Top 15 Welterweights of the 21st Century

[MBE]

Ricky hattons welterweight title win against a prime collazo and his spirited performance at welter against mayweather should earn him a spot just above malignaggi and equal to Berto IMO

[bojangles1987]

I'd say Floyd's welterweight career is clearly above Pacquiao's. Cotto/Mosley is tough, I think I'd rank Cotto higher. I'd definitely put Margarito above Judah. Honestly, what did Judah ever do besides beat Spinks 1 time out of 2 tries? Not sure he even belongs here.

Past that, guys blend together.

1. Mayweather
2. Pacquiao
3. Cotto
4. Mosley
5. Margarito

[MurkaMan]

The welterweight division has been at or near the forefront of our sport for as long as boxing has stood under the Marquess of Queensberry, filling the upper echelon of seats with the likes of Robinson, Napoles and Leonard.

The last 14 years haven't been any different, with the two best of their generation plying their trade for some time at the 147lb limit, not to mention stand outs such as Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and so on.

So here's my list of the top 15 fighters at 147lb from the start of the year 2000 to today:

1. Manny Pacquiao

Notable wins over Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Joshua Clottey, Juan Manuel Marquez and honestly, twice over Timothy Bradley make the Pacman a clear choice for number one. The Mosley fight was admittedly a farce and the Marquez KO loss does dent Pacquiao a bit but his body of work is still incredible.

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The other side of boxing's richest coin, Mayweather, love him or hate him has stayed undefeated at welterweight but lack of names such as Cotto, Margarito, Williams and a younger Mosley really start to drown an otherwise decent resume at 147. Any one or two of those fights would have elevated him to number 1, instead we've seen Baldomir, Mitchell, Ortiz, Guerrero and co.

3. Shane Mosley

Mosley's two losses to Vernon Forrest, a good, solid operator but far from great really hurt him, not to mention the shady circumstances of his win over Oscar but at 147lb he was still a force to be reckoned with and his speed, accuracy and power were second to none.

4. Miguel Cotto

Cotto, for better or for worse has carved out one of the most memorable careers in boxing and at his best he was a terrific boxer with a great left hook. A victory over Mosley proves just that. He does how ever, have the knack of losing some of the bigger fights but hey, when you lose to the best of your generations, that's not so bad.

5. Zab Judah

What if? That one phrase defines Judah's career, what if he had the mental fortitude? What if he could take a punch? What if...But even with all that, he still managed a reign at welterweight and for some 5 rounds, matched Mayweather for speed and accuracy. His demons though, almost always won out.

6. Antonio Margarito

The most controversial man on this list, Margarito in his prime was a feared fighter with dynamite in both fists but that is often off set by accusations of cheating. But beyond the headlines, he was a gifted fighter with an iron chin, the beating he lay on Cotto and the punches he took in return will go down in legend.

7. Vernon Forrest

A strong, skilled and often quick boxer who knew how to fight, Forrest was never great, his body at times too fragile but two wins over a man who was regarded by some at the time as the best P4P fighter on the planet. Losses to Mayorga, a limited slugger hurt and it's why he's further down my list than some would have him.

8. Paul Williams

Williams is often overlooked, even when he was near the forefront of his division people never seemed to mention him. He was a name only amongst the hardcore and for those of us who witnessed him fight, we loved him. A busy fighter, strong, quick and unusually tall for a welterweight Williams was avoided by top dogs like Mayweather and Mosley, just goes to show how good he was.

9. Cory Spinks

A solid fighter would probably be the best way to describe him. He mostly looked good and every now and then he might even have looked excellent but his constant yo-yoing in weight damaged his chances for sustained success. His victories over Mayorga and Judah show us he was good enough.

10. Ricardo Mayorga

A brawler, by every definition of the word, vicious, hard hitting and dangerous. His lack of fundamentals and a need to box often let him down but for how ever long the fight lasted, he was exciting and value for money. His resume has it's ups and downs, just like his boxing technique but some good wins over Forrest can't be denied.

11. Timothy Bradley

Lil Timmy, one of the most pugnacious fighters of his generation would be a lot higher if his victory over Pacquiao had not been controversial. Quick, agile, athletic and tonnes of heart, Bradley may well go down as one of the greats but right now it's difficult to rank him higher.

12. Juan Manuel Marquez

His knock out victory over Pacquiao in their 4th meeting and an almost victory in the 3rd fight shoots Marquez up this list. It's a great accomplishment, not to mention the fact that he has managed to maintain his swift counter punching and stamina at a higher weight.

13. Andre Berto

Much maligned but he had a decent run as champion and holds some good wins, plus the war with Ortiz shows he has heart, grit and determination. Not every fighter can be great and Berto is the perfect example of a fighter with many tools needed for greatness but lacking that extra edge, what ever that may be.

