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Wilbur’s Top Fifteen Pound For Pound
By Brian Wilbur-October 24, 2007
Expect this list to change significantly by the end of the year with all of the great fights that we have on deck. The Superfights like Hatton vs. Mayweather, Mosley vs. Cotto, and Calzaghe vs. Kessler are not the only matches that could shake up the pound for pound landscape either. The outcome of fights like Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Rocky Juarez, Humberto Soto vs. Joan Guzman, Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz, and Jean-Marc Mormeck vs. David Haye could also have a major impact on the outlook of pound for pound lists. But as for now, this is how I rank the best P4P fighters in the world:
1. Manny Pacquiao, 45-3-2, 35 KO’s, Philippines
This is the first list in years that I do not have Floyd Mayweather in the top spot. I finally have conceded the top spot to Pacquiao after his dominant performance over Marco Antonio Barrera. Manny’s level of opposition, along with his willingness to stay active, is unparalleled amongst elite fighters today. His last five fights, which have all been seemingly effortless wins, have been against Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, Erik Morales again, Jorge Solis, and Marco Antonio Barrera. Even his “easy” fights are against tough opponents. His opponents have been top notch, yet he has not been seriously challenged in the ring since the first fight with Morales, which was over two years ago. Pacman is chewing up legends and spitting them out at an unbelievable rate.
2. Floyd Mayweather, JR., 38-0, 24 KO’s, United States
Mayweather finally drops out of the top position despite being undefeated. His quality of opposition has been good, but not as good as we expect from a superstar. Pacquiao has defeated the slightly more accomplished opponents and has been more active recently. Plus, Mayweather allowed Oscar De La Hoya to make their fight close whereas Pacquiao nearly shut out Barrera in their last fights. However, if I based this list on ability rather than accomplishment, I would still have Mayweather number one. His boxing skills are the closest we have seen to perfection since Pernell Whitaker. If Mayweather can defeat Ricky Hatton impressively on December 8th, he will retake the top spot from Pacquiao.
3. Bernard Hopkins, 48-4-1, 32 KO’s, United States
One word to describe Hopkins is ugly. No, I’m not talking about his face, I am talking about the way that he wins. Most of his fights go the distance and there is not much action because he has become so defensive minded in the late stages of his career. Sometimes his strategy is to move as little as possible to conserve energy, which can be dreadful to watch at times. But this P4P list is not about who looks the best when they are fighting, it is about listing the best fighters. Hopkins is extremely effective using his crowd displeasing methods. That can be seen when he dethroned legit Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Tarver and followed it up with a decision win over fellow P4P mainstay Winky Wright. At 42 years of age, Hopkins is still one of the best boxers in the world. Rumor has it that “The Executioner” wants the winner of Joe Calzaghe/Mikkel Kessler next.
4. Juan Manuel Marquez, 47-3, 35 KO’s, Mexico
The only two blemishes on Marquez’ record since 1999 have been a draw against Manny Pacquiao and a questionable decision in hostile territory against Chris John. The fight that the boxing world now wants to see is a rematch between Marquez and Pacquiao to settle their unfinished business. Once known as the most feared and avoided boxer in the world, Marquez is finally getting opportunities and finally getting his just due. Last March he won a clear decision over the great Marco Antonio Barrera to move himself into the #4 spot.
5. Ricky Hatton, 43-0, 31 KO’s, England
Hailing from the land where pugilism was born, the “Hitman” is England’s marquee fighter. Hatton was the fighter of the year in 2005 when he beat the legendary Kostya Tszyu for the title and then unified against Carlos Maussa. He has a chance to win the award once again for this year. He already has defeated Jose Luis Castillo and Juan Urango in impressive fashion and next up for him is a December showdown against the seemingly unbeatable Floyd Mayweather. Hatton’s slugging, bullying style may or may not give Pretty Boy Floyd problems, but he Hatton does find a way to win his ranking will increase significantly from his already lofty position of #5.
6. Winky Wright, 51-4-1, 25 KO’s, United States
This relatively light-hitting southpaw is a boxer that nobody wants to see across from them when the bell rings. Wright will box, cover up, counter, and defend so well that he makes his opponents looks silly. Winky has fought a steady stream of top notch fighters since 2004, going 5-1-1 during that span, including wins Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, and two over Shane Mosley. The draw was a controversial decision against then-champ Jermain Taylor. The loss was a close decision to Bernard Hopkins. Winky is still an elite fighter in every sense of the word despite the loss.
