by Cliff Rold
Personally, I’m of the opinion that pound-for-pound lists, by anyone, are best left for the end of each calendar year. That is, after all, the end of the boxing season in a sport without such declared confines. It’s the best time to put into perspective what you’ve seen recently versus the sum of history for the fighters in question. As such, on behalf of Boxing Scene, I offer up my end of the year take on the sports ten best.
My last offering in this never ending barbershop debate, on September 16, listed the ten best fighters in the world as such:
Tie-1) Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao
3) Joe Calzaghe
4) Israel Vasquez
5) Ivan Calderon
6) Rafael Marquez
7) Bernard Hopkins
8) Juan Manuel Marquez
9) Mikkel Kessler
10) Miguel Cotto
That take came before the magnificent schedule that closed the last third of this year. Fights like Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor, Calzaghe-Kessler, Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera, Cotto-Shane Mosley and now Mayweather-Ricky Hatton are in the books, obviously changing the complexion of any pound-for-pound ratings and, in many cases, dramatically altering the rejuvenated landscape of the game.
We start at the top with…