14. Paulie Malignaggi

With little to no power, Malignaggi has crafted a more than decent career for himself with his quick feet, quick hands and quicker mouth. His Indian summer, which lasted some 2 years, allowed him to hold a portion of the world title and a win over rival Judah. Not bad at all.

15. Carlos Quintana

A rangy southpaw who holds a win over Williams, that's not bad for a guy with a suspect chin and a sometimes unwilling nature. When he was on his game, he could be brilliant.

What do you guys think? Post your own lists.

LOL You shouldnt have added those names to pacman. LOL Clottey, Bradley an unproven ww??? The JMM KO kills his chances of being ahead of Floyd. Floyd's last few opponents shiet on those bums. Ghost, Ortiz, Mosley all int he top 3 when Floyd fought them. Everyone he fights is in the top three.

I'll lend you a hand. Talk about Pac's weight classes and Floyd's skillset. Floyd's skillset is what makes his legacy. Pac's weightclasses make his. But when you say the best, Floyd is byfar the best skillwise ANY of us have ever seen. People hate Floyd and in order to take that word Best away from him, people gave it a philisophical meaning; How can you be the best when you didnt do this or do that. I say, how can you be the best if your not skillwise, the best?

This one is easy. Floyd is the best fighter. ANY of us have seen. A complete fighter. Versitile, and makes it look effortless. His fights look choreographed.

[RetroSpeed05]

LOL You shouldnt have added those names to pacman. LOL Clottey, Bradley an unproven ww??? The JMM KO kills his chances of being ahead of Floyd. Floyd's last few opponents shiet on those bums. Ghost, Ortiz, Mosley all int he top 3 when Floyd fought them. Everyone he fights is in the top three.

I'll lend you a hand. Talk about Pac's weight classes and Floyd's skillset. Floyd's skillset is what makes his legacy. Pac's weightclasses make his. But when you say the best, Floyd is byfar the best skillwise ANY of us have ever seen. People hate Floyd and in order to take that word Best away from him, people gave it a philisophical meaning; How can you be the best when you didnt do this or do that. I say, how can you be the best if your not skillwise, the best?

This one is easy. Floyd is the best fighter. ANY of us have seen. A complete fighter. Versitile, and makes it look effortless. His fights look choreographed.

As a fan of both i try to keep it objective when debating both fighters. Floyd skill set is great especially his offense and defense in his younger days at the lower weight classless, but skill set alone cant propel your legacy without a ATG resume. Pac beats certain fighters easier than Floyd and Floyd beats certain fighters easier than Pac. You cant say Floyds styles the best ever seen when he doesn't dominate all the fighters he fought like he did Marquez or Canelo, Pac dominated Hatton and Cotto better than Floyd.

[boliodogs]

The welterweight division has been at or near the forefront of our sport for as long as boxing has stood under the Marquess of Queensberry, filling the upper echelon of seats with the likes of Robinson, Napoles and Leonard.

The last 14 years haven't been any different, with the two best of their generation plying their trade for some time at the 147lb limit, not to mention stand outs such as Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and so on.

So here's my list of the top 15 fighters at 147lb from the start of the year 2000 to today:

1. Manny Pacquiao

Notable wins over Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Joshua Clottey, Juan Manuel Marquez and honestly, twice over Timothy Bradley make the Pacman a clear choice for number one. The Mosley fight was admittedly a farce and the Marquez KO loss does dent Pacquiao a bit but his body of work is still incredible.

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The other side of boxing's richest coin, Mayweather, love him or hate him has stayed undefeated at welterweight but lack of names such as Cotto, Margarito, Williams and a younger Mosley really start to drown an otherwise decent resume at 147. Any one or two of those fights would have elevated him to number 1, instead we've seen Baldomir, Mitchell, Ortiz, Guerrero and co.

3. Shane Mosley

Mosley's two losses to Vernon Forrest, a good, solid operator but far from great really hurt him, not to mention the shady circumstances of his win over Oscar but at 147lb he was still a force to be reckoned with and his speed, accuracy and power were second to none.

4. Miguel Cotto

Cotto, for better or for worse has carved out one of the most memorable careers in boxing and at his best he was a terrific boxer with a great left hook. A victory over Mosley proves just that. He does how ever, have the knack of losing some of the bigger fights but hey, when you lose to the best of your generations, that's not so bad.

5. Zab Judah

What if? That one phrase defines Judah's career, what if he had the mental fortitude? What if he could take a punch? What if...But even with all that, he still managed a reign at welterweight and for some 5 rounds, matched Mayweather for speed and accuracy. His demons though, almost always won out.

