G. Leon's Top 20 Pound For Pound

**Truth** · 02-09-2005, 09:41 AM

11. RAFAEL MARQUEZ

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The best fighter in his family, and when Juan Manuel Marquez is your brother, that's saying something. Huge wins over Mark Johnson and Tim Austin and dominating performances since then make Marquez the best fighter in the world under featherweight. Hopefully a move up to 122 is in his near future because we don't need to see him fight Mauricio Pastrana and Heriberto Ruiz anymore. Who wouldn't love to see him matched against either Oscar Larios or Joan Guzman at 122 pounds? Each of those bouts would be considered potential fights of the year. NEXT: Hopefully a move up in weight

12. ERIK MORALES

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I wonder if I'll still receive any emails telling me I'm nuts for not having Morales MUCH higher than 7, where he stood until last Saturday night. Don't feel "Terrible", I told ya so, so I hope the crow tastes delicious. Marco Antonio Barrera, one year removed from the terrible beating he received from Manny Pacquiao, still had enough left to clearly rough Morales up the in their rubbermatch. Jesus Chavez would have beaten him with two good hands, and Hernandez was never a world beater. In short, I was never as Morales as some of my peers in the press. Not surprisingly however, Morales being the TRUE champion that he is, has now signed contracts to take on the fighter who destroyed the only man who beat him (twice), Manny Pacquiao. NEXT: HBO PPV March 19 vs. Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand.

13. FELIX "TITO" TRINIDAD

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He's BAAACK. After a two and a half year layoff Puerto Rican Superstar Felix "Tito" Trinidad returned to the ring with a stellar performance against heavy handed Nicaraguan slugger Ricardo Mayorga. Trinidad's championship heart and skill were on display as he consistently beat the cherry headed bomber to the punch sll night long. Trinidad takes Mayorga's spot on the list and is one more solid win away from returning to the top ten. Hopkins, De La Hoya, Wright, Mosley, Vargas, Taylor, Spinks...For Trinidad, the options are limitless. De La Hoya seems to be the early frontrunner because he's the the biggest payday, but pride and ego could prevent it from coming to fruition. NEXT: May 14 HBO PPV vs. Winky Wright at the MGM Grand Interesting Fact: Tito Trinidad told **********.com that Winky Wright would be his 36th knockout, IN ENGLISH!!!

14. JAMES TONEY

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2003's Fighter Of The Year is back. Toney dismantled Rydell Booker for every round in his first fight back after an eleven month hiatus due to an achilles injury. Toney planned to stay extremely busy and had a December 18 HBO on the table for him, unfortunately a torn bicep has now side lined Toney for the past several months. Now it looks as if a bout with WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz is at the forefront, even though more people would rather see Toney take on IBF champ Chris Byrd. Has the skills, and chin to take out any of the top heavyweights. NEXT: TBA. (Fight With John Ruiz likely even though more people would prefer to see him take on Chris Byrd) Interesting Fact: James Toney played Joe Frazier in ALI.

15. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ

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Boring was the word most often used to describe his last fight against Orlando Salido. Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the most technically sound fighters in the game, but it would be nice to see him forget about counterpunching every once in a blue moon. Needs the rematch with Pacquiao a lot more than Pacquiao does. NEXT: TBD Potential Fight On Showtime??

16. CORY SPINKS

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After one of the most spectacular ring entrances you'll ever see, Cory Spinks, much to the dismay of the 22,000 plus that showed up to support him, couldn' t dance his way to a repeat decision victory over Zab Judah at the Savvis . Spinks looked flat in the ring and showed little of the form that baffled Ricardo Mayorga and Judah last April. Spinks manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham informed **********.com that Spinks had to lose nearly thirty pounds to make welterweight in training camp. There will not be a third fight with Judah, as Spinks will now test his skills at junior middleweight where interesting match-ups with Kassim Ouma, Ricardo Mayorga, Travis Simms, Javier Castillejo and Daniel Santos have now become possibilities. NEXT: TBA

17. JOSE LUIS CASTILLO

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This is one tough dude. Every time I think he's drained himself making 135 and is ready to be taken, he proves me wrong. After looking sluggish against Saul Duran I thought his days at lightweight were over. I thought Lazcano was going to beat him. I thought Casamayor was going to beat him. I thought wrong. He seems to get stronger fights go on as well, but ya know what, I think Diego Corrales would beat him. NEXT: Showtime March 5 Vs. Julio Diaz at The Mandalay Bay

