BoxingScene’s Pound for Pound Top Ten 

By Cliff Rold

1) Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO) 
Age: 28 
Current Titles: WBA Super Middleweight (2009-Present, 5 Defenses); Lineal World/WBC Super Middleweight (2011-Present, 1 Defense) 
Record in Title Fights: 6-0, 1 KO  
Last Five Opponents: Chad Dawson (TKO10), Carl Froch (UD12), Arthur Abraham (UD12), Sakio Bika (UD12), Allan Green (UD12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: Still fairly early in his career, Ward lags behind some of the men behind him in terms of career accomplishments.  After lopsided wins of increasing dominance over the best Super Middleweight (Carl Froch) and Light Heavyweight (Chad Dawson) in the game, he’s closing the gap as quickly as he can.  Ward, since breaking out with a master class against Mikkel Kessler, has completed the development of an overall game as tough as any in boxing.  He isn’t always pretty, but he can do it all.  He’s not a great puncher, but he can hurt. He is a nasty beast on the inside.  He can outbox just about anyone at range.  The intangible that puts him over the top and into this top slot: prime.  Ward is in his.  Mayweather and Marquez, while still obviously great fighters, are not anymore.  Prime counts and if everyone in boxing were the same size, the Ward we’re seeing right now could beat anyone.  Shoulder surgery will keep Ward on the shelf and aborts a planned showdown with former Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik.  Does this all add up to heading straight for a rematch with the winner of the Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler rematch?  Time will tell but it’s unlikely Ward is going anywhere in 2013.

2) Floyd Mayweather (43-0, 26 KO)
 
Age: 35
 
Current Title: Lineal World Welterweight (2010-Present, 1 Defense); WBC Welterweight (2011-Present, 0 Defenses); WBA “Super” Light Middleweight (2012-Present, 0 Defenses)
 
Lineal World Championships: World Jr. Lightweight (1998-2002, 8 Defenses); World Lightweight (2002-2004, 3 Defenses); World Welterweight (2006-08, 1 Defense)
 
Additional Titles: WBC Super Featherweight (1998-2002, 8 Defenses); Ring/WBC Lightweight (2002-2004, 3 Defenses); WBC Super Lightweight (2005); IBF Welterweight (2006); Ring/WBC Welterweight (2006-08, 1 Defense); WBC Super Welterweight (2007)
 
Record in Title Fights: 21-0, 10 KO (Overall); 18-0, 9 KO (Lineal Only)
 
Last Five Opponents: Miguel Cotto (UD12), Victor Ortiz (KO4), Shane Mosley (UD12), Juan Manuel Marquez (UD12), Ricky Hatton (TKO10)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take:  At 35, Mayweather won his most exciting and competitive fight since Ricky Hatton and found far harder work.  Miguel Cotto came to win and Mayweather refused to allow the possibility.  It was splendid stuff.  Golden Boy has secured two dates for Mayweather in 2013.  Chatter about Robert Guerrero and Saul Alvarez, at Welterweight and then Jr. Middleweight respectively, begin to make two appearances sound realistic for a fighter who hasn’t fought twice in the same year since 2007.  In the ring, Floyd doesn’t throw as much as he did in prime and may be more hittable.  It could mean more fights like Cotto and more answers about his toughness for those who still wonder (and they shouldn’t).  After years of being near untouchable, Mayweather is entering the danger zone where age becomes a growing factor.    

3) Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO) 
Age: 39 
Current Title: WBO Jr. Welterweight (2012-Present, 0 Defenses) 
Lineal World Championships: World Lightweight Champion (2008-12, 3 Defenses) 
Additional Titles: IBF Featherweight (2003-05, 4 Defenses); WBA Featherweight (2003-05, 3 Defenses); WBC Super Featherweight (2007-08, 1 Defense); WBO/WBA Lightweight (2009-Present, 2 Defenses) 
Record in Title Fights: 10-4-1, 4 KO (13-4-1, 6 KO including interim title fights) (Overall); 4-1-1, 3 KO (Lineal Only)  
Last Five Opponents: Sergiy Fedchenko (UD12), Manny Pacquiao (L12, KO6), Likar Ramos (KO1), Michael Katsidis (TKO9), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take:  Sometimes, one punch can define a lifetime in the ring.  Marquez landed that punch and, if he continues to fight, he’ll also be redefining his long-term economic stability.  In a magnificent fight, the fourth in a magnificent series, Marquez rebounded from a knockdown in round five to starch Manny Pacquiao with a single right hand, exorcising the demons of three decisions that could have went his way and didn’t.  Now we wait to see if a fifth showdown is coming.  A fighter who never lacked for talent at Featherweight often lacked for the sort of wins that could elevate him.  Since leaving his prime weight class, Marquez has posted notable wins from 130 to 147 lbs. and earned a place in the conversation with the greatest Mexican fighters to ever live.  Stopping Pacquiao may be the single finest win for any Mexican fighter since Baby Arizmendi picked up two wins over the great Henry Armstrong.  He’s not as good as he once was, but for a single December night he was as good as he’s ever been.    

4) Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO) 
Age: 37 
Current Titles: Lineal World Middleweight Champion (2010-Present, 5 Defenses); WBC Middleweight (2012-Present, 0 Defenses) 
Additional Titles: WBC Super Welterweight (2009-10); WBC Middleweight (2010-11, 1 Defense); WBO Middleweight (2010) 
Record in Title Fights: 8-0-1, 6 KO including interim title fights (Overall); 6-0, 4 KO (Lineal Only)  
Last Five Opponents: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (UD12), Matthew Macklin (RTD11), Darren Barker (KO11), Sergiy Dzinziruk (TKO8), Kelly Pavlik (UD12)  
 
Next Opponent: April 27, 2012 vs. Marin Murray (25-0-1, 11 KO)

The Take: Talk about making it interesting.  Martinez was boxing the brakes off of Chavez for eleven rounds before being forced to dance on the razor’s edge.  Martinez showed a champion’s will to survive and finish the round firing back.  Talk of a rematch means that a growing audience for the excellent Middleweight champ can only get bigger.  Middleweight is showing new signs of life with Daniel Geale holding two belts and Gennady Golovkin holding two bombs in his gloves.  The latter is the biggest threat of Martinez’s career and he’s likely to have to wait.  There could be some overrating of the Chavez win; the kid’s most credible win going in was Marco Rubio after all.  The body of work though has been strong and Chavez didn’t take away from it.  Murray is a solid top ten opponent for Martinez’s Argentina homecoming in the spring, but the big question right now is how long Martinez will avoid the most dangerous contender in his class: Gennady Golovkin. 

5) Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO) 
Age: 30 
Current Title: WBO Jr. Featherweight (2012-Present, 3 Defenses); IBF Jr. Featherweight (2012); Lineal World Jr. Featherweight (2012-Present, 1 Defense)  
Additional Titles: IBF Flyweight (2007-09, 3 Defenses); WBO Bantamweight (2011-Present, 1 Defense); WBC Bantamweight (2011-12, 1 Defense)  
Record in Title Fights: 10-0, 7 KO (12-0, 8 KO including interim title fights) 
Last Five Opponents: Jorge Arce (KO3), Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (UD12) Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (SD12), Omar Narvaez (UD12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: Wins over Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka gave Donaire the right to call himself the clear king of the division.  A year-ending knockout of Jorge Arce paid well and, one would think, helped to expand the fan base for one of the game’s most talented fighters.  What lies ahead could be the most intriguing stretch of Donaire’s career.  Possible showdowns with WBA titlist and Top Rank stablemate Guillermo Rigondeaux, and WBC titlist Abner Mares in what would be an interpromotional showdown, make Jr. Featherweight as hot as it has been since the Vazquez-Marquez wars.  At 4-0 for the year, Donaire appears on his way to near unanimous praise as the Fighter of the Year.  He has the chance at Jr. Featherweight to begin defining his place as one of the best of his generation. 

6) Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO)
 
Age: 34
 
Current Title: None
 
Lineal World Championships: World Flyweight (1998-99, 1 Defense); World Featherweight (2003-2005, 2 Defenses); World Jr. Lightweight (2008); World Junior Welterweight (2009-10)
 
Additional Titles: WBC Flyweight (1998-99, 1 Defense); IBF Jr. Featherweight (2001-03, 4 Defenses); WBC Super Featherweight (2008); WBC Lightweight (2008); Ring Jr. Welterweight (2009-10); WBO Welterweight (2009-12, 3 Defenses); WBC Super Welterweight lbs. (2010-11) 
 
Record in Title Fights: 16-2-2, 11 KO, 1 KOBY (Overall); 6-1-1, 5 KO, 1 KOBY (Lineal Only)
 
Last Five Opponents: Timothy Bradley (L12), Juan Manuel Marquez (MD12, KO by 6), Shane Mosley (UD12), Antonio Margarito (UD12), Joshua Clottey (UD12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: Despite suffering his first knockdown since 2003 in the third round, Manny Pacquiao appeared to have finally found some of the technical answers he needed to solve Juan Manuel Marquez.  His left was quick, his right was sudden, and both were landing.  Then Marquez put him to sleep.  It was an epic finish to an epic fight.  Was it the beginning of the end of an epic career?  At 34, Pacquiao has a steep mountain to climb and plenty of Internet memes to ignore.  He could have fallen farther but earlier this year, he appeared to do well more than enough to beat the undefeated Timothy Bradley and eked one out in his third fight with Marquez before that.  Losing a classic only hurts so much in the grand scheme of things.  One of the most accomplished fighters of all time and a whiskey spokesperson now needs only one thing: a fifth of Marquez.    

7) Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO) 
Age: 35 
Current Titles: IBF Super Middleweight (2012-Present, 1 Defense) 
Additional Titles: WBC Super Middleweight (2008-10, 2 Defenses; 10-11, 1 Defense) 
Record in Title Fights: 7-2, 3 KO  
Last Five Opponents: Yusaf Mack (KO3), Lucian Bute (TKO5), Andre Ward (L12), Glen Johnson (MD12), Arthur Abraham (UD12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: Even bad asses need a breather.  Reminiscent of when Erik Morales took a slower year in 2003 by taking on a fighter who once almost beat him (Guty Espadas), Froch has chose a flawed but serious puncher in Yusaf Mack and walked through him.  It was almost as easy as the whipping he laid on the previously undefeated Lucian Bute earlier in the year.  Now all signs point to a rematch with Mikkel Kessler.  Their first fight was a war and this shouldn’t be any different.  Win, and Froch will have a mandate for a rematch with Andre Ward if Ward decides to stick around the class that long.  Froch would be the underdog, but if anyone deserves a second crack at reversing a rough loss it’s him.  Froch is one of boxing’s gems, a genuine take on all comers warrior.  We’ll miss him when he’s gone. 

8) Abner Mares (25-0-1, 13 KO) 
Age: 27 
Current Titles: WBC Super Bantamweight (2012-Present, 1 Defense) 
Additional Titles: IBF Bantamweight (2011-12, 1 Defense) 
Record in Title Fights: 4-0 
Last Five Opponents: Anselmo Moreno (UD12), Eric Morel (UD12), Joseph Agbeko (UD12, UD12), Vic Darchinyan (SD12), Yonnhy Perez (D12)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: Since getting his first title crack against Yonnhy Perez, Mares has run neck and neck with Froch for most willing fighter in he game and has yet to lose.  Using ruthless aggression to build an early lead and plenty of guile to hold off a second half rally, Mares bested one of the game’s most skilled boxers in Moreno.  He’s shown he can handle any style and now is calling for someone who presents him with tests in terms of speed and power that he hasn’t seen in a single package yet.  A showdown with Donaire seems like a must.  The chances for Mares, who borrows a little from the playbooks of men like Fritzie Zivic in his willingness to bend the rules in pursuit of victory, can’t be counted out. 