7. Israel Vazquez, 42-4, 31 KO’s, Mexico
I was not very high on Vazquez until his latest win, a revenge victory over Rafael Marquez. The determination he showed under adversity was inspiring. To go along with his tremendous heart and resilience, Vazquez is one of the hardest pound for pound punchers in the sport. Let’s hope that we can see Marquez and Vazquez fight a rubber match to settle the score and to determine the best super bantamweight in the world.
8. Rafael Marquez, 37-4, 33 KO’s, Mexico
You cannot mention one without the other when talking about Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. These two have had two classic wars and hopefully a third is on the way to complete the trilogy. Like Vazquez, Rafael is an incredibly hard puncher. No wonder that both of their fights have ended in KO. Prior to moving up to 122 pounds, Marquez put together a very nice run at bantamweight that included wins over Silence Mabuza, Tim Austin, and Mark Johnson. A fun exercise is trying to determine who the better brother is: Rafael or his older brother Juan Manuel.
9. Kelly Pavlik, 32-0, 29 KO’s, United States
About a year and a half ago, Pavlik was just a prospect who was yet to be tested in real competition. He was being moved along slowly despite being rated with high potential from the boxing pundits. That stigma changed quickly when Pavlik was matched up against his peers instead of inferiors. The result was Kelly ripping through the competition and knocking out everyone in his path, including Bronco McKart, Edison Mirdanda, and most recently a title winning performance against Jermain Taylor. Pavlik looks like a force to be reckoned with.
10. Joe Calzaghe, 43-0, 32 KO’s, Wales
Calzaghe has been criticized his entire career for fighting a poor level of opposition. It is true that if you look over his resume there are only a few recognizable names, those being Jeff Lacy, Chris Eubank, Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell. That list would not be bad if he fought them back to back, but those names come from a span of 10 years as champion. The rest have been fodder and non-descript mandatory challengers that the incompetent WBO have sent over. Joe has earned this position in the top 10 though, mostly because of his longevity. No matter who you are fighting, being champion for ten years is a notable achievement. Calzaghe will be tested more than he ever has in his career when he takes on Mikkel Kessler in November. Now 35 years old, the question is did Calzaghe wait too long to sign up for super fights?
By Brian Wilbur-October 24, 2007
Expect this list to change significantly by the end of the year with all of the great fights that we have on deck. The Superfights like Hatton vs. Mayweather, Mosley vs. Cotto, and Calzaghe vs. Kessler are not the only matches that could shake up the pound for pound landscape either. The outcome of fights like Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Rocky Juarez, Humberto Soto vs. Joan Guzman, Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz, and Jean-Marc Mormeck vs. David Haye could also have a major impact on the outlook of pound for pound lists. But as for now, this is how I rank the best P4P fighters in the world:
1. Manny Pacquiao, 45-3-2, 35 KO’s, Philippines
This is the first list in years that I do not have Floyd Mayweather in the top spot. I finally have conceded the top spot to Pacquiao after his dominant performance over Marco Antonio Barrera. Manny’s level of opposition, along with his willingness to stay active, is unparalleled amongst elite fighters today. His last five fights, which have all been seemingly effortless wins, have been against Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, Erik Morales again, Jorge Solis, and Marco Antonio Barrera. Even his “easy” fights are against tough opponents. His opponents have been top notch, yet he has not been seriously challenged in the ring since the first fight with Morales, which was over two years ago. Pacman is chewing up legends and spitting them out at an unbelievable rate.
2. Floyd Mayweather, JR., 38-0, 24 KO’s, United States
Mayweather finally drops out of the top position despite being undefeated. His quality of opposition has been good, but not as good as we expect from a superstar. Pacquiao has defeated the slightly more accomplished opponents and has been more active recently. Plus, Mayweather allowed Oscar De La Hoya to make their fight close whereas Pacquiao nearly shut out Barrera in their last fights. However, if I based this list on ability rather than accomplishment, I would still have Mayweather number one. His boxing skills are the closest we have seen to perfection since Pernell Whitaker. If Mayweather can defeat Ricky Hatton impressively on December 8th, he will retake the top spot from Pacquiao.