18. KASSIM OUMA

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Doesn't have the name recognition of many of the others on my list, but if you know boxing all you have to do is take one quick look at Ouma's resume. Only 22 fights but he already has wins over Bunema an undefeated Toygonbayev, Lerma, Borjorquez, Candelo, Hernandez, Jantuah and Vernon Phillips twice. Ouma cracks the top 20 with his recent win over Phillips. Could be the best kept secret in boxing, needs a big name fight to take his career to the next level.The only 154 pounder in the world who has a chance to dethrone Winky Wright. NEXT: TBA

19. CHRIS BYRD

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After two below average performance against Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golota, performances in which most feel Chris was fortunate to escpae with his title, Byrd showed championship heart and will by rising from the canvas to school Jameel McCline, who outweighed Byrd by 56 pounds! Byrd is usually at a five division disadvantage every time he steps in the ring. We're talking pound for pound, and at 200-220 pounds no one even comes close to Byrd. NEXT: TBA

20. JOEL CASAMAYOR

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Too much holding! Too Much Holding! Too Much Holding! That's what Yankee Bleacher Creatures would have been chanting at the former junior lightweight champion when he seemed to fall in love with WBC lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo. Don't get me wrong the fight was close but Casamayor clearly didn't want to mix it up and at times he did nothing, save for running and holding. Not the way to fight if you're looking to take a title in Vegas. Speaking of Sin City, Dave "Vegas" Moretti, 117-111 score card in favor of Castillo was ridiculous. I wonder if Ratner and Arum, when shown chatting on TV immediately after the fight, were talking about which fight Moretti should judge next? Joel took a big challenge and lost a close fight, but he should stay at 130 and look to make something with Erik Morales. NEXT: TBA

I agree with this list completley

What do you think?

-FROM-**********.net

**jack_the_rippuh** · 02-09-2005, 09:44 AM

Originally posted by Mayweatherfan

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TOP TWENTY POUND FOR POUND
By G. Leon

1. BERNARD HOPKINS

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With one perfectly placed shot to the liver, Bernard Hopkins, the ageless wonder put a stamp on his pound for pound supremacy. "The Executioner" has owned the middleweight division for nearly a decade. Hasn't lost in over eleven years when he dropped a decision to the great Roy Jones Jr. With De La Hoya behind him, Hopkins has a world of options in what has once again become one of boxing's richest divisions. NEXT: Feb. 19 HBO World Championship Boxing Vs. Howard Eastman. Interesting Fact: Oscar De La Hoya became the second fighter in over ten years to actually win more than three rounds on an official scorecard against Bernard Hopkins. In 2000 judge Harry Davis gave Syd Vanderpool four rounds.

2. KOSTYA TSZYU

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Until proven otherwise in the ring, I will now refer to Kostya as Tszyuperman. Dominant performance over Sharmba Mitchell after two year lay-off left many boxing writers including myself with more than our fair share of crow to eat. Tszyu is looking to build off the huge win with another major fight. Diego Corrales appears to be the front runner but a step up in weight to face undisputed welterweight champion Cory Spinks is not out of the question. Appears to be far too strong for anyone at junior welterweight to overcome. Move up in weight to welterweight is expected after his next fight with Ricky Hatton. NEXT: Showtime Championshop Boxing Vs. Ricky Hatton

3. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.

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The best young fighter in the world today has already taken the top spot on several pound for pound lists, and although his resume is impressive, his last few opponents haven't been top notch (Corley, N'Dou, Sosa and Bruseles) and that's hindered his ascension to my top spot. Still waiting for the Gatti fight, which is a WBC mandatory, though many feel Main Events will continue to do everything in their power to delay the bout from happening. Hopefully there's no sudden nose surgery for Gatti I understand he wants to protect his #1 ranking in the WBC, I just wonder if Gatti, who would then be Mayweather's FIFTH consecutive B level opponent if all the waiting pays off, vacates before he fights him.. If Gatti chickens out of his mandatory obligation it should be interesting to see where boxing's "Pretty Boy" goes. NEXT: HOPEFULLY June 11 HBO PPV vs. Arturo Gatti at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Interesting Fact: After losing to Floyd Mayweather, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales have all gone on to win world titles.

