By Lyle Fitzsimmons
Magazines have them. Websites have them.
Even cable television networks throw their hats into the pound-for-pound ring.
So as the year’s eighth month nears its ninth and a series of attractive fights – Golovkin-Brook and Kovalev-Ward among them – begins popping up on the horizon, it’s high time to add another.
Ladies, gentlemen and undecideds, I give you the inaugural edition of the Fitzbitz P4P, countdown style.
10. Carl Frampton
Mea culpa.
Rarely have I been as excited about a young fighter as I was about the dynamic Northern Irishman a few years ago. I never hesitated to pick him when it came to his early fights and his initial emergence onto the championship level, but I chickened out after his rugged defeat of Scott Quigg.
Because it looked like such a struggle for him in that one, I decided against my better judgement that he simply didn’t have what it took to handle a big, strong featherweight like Leo Santa Cruz.
I’m still kicking myself for the decision. And if the rematch comes about – whether it’s in his backyard or on Santa Cruz’s home turf, I won’t make the same mistake again.
9. Mikey Garcia
It had been a while, but it was a whale of a comeback.
And for anyone who’d assigned this guy a pound-for-pound when he’d last been active two years ago, the demolition of Elio Rojas on the Frampton-Santa Cruz undercard gave sweeping permission to put him there again.
He may be better sized to fit in at 135 pounds than 140, but the heady combination of technical acumen, patience, punching power and killer instinct will serve him well wherever he winds up and against whomever he fights.
In fact, if he’s the super lightweight/junior welterweight king by this time next year, don’t be surprised.
8. Canelo Alvarez
OK, everyone agrees that Liam Smith is no Gennady Golovkin.
And we all concur that the big talk after the victory over Miguel Cotto now seems awfully hollow.
But while his management team is clearly focused on protecting assets as much as chasing greatness, that doesn’t mean the kid can’t fight.
He’ll have a laundry list of willing suitors for as long as he stays in the 154-pound environs, and regardless of the catch weights at which his future big fights occur, it’ll be fine if it ultimately does result in big fights.
7. Sergey Kovalev
Adonis Stevenson is the lineal champion. But he’s by no means the people’s champion.
That mantel has been wrested away by the thickly-built Russian who seems to generate glee with every punishing shot he lands.
Only two of nine men have stuck around long enough to hear a final bell since he reached the title level three years ago, and the violent succession of defenses has finally yielded the marquee matchup that the aforementioned Stevenson has long seemed averse to providing.
The November match with Andre Ward is a fight years in the making, and worth every second.
6. Kell Brook
Don’t let the low profile fool you.
Though he’s not as well connected as fellow welterweight kingpins Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman, that’s by no means an indication that the unbeaten Englishman isn’t the cream of the 147-pound crop.
And perhaps even more.
He’ll be a deserving underdog against Gennady Golovkin next month, but he deserves credit for willingly pursuing greatness – whether the quest ends in a quick exit or a middleweight strap.
5. Gennady Golovkin
It’s about time the media-anointed “Most Dangerous Man in Boxing” is actually a legitimate fighter and not just a one-dimensional robot programmed only to beat inferior models.
Rather, the menacing Kazakh has earned legitimacy as he’s stacked championship fight victims like cord wood, and the alacrity with which potential foes have avoided him is ample evidence of what he can do.
It’s a lose-lose situation for him against Brook – where a win would be dismissed and a loss would be fatal – but it’ll still be nice to see him in a fight with an actual compelling run-up for a change.
Assuming the victory over the welterweight is imminent, it’s also high time for Triple-G to make a weight class move of his own.
4. Andre Ward
Like Mikey Garcia before him, the long-presumed heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather Jr’s pound-for-pound title hasn’t done himself any favors with inactivity either.
But now that he’s fought three times in 14 months, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist is on the verge of getting what he’s long deserved.
A light heavyweight showdown with Sergey Kovalev will give the unbeaten American a renewed chance to prove his chops, and a victory in the November fight could instantly warrant a three-spot jump.
Until then, renewed potential alone warrants a high-echelon placement.
3. Vasyl Lomachenko
If there’s been a better fighter after seven pro outings, I’ve not seen him.
And for all those who’d suggested the fast-track approach to reaching the highest level was too big a risk, the joke’s on you.
All the kid’s done while winning six times is grabbed titles in two weight classes, beaten a pair of reigning champions and given a huge push in his second fight to a guy who was in his 56th go-round.
If promotional nonsense will allow for the best matches to happen, it’ll be nothing but compelling to see if any other P4P’ers can hang with Hi-Tech.
2. Roman Gonzalez
Who said flyweights can’t be exciting?
Certainly not anyone who’s been paying attention to a multi-dimensional Nicaraguan.
And now that he’s begun keeping company with a guy like Gennady Golovkin, lots more people are making their way onto the bandwagon.
A move to 115 pounds next month sets the stage, if successful, for a fight with Japanese KO machine Naoya Inoue that’ll finally put the little men on the big 21st century map.
1. Terence Crawford
World titles in two weight classes.
A boffo performance in his first pay-per-view starring role.
Not bad for a 20-something kid from Omaha.
The clinically one-sided way in which the Nebraskan has taken apart respectable opposition since 2014 is more than enough to warrant positioning at the top of the list, and the best thing about watching him is the realization that his peak has probably not yet arrived.
Toward that end, if you think Team Pacquiao’s choice to avoid him in favor of Jessie Vargas was one of exposure, think again. He’ll beat the Filipino even more decisively than Mayweather did.
ALSO CONSIDERED (in alphabetical order):
Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Erislandy Lara, Manny Pacquiao, Shawn Porter, Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman
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This week’s title fight schedule:
No fights scheduled.
Last week’s picks: 1-0 (WIN: Takayama)
2016 picks record: 58-15 (79.4 percent)
Overall picks record: 790-263 (75.0 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.
