I have always thought nobody could touch Floyd Mayweather.

I have been ringside for a lot of his fights, including places like Grand Rapids, Miami and Portland, when he was not wanted in Las Vegas simply because he was too bloody good.

He was great. Boringly great. Nobody came close to him and literally at times, nobody could touch him. I honestly thought we had a kid who was too good, almost for his own good.

Mayweather: great, but too great for Pacquiao?

But last weekend, that all changed with one performance from Manny Pacquiao.

He showed against Miguel Cotto again, that he has one crucial asset that no-one else who has faced Mayweather has had - speed. Make that lightning-fast speed!

Look at the left hooks that flattened Cotto and Ricky Hatton; I say look but you might need the slow-motion replay because this phenomenon from the Phillipines has blinding handspeed.

He will get to Mayweather, he will beat him to the punch and he will make him fight.

Technician

My one doubt about Floyd has always been his heart for a tear-up, the willingness to get involved in a scrap. Because he is so good he has never had to do that, but against Pacquiao, he will have no choice.

Pacquiao will be on him from the word go and he will stay on him right until the final bell, going for that knockout. That's what he did against Cotto when we all knew the fight was up; that is why we all love him, because a bit like Ricky, he is always trying to get the other guy out of there.

Mayweather though, has never had to go for broke. He is such a fantastic technician he doesn't need to. When he had been out of the ring for a while and came back against a very good fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez, we all wondered how good he'd be, how he'd manage after the lay-off.

My advice at the time - a couple of months ago - was never bet against Floyd Mayweather. Now, when they meet - and this is a fight that has to happen - my advice would be: don't bet against Manny Pacquiao!

He reminds me in a way of Roberto Duran; a brilliant, brilliant fighter that can go up through the weights and lose nothing. Had I still been a cruiserweight champion I would be sitting here now clutching my belt praying that Pacquiao stays where he is!

Leveller

Outside the ring he is a perfect gentleman and the ideal role model, polite and professional and clearly happy in his work - did you ever see a man so relaxed before the biggest fight of his life? Where Duran snarls, Pacquiao just smiles, but inside the ring, they are both proper, proper fighters.

Speaking of Duran, isn't it great that here we are talking about two fighters that would have walked comfortably into any era in the sport, including the Hagler-Hearns-Leonard-Duran era? Mayweather and Pacquiao are that good.

There might only be two of them, but it is brilliant for boxing to be talking about top, top performers around the same weight, at the same stages of their career and at the same time.

Everyone out there has their leveller, the one man that can beat them, or they can't beat; maybe Manny Pacquiao is Floyd Mayweather's...

Why?

Ricky Hatton of course, found his leveller in the shape of Floyd.

Seeing him talk on Friday Fight Night last week and seeing the rumours growing about his comeback, I will keep this bit short.

Ricky, you have nothing to prove to anyone, you are not going to achieve anything you haven't already, so I only have one question for my old mate: Why?

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