Using the ratings of the published issues of Ring Magazine, and the archived ratings of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) since their debut in October 2012, and under the assumption they act as a reasonable gauge of the state of each of boxing’s seventeen weight divisions over the last decade, a select group of fighters was evaluated with two questions in mind:
- What fighters rated by Ring, TBRB, or both, did the men considered face?
- What were those opponents rated divisionally when they fought?
Things like being a future or former titlist don’t matter here, nor do title defenses. Those are important things to consider for many but this isn’t meant to be the last word on what makes a great run. It’s just one lens to look from based on the simple question of what would happen if we looked at just the two questions outlined.
With four belts per division, lineal crowns, Ring Magazine belts and more around to win, this is not a cumulative look at every fighter for the decade. Instead, a baseline was established by looking at the pound for pound ratings published by Ring Magazine in print form and then a review of the archived pound for pound ratings of the TBRB for any fighters who appeared on those lists but not Ring’s.
It left a pool of more than fifty fighters to consider; heavyweights Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Deontay Wilder were also scored. Heavyweights often fall short of pound for pound consideration but represent the peak of the sport in literal terms. None of the three made the top twenty regardless.
For the Ring lists, because they represented the full ten years, a point system was used for each month printed. In the final part of this series, the results of that top twenty and how it was generated will be shared.
For this series, a different point system was tallied using the most recent ratings available in an issue of Ring or the most recent archived TBRB ratings prior to a fight. The rules worked like this:
1. Wins over rated opponents started at 11 points for a recognized champion (TBRB/Ring) down to one point for defeating a number ten contender. Draws got half credit. No points were given for a No Contest or No Decision but the result will be noted.
2. Losses to rated opponents were given an inverse score, beginning with -1 for a champion down to -11.
3. Losses to unrated opponents received a universal score of -12 (with some logical exceptions that will be explained when applied).
4. If there is a difference between a fighter’s Ring and TBRB rankings, the average of the two numbers was used (i.e. a win over a fighter rated second by one body and fifth by the other would be worth 3.5 pts).
5. If a fighter was rated by only Ring or TBRB, half credit was given for a win. A loss total would come from an average of -12 and the point loss that would apply to the rating that was in place.
6. Moves between weight classes were adjusted for by taking into consideration the body weight shift between weight classes. In other words, if a rated Jr. welterweight jumped up to beat a rated welterweight, the math would work like this: 147/140 multiplied by the divisional rating. It works in reverse for a win over a fighter from a fighter rated lower (i.e. 160/168 multiplied by the smaller man’s rating in his class). In an over the weight class fight, the divisions the men were rated in were used.
7. All divisions were treated equally based on the idea fighters can only face the men in their division while they are there and all point totals were applied based on official results.
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10) Sergey Kovalev - 42.91 Points
Record for the Decade: 29-4-1, 25 KO, 3 KOBY
Record Against Rated Opponents: 10-4
Rated Opponents in the 2010s: TKO3 Gabriel Campillo (Ring/TBRB #3 - 175), TKO4 Nathan Cleverly (Ring #2/TBRB #5 - 175), UD12 Bernard Hopkins (Ring/TBRB #1 - 175), TKO8 Jean Pascal (Ring/TBRB #3 - 175), KO3 Nadjib Mohammedi (Ring #9/TBRB Unrated -175), RTD7 Jean Pascal (Ring #4/TBRB #3 - 175), UD12 Isaac Chilemba (Ring #7/TBRB Unrated - 175), L12 Andre Ward (Ring #2/TBRB #2 - 175), TKO by 8 Andre Ward (Ring Champion/TBRB #1 - 175), TKO7 Igor Mikhalkin (Ring Unrated/TBRB #10), KO by 7 Eleider Alvarez (Ring #5/TBRB #4 - 175), UD12 Eleider Alvarez (Ring/TBRB #1 - 175), TKO11 Anthony Yarde (Ring Unrated/TBRB #10), KO by 11 (Ring/TBRB Champion - 160)
The fearsome Russian puncher never looked back after a breakthrough knockout of former titlist Gabriel Campillo. With different luck, Campillo could well have had two belts in the division then. Kovalev managed to win three of four major titles in the division and the decision in his first fight with Andre Ward can still spark furious debates. While finishing the decade 4-4 with three knockout losses, Kovalev managed to avenge a loss to Eleider Alvarez to remind everyone he was always more than just a bomber.