3. Bernard Hopkins, 48-4-1, 32 KO’s, United States
One word to describe Hopkins is ugly. No, I’m not talking about his face, I am talking about the way that he wins. Most of his fights go the distance and there is not much action because he has become so defensive minded in the late stages of his career. Sometimes his strategy is to move as little as possible to conserve energy, which can be dreadful to watch at times. But this P4P list is not about who looks the best when they are fighting, it is about listing the best fighters. Hopkins is extremely effective using his crowd displeasing methods. That can be seen when he dethroned legit Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Tarver and followed it up with a decision win over fellow P4P mainstay Winky Wright. At 42 years of age, Hopkins is still one of the best boxers in the world. Rumor has it that “The Executioner” wants the winner of Joe Calzaghe/Mikkel Kessler next.
4. Juan Manuel Marquez, 47-3, 35 KO’s, Mexico
The only two blemishes on Marquez’ record since 1999 have been a draw against Manny Pacquiao and a questionable decision in hostile territory against Chris John. The fight that the boxing world now wants to see is a rematch between Marquez and Pacquiao to settle their unfinished business. Once known as the most feared and avoided boxer in the world, Marquez is finally getting opportunities and finally getting his just due. Last March he won a clear decision over the great Marco Antonio Barrera to move himself into the #4 spot.
5. Ricky Hatton, 43-0, 31 KO’s, England
Hailing from the land where pugilism was born, the “Hitman” is England’s marquee fighter. Hatton was the fighter of the year in 2005 when he beat the legendary Kostya Tszyu for the title and then unified against Carlos Maussa. He has a chance to win the award once again for this year. He already has defeated Jose Luis Castillo and Juan Urango in impressive fashion and next up for him is a December showdown against the seemingly unbeatable Floyd Mayweather. Hatton’s slugging, bullying style may or may not give Pretty Boy Floyd problems, but he Hatton does find a way to win his ranking will increase significantly from his already lofty position of #5.
6. Winky Wright, 51-4-1, 25 KO’s, United States
This relatively light-hitting southpaw is a boxer that nobody wants to see across from them when the bell rings. Wright will box, cover up, counter, and defend so well that he makes his opponents looks silly. Winky has fought a steady stream of top notch fighters since 2004, going 5-1-1 during that span, including wins Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, and two over Shane Mosley. The draw was a controversial decision against then-champ Jermain Taylor. The loss was a close decision to Bernard Hopkins. Winky is still an elite fighter in every sense of the word despite the loss.
7. Israel Vazquez, 42-4, 31 KO’s, Mexico
I was not very high on Vazquez until his latest win, a revenge victory over Rafael Marquez. The determination he showed under adversity was inspiring. To go along with his tremendous heart and resilience, Vazquez is one of the hardest pound for pound punchers in the sport. Let’s hope that we can see Marquez and Vazquez fight a rubber match to settle the score and to determine the best super bantamweight in the world.
8. Rafael Marquez, 37-4, 33 KO’s, Mexico
You cannot mention one without the other when talking about Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. These two have had two classic wars and hopefully a third is on the way to complete the trilogy. Like Vazquez, Rafael is an incredibly hard puncher. No wonder that both of their fights have ended in KO. Prior to moving up to 122 pounds, Marquez put together a very nice run at bantamweight that included wins over Silence Mabuza, Tim Austin, and Mark Johnson. A fun exercise is trying to determine who the better brother is: Rafael or his older brother Juan Manuel.
9. Kelly Pavlik, 32-0, 29 KO’s, United States
About a year and a half ago, Pavlik was just a prospect who was yet to be tested in real competition. He was being moved along slowly despite being rated with high potential from the boxing pundits. That stigma changed quickly when Pavlik was matched up against his peers instead of inferiors. The result was Kelly ripping through the competition and knocking out everyone in his path, including Bronco McKart, Edison Mirdanda, and most recently a title winning performance against Jermain Taylor. Pavlik looks like a force to be reckoned with.
10. Joe Calzaghe, 43-0, 32 KO’s, Wales
Calzaghe has been criticized his entire career for fighting a poor level of opposition. It is true that if you look over his resume there are only a few recognizable names, those being Jeff Lacy, Chris Eubank, Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell. That list would not be bad if he fought them back to back, but those names come from a span of 10 years as champion. The rest have been fodder and non-descript mandatory challengers that the incompetent WBO have sent over. Joe has earned this position in the top 10 though, mostly because of his longevity. No matter who you are fighting, being champion for ten years is a notable achievement. Calzaghe will be tested more than he ever has in his career when he takes on Mikkel Kessler in November. Now 35 years old, the question is did Calzaghe wait too long to sign up for super fights?
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