6. Antonio Margarito

The most controversial man on this list, Margarito in his prime was a feared fighter with dynamite in both fists but that is often off set by accusations of cheating. But beyond the headlines, he was a gifted fighter with an iron chin, the beating he lay on Cotto and the punches he took in return will go down in legend.

7. Vernon Forrest

A strong, skilled and often quick boxer who knew how to fight, Forrest was never great, his body at times too fragile but two wins over a man who was regarded by some at the time as the best P4P fighter on the planet. Losses to Mayorga, a limited slugger hurt and it's why he's further down my list than some would have him.

8. Paul Williams

Williams is often overlooked, even when he was near the forefront of his division people never seemed to mention him. He was a name only amongst the hardcore and for those of us who witnessed him fight, we loved him. A busy fighter, strong, quick and unusually tall for a welterweight Williams was avoided by top dogs like Mayweather and Mosley, just goes to show how good he was.

9. Cory Spinks

A solid fighter would probably be the best way to describe him. He mostly looked good and every now and then he might even have looked excellent but his constant yo-yoing in weight damaged his chances for sustained success. His victories over Mayorga and Judah show us he was good enough.

10. Ricardo Mayorga

A brawler, by every definition of the word, vicious, hard hitting and dangerous. His lack of fundamentals and a need to box often let him down but for how ever long the fight lasted, he was exciting and value for money. His resume has it's ups and downs, just like his boxing technique but some good wins over Forrest can't be denied.

11. Timothy Bradley

Lil Timmy, one of the most pugnacious fighters of his generation would be a lot higher if his victory over Pacquiao had not been controversial. Quick, agile, athletic and tonnes of heart, Bradley may well go down as one of the greats but right now it's difficult to rank him higher.

12. Juan Manuel Marquez

His knock out victory over Pacquiao in their 4th meeting and an almost victory in the 3rd fight shoots Marquez up this list. It's a great accomplishment, not to mention the fact that he has managed to maintain his swift counter punching and stamina at a higher weight.

13. Andre Berto

Much maligned but he had a decent run as champion and holds some good wins, plus the war with Ortiz shows he has heart, grit and determination. Not every fighter can be great and Berto is the perfect example of a fighter with many tools needed for greatness but lacking that extra edge, what ever that may be.

14. Paulie Malignaggi

With little to no power, Malignaggi has crafted a more than decent career for himself with his quick feet, quick hands and quicker mouth. His Indian summer, which lasted some 2 years, allowed him to hold a portion of the world title and a win over rival Judah. Not bad at all.

15. Carlos Quintana

A rangy southpaw who holds a win over Williams, that's not bad for a guy with a suspect chin and a sometimes unwilling nature. When he was on his game, he could be brilliant.

What do you guys think? Post your own lists.

I think making a well thought out list of the 15 best in order is way too much work early in the morning since I come here mainly to relax and talk current boxing. It's easier to tell you ho would not be on my list. Paulie would not be on the list and Khan, Hatton, Cotto and Porter show why. He never beat a real good welterweight. Berto never beat even a top 5 welterweight and would not be on my list. Quintana would not even make my top 30 because he is no good and one fluke win over Williams on the worst night Williams ever had is not enough. Mayorga, Spinks and Judah would be much lower on my list partly because of inconsistence. I certainly agree with Margarito's high place on your list and I would have him above Cotto who would also be high up on my list. I don't think his gloves were loaded for the first Cotto fight and in the second fight Margarito had already been ruined by Pacquiao. As much as I love Pacquiao I can't put him over Mayweather at welterweight. Mayweather never lost a fight and he beat lots of good welterweights and would be number one on my list with Pacquiao number two. I think Porter or Thurman would beat guys like Berto, Quintana, Paulie and Judah even when they were at their best.

[Robbie Barrett]

Bradley hasn't even beat a real WW. Terrible list.

[therealpugilist]

How can Manny pacquaio be number one and was never ranked number one? Never unified,never beat the number one guy or won didnt win the lineal title

Mayweather just flat out has the best resume of this era at the weight and its hard to dispute

All his fighta at the weight are over former, current or future champs at titleholders

2 time lineal champion

Defeated lineal welterweight champions mosley, judah and baldomir

Defeated major titlists maidana, marquez, ortiz, guerrero, mitchell and hatton


Only way pac is ranked over him in this discussion is person preference

[DeadLikeMe]

Pacquiao's last 5 opponents at welterweight have a combined total of 5 wins at welterweight.

[Xi_]

lol@pac being ranked higher than floyd or mosley at ww.

[kurt0411]

Wow at people saying its a terrible list, how about you make your own one? Probably can't even name 15 welterweights.

As always survivor, pretty good list, always enjoy reading them