Missing in the Numbers: Having seen Kovalev stopped three times, it leaves the question of what might have been in a showdown with Adonis Stevenson even more intriguing. It was one of the better fights of the decade we didn’t get. Also missing in the numbers is the difference a single round makes. Ward-Kovalev I ended with a trio of 114-113 cards. A single round shifts on two cards and how does the rest of the decade play out? Do we even get a Ward rematch? Does it end up a trilogy? It was an hell of a run regardless.
9) Manny Pacquiao - 42.98 Points
Record for the Decade: 12-4, 1 KO, 1 KOBY
Record Against Rated Opponents: 11-3
Rated Opponents in the 2010s: UD12 Joshua Clottey (Ring #5 - 147), UD12 Shane Mosley (Ring #4 - 147), MD12 Juan Manuel Marquez (Ring Champion - 135), L12 Timothy Bradley (Ring #1 - 140), KO by 6 Juan Manuel Marquez (Ring #4/TBRB #7 - 140), UD12 Brandon Rios (Ring #7/TBRB #6 - 140), UD12 Timothy Bradley (Ring/TBRB #2 - 147), UD12 Chris Algieri (Ring/TBRB #3 -140), L12 Floyd Mayweather (Ring Champion/TBRB #1 - 147), UD12 Timothy Bradley (Ring #4/TBRB #2 - 147), UD12 Jessie Vargas (Ring #8/TBRB #9 - 147), L12 Jeff Horn (Ring/TBRB Unrated), TKO7 Lucas Matthysse (Ring #9/TBRB Unrated), UD12 Adrien Broner (Ring Unrated/TBRB #7 - 140), SD12 Keith Thurman (Ring #3/TBRB #4 - 147).
The BWAA Fighter of the Decade for 2000-10 was a sentimental choice for some again this time around, his last impression reminding all how special a talent the Filipino icon has been. His early knockdown and decision win over Keith Thurman thrilled fans and carried Pacquiao into a fourth decade as one of the top fighters in the sport. The highs and lows of this decade kept it interesting all along. Pacquiao added a title claim (lineal or alphabet) in his eighth weight division in 2010, lost the richest fight of all time to rival Floyd Mayweather, suffered a knockout in arguably the fight of the decade against Juan Manuel Marquez, and came out ahead in his rivalry with the excellent Timothy Bradley.
Missing in the Numbers: Antonio Margarito was a spectacular, physically exacting victory but didn’t count here as Margarito wasn’t rated any more at welterweight and hadn’t earned a Ring rating at Jr. middleweight prior to their bout for a vacant Jr. middleweight belt. Also missing is a way to weigh controversies. Give Pacquiao back controversial losses to Bradley and the unrated Horn and he finishes near the top of the list; however, one could also make a case for Marquez winning their third of four fights which would have cost some.
8) Abner Mares - 46.36 Points
Record for the Decade: 12-3-1, 3 KO, 1 KOBY
Record Against Rated Opponents: 7-3-1
Rated Opponents in the 2010s: D12 Yohnny Perez (Ring #4 - 118), SD12 Vic Darchinyan (Ring #1 - 115), MD12 Joseph Agbeko (Ring #3 - 118), UD12 Joseph Agbeko (Ring #4 - 118), UD12 Eric Morel (Ring #4 - 118), UD12 Anselmo Moreno (Ring/TBRB #1 - 118), TKO9 Daniel Ponce De Leon (Ring #2/TBRB #3 - 126), KO by 1 Jhonny Gonzalez (Ring #4/TBRB #5 - 126), L12 Leo Santa Cruz (Ring #2/TBRB #3 - 126), SD12 Jesus Cuellar (Ring/TBRB #7 - 126), L12 Leo Santa Cruz (Ring/TBRB #1)
A certain surprising entrant this high for some, Mares benefits from a particularly strong run in the early part of the decade. Mares faced almost a who’s who at bantamweight in a strong moment for the division and then added one of the best bantamweights of the generation, Moreno, one division up. After winning a title in his third weight class, a shocking knockout loss to Gonzalez derailed a Mares who looked on the verge of even greater stardom. Mares rebounded to remain a tough out with two competitive losses to Santa Cruz, the latter in what to date has been the last fight of his career. With eleven rated opponents in sixteen starts, Mares maximized his minutes and only lost to serious world class foes.
Missing in the Numbers: Mares never had the chance to face Nonito Donaire at bantamweight or Jr. featherweight, a missed opportunity for the fighter and the sport. Also not visible in the numbers in the nature of some of his wins. The officiating of the first Agbeko fight, and Mares’ cup game that night, still bring head shakes from those who saw the fights.
7) Naoya Inoue - 49.85 Points
Record for the Decade: 19-0, 16 KO
Record Against Rated Opponents: 8-0
Rated Opponents in the 2010s: UD10 Ryoichi Taguchi (Ring #8/TBRB #10 - 108), TKO6 Adrian Hernandez (Ring #4/TBRB #1 - 108), KO2 Omar Narvaez (Ring/TBRB #1 - 115), TKO6 Kohei Kono (Ring Unrated/TBRB #8 - 115), TKO1 Jamie McDonnell (Ring #2/TBRB #5 - 118), KO1 Juan Carlos Payano (Ring/TBRB #5 - 118), KO2 Emanuel Rodriguez (Ring #3/TBRB #6 - 118), UD12 Nonito Donaire (Ring #3/TBRB #4 - 118)
As he prepares for his return to the United States, with aims to make a bigger splash this time, Inoue may only be hitting his prime with his work in the last decade already phenomenal in its own right. It’s scary to think three titles across the span of four weight divisions might only be the beginning. They don’t call him the “Monster” for nothing. Inoue arrives in this spot riding four straight wins over top ten bantamweights after making his name with hardcore fans winning titles at 108 and 115 lbs. in a 2014 BoxingScene Fighter of the Year campaign in 2014. He closed the decade winning what might only be his first Fight of the Year against Donaire.
Missing in the Numbers: Inoue skipped over flyweight at a time when it was absolutely loaded and at Jr. bantamweight didn’t get into the mix with Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Cuadras, and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Still only 26, Inoue’s management was probably smart to steer him around flyweight to chase the aging Narvaez but it would have been fun to see a still developing Inoue against Gonzalez or Estrada in 2015 at flyweight.
6) Andre Ward - 51.56 Points
Record for the Decade: 11-0
Record Against Rated Opponents: 8-0
Rated Opponents in the 2010s: UD12 Allan Green (Ring #8 - 168), UD12 Sakio Bika (Ring #6 - 168), UD12 Arthur Abraham (Ring #9), UD12 Carl Froch (Ring #2 - 168), TKO10 Chad Dawson (Ring Champion - 175), UD12 Edwin Rodriguez (Ring #10/TBRB #6 - 168), UD12 Sergey Kovalev (Ring/TBRB #2 - 175), TKO8 Sergey Kovalev (Ring/TBRB #2 - 175)
A lineal crown at Super middleweight and Ring belt at light heavyweight went along with plenty of alphabet hardware for the last man to win an Olympic Gold medal for the United States back in 2004. Only Kovalev ever really came close to beating him and, a stray blow or not, he settled their rivalry inside the route. Ward wasn’t the biggest puncher or the fastest man in his weight class but he was mean, focused, skilled, and highly intelligent in the ring. He could win from outside, rough a man up at close quarters, and possessed often underrated physical strength.
Missing in the Numbers: Ward could have had roughly half a point more had he defeated Dawson at light heavyweight but Dawson coming down the scale to challenge Ward was factored in. It didn’t change the final difference between this slot and number five. The biggest thing missing for Ward was time. A contractual dispute saw him out of the for most of two prime years between 2013 and 2015, an unfortunate development for a fighter who might have been the hottest in the sport at the time. His retirement, and its persistence, shocked many but Ward made his money, had a Hall of Fame career, and got out with all his faculties. That might be the biggest win for a fighter who retired only knowing how to do just that.
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Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