4. MANNY PACQUIAO

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After beating Barrera like he stole something, Pacquiao came right back to defeat Juan Manuel Marquez on **********'s scorecard.Since then he's tuned up nicely against one in the Philippines. Pacquiao is a very one dimensional fighter, but he's absolutely relentless in the squared circle and his pressure has already proven to be a bit too much for even the world's best to handle. Pacquiao takes on Erik Morales, the only Mexican star he hasn't faced, in a sure fire fight of the candidate, but he's moving up to 130 pounds to face "El Terrible" and I think he may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. NEXT: HBO PPV March 19 vs. Erik Morales

5. WINKY WRIGHT

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Had a much tougher time with Mosley as many, including myself expected. Wright defnitely proved he's no one hit wonder, now he needs to prove he can beat another elite fighter other than Shane Mosley. And believe me Wright's out to prove it. His hit-list is as follows, Trinidad, De La Hoya, Hopkins, PERIOD. After over 50 fights he's not interested in taking any tune-ups, he doesn't seemed to dedicated to meeting any mandatory. NEXT: HBO PPV May 14 V. Felix Trinidad at MGM Grand Interesting Fact: Winky Wright heads his own record label.

6. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA

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I wasn't convinced after his TKO over the smaller Paulie Ayala, but moving up to 130 and beating the snot out of Erik Morales for the majority (I gave Barrera eight rounds) of the evening shuts me up. With Morales out of the way, obviously everyone is going to want to see if he has what it takes to turn the tables on Manny Pacquiao, who gave Barrera a terrible beating last year. NEXT: A well deserved rest.

7. DIEGO CORRALES

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With his back to back wins over Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas, Diego Corrales has earned his right to be mentioned among the ten best in the world. Nuff said. Ever the competitor, Diego is hoping his next fight is another biggie. Fight with Jose Luis Castillo never came to fruition because Showtime didn't want to ante up and reward Corrales for his two big wins. Corrales and his manager James Prince have both indicated to **********.com that a potential showdown with undisputed junior welterweight king Kostya Tszyu has been discussed. NEXT: Showtime May 7 vs. TBA at the Mandalay Bay Interesting Fact: Diego Corrales currently has 15 tats on his body.

8. ZAB JUDAH

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His third crack at an undisputed championship was a charm. Judah came to St. Louis and succeeded on his mission to bring the WBC, WBA, and IBF back to Brooklyn when a barrage of left hands in the ninth round, battered Spinks from pillar to post leaving the referee no choice but to save Spinks from further punishment. The new welterweight king is on top at the right time. With Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley coming back down to welterweight, and Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto flirting with 147 pounds as well, there's some big money fights available to Judah. A third fight with Spinks seems unlikely at this point with the former champ telling ********** his next fight will take place at junior middleweight. NEXT: TBA

9. GLEN JOHNSON

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If I would have told you Glen Johnson would beat Clinton Woods in England, knock Roy Jones Jr. stiff and beat Antonio Tarver within twelve months, your response would have been, 'get out of here', and probably included some expletive deleted's.Now it seems the only question left to answer pertains to 2004's Fighter Of The Year, is it Diego Corrales or Glen Johnson? It's a very close call. I never thought Johnson would be able to bring the fight to Tarver and last twelve rounds and the Road Warrior proved me wrong. But I DEFINITELY think Johnson-Tarver was a hell of a fight and a rematch is in order. NEXT: HBO TBA vs. Antonio

10. ANTONIO TARVER

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My scorecard read 115-113 in favor of Tarver over Glen Johnson, in either case Tarver should have done more and he probably would have dropped in my rankings had the decision gone his way. I would favor him to beat Johnson in the rematch, which barring a Jones comeback, seems inevitable to most boxing people I've spoken with. Has a long way to go before he cracks the top five again. NEXT: HBO TBA vs. Glen Johnson

From-**********.net

If one win after a two year layoff could make you #2 pound for pound, Tito Trinidad should be ranked higher, not saying I like 'em, I'm just amazed how Tszyu is #2..

**PRboxingfan** · 02-09-2005, 09:54 AM

Originally posted by jack_the_rippuh

If one win after a two year layoff could make you #2 pound for pound, Tito Trinidad should be ranked higher, not saying I like 'em, I'm just amazed how Tszyu is #2..

For once I agree with you. However, Tszyu was the King before the layoff (Tito had lost to Nard) and he came back and beat the best 140 pounder out there (not including himself) to a pulp. I have Tszyu at #3 only because I had him at #3 before he took the layoff and never moved him. I have Mayweather at #1 even tho he and Tszyu are in the same division and PBF doesn't hold the belts because I think his wins (not including the last two) are more significant. I can't put Nard at #1 either because his wins have also come against either mediocre opponents or against blown up welters.

All in all, not a bad list.

**spinksjinx** · 02-09-2005, 09:57 AM

I dont understand how he can have tarver ranked 10 when recently losing to glen, what has he done since his loss? Tito could easily break into the top 10 with glen and tarver in their.

