ESPN's Dan Rafael Top 20 P4P List

[Left Hook Tua]

1. Manny Pacquiao
2. Joe Calzaghe
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
4. Miguel Cotto
5. Bernard Hopkins
6. Kelly Pavlik
7. Israel Vazquez
8. Rafael Marquez
9. Cristian Mijares
10. Ivan Calderon
11. Shane Mosley
12. Oscar De La Hoya
13. Ricky Hatton
14. Jermain Taylor
15. Chris John
16. Antonio Margarito
17. Joan Guzman
18. Nate Campbell
19. Juan Diaz
20. Fernando Montiel

Agree? Discuss.

[Left Hook Tua]

#1 - Manny Pacquiao

1. Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs)


Lightweight titlist and junior lightweight champion
Hits: The new No. 1 fighter in the world didn't ascend to the position because of attrition or another fighter's losing or retiring. No, Pacquiao slammed his way to the well-deserved position on the strength of an overwhelming and historical ninth-round knockout victory against David Diaz on June 28. The flawless performance, maybe the best of his career, netted the PacMan a world title in his fifth weight division. He's won belts at flyweight, junior featherweight, featherweight (yes, it counts based on his domination of then-king and lineal champion Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring championship), junior lightweight and now lightweight. Pacquiao is an amazing talent with a crowd-pleasing style few who see him will ever forget.
Misses: Promoter Bob Arum keeps talking about a November fight with Edwin Valero, a junior lightweight titleholder who would move up in weight to challenge for Pacquiao's title. It'd be an exciting fight for a few rounds until Pacquiao would stiffen him in an overpriced pay-per-view bout designed to keep him winning until a bigger fight is made next year. We'd much rather see Pacquiao either in a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez or facing any of the other better-known lightweights in the deep division.

[Fox McCloud]

1. Manny Pacquiao
2. Joe Calzaghe
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
4. Miguel Cotto
5. Bernard Hopkins
6. Kelly Pavlik
7. Israel Vazquez
8. Rafael Marquez
9. Cristian Mijares
10. Ivan Calderon
11. Shane Mosley
12. Oscar De La Hoya
13. Ricky Hatton
14. Jermain Taylor
15. Chris John
16. Antonio Margarito
17. Joan Guzman
18. Nate Campbell
19. Juan Diaz
20. Fernando Montiel

Agree? Discuss.

Shane Mosley at 11? Seriously?
Oscar at 12?

Man, actually 11-20 is all pretty terrible.

They should be like The Ring and just stick with 1-10.

[Left Hook Tua]

#2 - Joe Calzaghe

2. Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs)


Light heavyweight and super middleweight champion
Hits: Although Calzaghe falls from No. 1 because of Pacquiao's recent sensational performance, it's not as if he's far behind. Calzaghe has been a champion seemingly forever -- 11 years if you're counting at home -- and holds the recognized title in two divisions for the moment (until he officially abdicates the super middleweight crown). And Calzaghe has another big fight planned, a Sept. 20 date with former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones.
Misses: You never know what goes on behind the scenes, especially in the dicey fighter-promoter relationship, but it is unfortunate that Calzaghe and promoter Frank Warren couldn't remain a team after more than a decade of success together. Calzaghe severed ties with the man who built him into a champion (but also the guy who supposedly still owes him quite a bit of money from his April victory against Bernard Hopkins).

[Left Hook Tua]

#3 - Juan Manuel Marquez

3. Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs)


Junior lightweight
Hits: Besides two highly questionable results against Pacquiao, a split-decision loss to him in March and a draw in 2004, you can make a legitimate argument that Marquez should be undefeated. He lost his pro debut by first-round disqualification, a 1999 decision to Freddie Norwood in one of the ugliest fights ever because Norwood refused to fight, and a tight split decision to hometown fighter Chris John in Indonesia in 2006.
Misses: It's not his fault that Pacquiao won't fight him again in the fall, so you can't really argue with his matchup against recognized lightweight champion Joel Casamayor. However, it is shameful that the fight headlines a $44.95 HBO PPV card. Even in a robust economy, it would be a tough sell.

[Left Hook Tua]

#4 - Miguel Cotto

4. Miguel Cotto (32-0, 26 KOs)


Welterweight titlist
Hits: All you have to know about Cotto, who already has beaten Shane Mosley, Zab Judah and Carlos Quintana at welterweight, is that he enthusiastically embraced the idea of fighting the formidable Antonio Margarito, a guy so few want to fight, on July 26. It's a fight that all boxing fans should look forward to. Cotto fights the best and makes great fights. That's more than you can say for one Floyd Mayweather Jr., who retired rather than face Cotto or Margarito.
Misses: Nothing to see here. Move along.

[WLAD OWNS]

Rafael is a fat slob and a ****** ****.

Where the hell are Wlad,Kessler and Abraham?????


That fat **** has always been predjudiced against European fighters.

[Left Hook Tua]

#5 - Bernard Hopkins

5. Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs)


Light heavyweight
Hits: Even at 43, Hopkins, the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion, remains a highly skilled boxer capable of beating just about anyone despite a tight loss to Calzaghe in April in a fight many had Hopkins winning.
Misses: Although Hopkins is still one of the best in the business, his fights have become incredibly boring. Even if "The Executioner" wants to keep fighting, there really aren't any big-name opponents out there for him to face unless Jones defeats Calzaghe. And at this stage, a Jones-Hopkins rematch has long lost its appeal.

[Left Hook Tua]

#6 - Kelly Pavlik

6. Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs)


Middleweight champion
Hits: After exhausting a long list of possible fall foes, Pavlik and Top Rank finally may have found a good opponent for him to fight on Sept. 27, welterweight titlist Paul Williams, who is very credible. Even though Williams is moving up in weight, he matches up well with Pavlik in terms of height and fighting style. It could be a sleeper fight. And the best part is that if the bout is finalized, it will be on HBO instead of pay-per-view.
Misses: Boxing politics mean we all will have to wait until at least early next year for the fight we really want to see -- Pavlik facing dangerous titleholder Arthur Abraham. Like Pavlik, Abraham will take a fall interim match before the big fight.

[Left Hook Tua]

Rafael is a fat slob and a ****** ****.

Where the hell are Wlad,Kessler and Abraham?????


That fat **** has always been predjudiced against European fighters.

i knew a friend who knew this guy that work with this guy who had a family member who spoke to Dan Rafael and he said Dan Rafael told him that , "European fighters but more specifically Eastern European fighters were dumb and box like amateurs."

true story.