyd Mayweather Stalls: The Death of the Black P4P Boxer

On November 20, 2010, once Sergio Martinez's fists created the loud cracking sound against Paul William's skull, his head fell, his body tumbled slowly along with his reign as a pound-for-pound list climber in the second round.

Shortly afterwards, I realized that this loss didn't just affect him. Now I jumped up and down for Martinez like a lot of fans must have at such an incredible sight. Though I personally found the crown his training camp placed upon Sergio Martinez's head a bit much, I understood the elation and the crown does look cool in some pictures. But after I saw Ring Magazine drop Williams from their Top Ten Pound For Pound Ratings, I sighed at a sight I hadn't seen in a while, but should've known was coming. The Pound For Pound List was left with only two black American fighters.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. resides second on the pound for pound list thanks to his accomplishments at Welterweight, and Timothy Bradley is on the list at nine mostly for his accomplishments at Junior Welterweight. I can remember over a year ago that legendary Middleweight and highly respected black fighter, Bernard Hopkins, was fourth on the pound for pound list.

Shane Mosley was third and Paul Williams was high on the list as well. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was still second. Timothy hadn't made it on the list yet. That means four black fighters were dominating the top ten pound for pound ratings. In just over a year, thanks to weak performances or just plain being outclassed in the ring, Hopkins and Mosley have exited the list. And now Paul Williams has fallen. It's up to Mayweather and Bradley to hold the torch until more black fighters can rise high enough to join them. But who are they?

Andre Berto, Mike Jones and countless others immediately come up when one starts searching, but the hype is usually far from justified. Berto struggled against Luis Collazo. Jones struggled against Soto-Karass. These are decent fighters, but definitely not great ones like Mayweather or Pacquiao.

I keep thinking that maybe if the old dogs like Bernard Hopkins can pull a few tricks out of their sleeve, they can beat some whipper snapper and rise back to the middle of the list. But age catches up with all boxers eventually, even Hopkins and Mosley. Despite this, I do believe there's hope.

Andre Ward has been dominating the Super Middleweight Boxing Tournament. Right now, he's undefeated and guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals. He just has to beat two opponents and he is officially the winner of the Super Middleweight Tournament and can challenge Lucian Bute, the No. 1-ranked Super Middleweight contender, at Ring Magazine.

A victory over Lucian Bute would surely bring Ward a pound for pound ranking. Ward has the skills and physical attributes, so this is a fair possibility. The only problem is that outside of him, I scratch my head thinking of anyone else.

Many of the greatest eras in boxing had at least three or four clear-cut black pound for pound fighters.

The 1970's had Joe Fraizer, Ken Norton, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.

The 1980's had Mike Tyson, Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns.

Going into the 1990's, boxing had Mike Tyson, Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and later Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins.

Over the course of the 21^st century, boxing has lost its black slick boxers and traded them in for Mexican wild punchers. Hispanic fighters throwing hundreds of punches a round have replaced boxers like Roy Jones Jr., who waited for the right opportunity while dodging and blocking heavy shots only to return quick crisp hard blows when the timing was perfect.

I don't know who is on the horizon. Maybe some boxing analysts and fans out there can provide me with the answer or a well-founded prediction. Until then, the winner of the Bradley/Alexander match coming up in January needs to stay beating top opposition including potential showdowns with Amir Khan. Mayweather needs to beat Pacquiao and cement his legacy. Mosley needs to sit down if he won't make a legitimate hungry comeback. Every black boxer out there with a nice set of fists and a dream needs to stop dreaming and start living life inside the ring KO'ing their own paths to the top of the pound for pound list.