9) Brian Viloria (32-3, 19 KO) 
Age: 32 
Current Titles: WBO Flyweight (2011-Present, 3 Defenses); WBC Flyweight (2012-Present, 0 Defenses) 
Additional Titles: WBC Light Flyweight (2005-06, 1 Defense); IBF Light Flyweight (2009-10, 1 Defense) 
Record in Title Fights: 8-3, 5 KO, 1 KOBY, 1 No Contest 
Last Five Opponents: Hernan Marquez (TKO10), Omar Nino (TKO9), Giovanni Segura (TKO8), Julio Cesar Miranda (UD12), Limpetch Sor Veerapol (TKO7)

Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: A stronger candidate for Fighter of the Year in 2012 then he has received credit for, Viloria continued one of the finest career resurrections in recent memory with two strong knockouts this year.  In the first, he avenged a loss and draw (later made a No Contest) that stood as his first career blemishes versus Omar Nino.  In the latter, he won the first unification fight between major alphabet titlists since the WBC and WBA split in 1965.  His fight with Hernan Marquez was a corker, Viloria winning almost every round but battling back from being rocked hard to score three knockdowns.  Like Wladimir Klitschko, Viloria has rebounded from a knockout loss to a fighter he should have defeated (and was defeating) in Carlos Tamara to find himself as a fighter.  That he done it against the rugged likes of former lineal 108 lb. champion Giovanni Segura and the streaking, younger Marquez, earns him a place in the conversation with the best in the game.   

10) Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 51 KO) 
Age: 36 
Current Title: Lineal World Heavyweight Champion (2009-Present, 6 Defenses) 
Career Titles: WBO Heavyweight (2000-02, 5 Defenses); IBF Heavyweight (2006-Present, 13 Defenses); WBO Heavyweight (2008-Present, 9 Defenses); WBA “Super” (2011-Present, 3 Defenses) 
Record in Title Fights: 20-2, 16 KO, 2 KOBY (Overall); 7-0, 5 KO (Lineal Only) 
Last Five Opponents: Mariusz Wach (UD12), Tony Thompson (TKO6), Jean Marc Mormeck (KO4), David Haye (UD12), Samuel Peter (KO10)  
 
Next Opponent: TBA

The Take: The most dominant division ruler in the sport right now is lapping the field.  The Mormeck fight was a joke on paper and an even bigger one in the ring, but he’s not the first champion to have to dig up a stiff.  Fresh out of appealing foes, he settled upon a mandatory with someone he already beat with relative ease and did it again even easier.  Tony Thompson: the original was better than the sequel.  Wach proved a gutsy punching bag that even managed a brief rocking of Klitschko in the fifth.  This is the picture of dominance but it’s also a hindrance in comparison to smaller men who fight in far more difficult weight classes right now.  The comparison gap could close in 2013 with a possible showdown against Alexander Povetkin looming and quality rising contenders like Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury, and David Price getting close to being ready to make a run at the king.  Heavyweight below the Klitschko’s is showing signs of life.  We’ll see if that makes for lively challengers because they’ve been in short supply of late.

Five More Who Could Easily Be Here: Timothy Bradley, Danny Garcia, Robert Guerrero, Vitali Klitschko, Anselmo Moreno

Five for the Future: Yuriorkis Gamboa, Roman Gonzalez, Gennady Golovkin, Kazuto Ioka, Lucas Matthysse

As always, feel free to agree…and disagree.  This list is for entertainment purposes only and based purely on imagination, hypotheticals, and conjecture just like every other pound for pound list ever written.  Neither it nor any other such list made up of such illusory ingredients should be used to forward corporate agendas of any kind. 

That doesn’t make it any less fun to argue about.

For the latest BoxingScene Divisional Ratings: http://www.boxingscene.com/ forums/view.php?pg=boxing- ratings

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com