Sounds to me like he picked 20 of the top fighters and put them in a hat and pulled them out one at a time.

Great list of fighters, but definately needs different positions.

**amaru** · 02-09-2005, 10:01 AM

even though pacman beat barrera i think barrera should be number 4 on that list. i aint hatin on pacman, he is a good fighter and he beat barrera badly but i feel barrera has beaten better fighters and lost to more credible opponents. with manny pacquaio he has lost to journeyman fighters and hes only real defining fight he won was against barrera. like i said tho, manny is a good fighter.

i also feel that morales should be a lot higher on that list.

**IwatchBoxing** · 02-09-2005, 10:02 AM

Well this is universal, I cant find one P4P list, that doesnt have Hopkins at #1, Mayweather, Kostya at 2-3, I actually think Leons list is better than the others, for not including Morales, and jmm in their atleast.

**Kornhusker** · 02-09-2005, 10:06 AM

To put Tarver in the top ten and leave JMM out is a ****ing disgrace.

**Eman** · 02-09-2005, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by PRboxingfan

For once I agree with you. However, Tszyu was the King before the layoff (Tito had lost to Nard) and he came back and beat the best 140 pounder out there (not including himself) to a pulp. I have Tszyu at #3 only because I had him at #3 before he took the layoff and never moved him. I have Mayweather at #1 even tho he and Tszyu are in the same division and PBF doesn't hold the belts because I think his wins (not including the last two) are more significant. I can't put Nard at #1 either because his wins have also come against either mediocre opponents or against blown up welters.

All in all, not a bad list.

I agree with these top 3 more than the other three that are actually up there. But anyone can switch any of these 3 around and it would be alright so the lists is pretty accurate. only thing i dont agree on is putting tarver up on the top 10. he shouldnt be that high

**spinksjinx** · 02-09-2005, 10:26 AM

1. Hopkins- With 19 defense under his belt, the first to knockout Oscar De la hoya and give Trinidad his first convincingly and knocking out the hard hitting puerto rican, he has been undefeated for 11 years, looking better at 40 than 20.

2. Tszyu- King of the 140 pound division, had almost a 3 year layoff. Came back and dismantled one of the top fighters in less then 3 rounds and showed no signs of slowing and looked more precise and powerful than ever.

3. Mayweather- The only top undefeated fighter today, looks good in every fight. Has one of the best resumes today (and all are Wins) brought his speed and added a bit of pop to the 140 pound division, his boxing skill s cant be touched by any fighter today.

4. Barrera- Took a brutal beating by Pacquaio, everyone thought he was done. Moved up to 130 and TKO'D Ayala despite Ayala being empty on the tank, Barrera looked impressive after such a discouraging beating by Manny. Then came back just a few months later and gave Erik Morales one of the toughest fights every and won just about every round and proved why he is in the elite legendary status.

5. Johnson- Very high on Johnson? Why because he knocked out Roy Jones and broke him down and then came back to beat Antonio Tarver the man who was Kryptonite to Super Roy and his work rate is higher than any other guys above 160 pounds. I see better things for Johnson, his chin is tough and his speed is still their despite being aging. Very well deserving of being in the top 5 spots for his year in 2004.

6. JMM- True latino warrior, fought pacquaio to a draw in one of the most exciting fights of 2004 and was knocked down in the 1st round and came back and neutralized Pacquaios power and speed, despite being a draw I feel Marquez did more than enough to win by a few rounds.

7. Corrales- Had a great year in 2004, Came back in a rematch against casamayor after being knocked out in the 6th round in 2003 and won a split decision. Then instead of slowing down and resting came back 5 months later and dismantled Freitas and pulling a no'mas after Freitas was on his way to beating Corrales. This just goes to show you that Corrales has the heart and desire of any fighter today. Knocking out one of the heaviest hitters at 135.

8. Byrd- Very controversial in his wins, but holding onto his title for over 2 years cant be disputed came in and fought against Golota, Ruled a draw but a very exciting and tough fight for both fighters, Golota fans cant seem to let go of the aura, But I feel Byrd wasnt able to work his normal style but slugged it out with Golota and proved that once again he can **** with the big boys when needed. 7 months later came back to fight the heaviest guy in his career outweighing him by almost 60 pounds, Byrd was floored in the 2nd but recruited to his normal style and played with Mccline early and stole the 2nd half of the fight convincingly. This is why he is in my list, dispute it if you like but Byrd has the best boxing skills of any heavyweight today and for being classified as a boring fighter displayed great action fights in 2004.

9. Judah- