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The 100 Best Boxers of the Decade
The 100 Best Boxers of the Decade
When separating the best from the rest, especially in boxing, every detail of a fighter’s career matters. More important than the number of wins he chalked up or the number of titles he captured are questions like who he fought and how he performed against his best opponents. Did he ever look vulnerable and how did he respond to adversity?
And when looking at the best of a decade, longevity comes into the discussion. Was the fighter able to maintain a championship pace for nearly all 10 years or just five? Battling the inevitability of getting older, did he somehow manage to improve as a fighter? Did he extend his career beyond the average expiration date or did he never recover from a particular defeat?
Whittling down the details takes time, but this system seemed a fair and accurate way to go about determining just who were the best fighters from this decade:
Setting the time parameters from 2000 to 2009 and looking at each man’s biggest fights, who was the best in the sport the longest?
With that out of the way, it’s time to unveil…
1. Manny Pacquiao (Decade Record: 23-1-2)
From his breakout performance against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in 2001 to his career-best knockout win over Miguel Cotto last month, Manny Pacquiao improved every time he stepped in the ring. During the decade, he captured titles in seven divisions, four of them linear divisional titles. He defeated three of the names on this list and next has a shot at a fourth when he takes on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a fight that is estimated to set earnings records.
When separating the best from the rest, especially in boxing, every detail of a fighter’s career matters. More important than the number of wins he chalked up or the number of titles he captured are questions like who he fought and how he performed against his best opponents. Did he ever look vulnerable and how did he respond to adversity?
And when looking at the best of a decade, longevity comes into the discussion. Was the fighter able to maintain a championship pace for nearly all 10 years or just five? Battling the inevitability of getting older, did he somehow manage to improve as a fighter? Did he extend his career beyond the average expiration date or did he never recover from a particular defeat?
Whittling down the details takes time, but this system seemed a fair and accurate way to go about determining just who were the best fighters from this decade:
Setting the time parameters from 2000 to 2009 and looking at each man’s biggest fights, who was the best in the sport the longest?
With that out of the way, it’s time to unveil…
1. Manny Pacquiao (Decade Record: 23-1-2)
From his breakout performance against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in 2001 to his career-best knockout win over Miguel Cotto last month, Manny Pacquiao improved every time he stepped in the ring. During the decade, he captured titles in seven divisions, four of them linear divisional titles. He defeated three of the names on this list and next has a shot at a fourth when he takes on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a fight that is estimated to set earnings records.
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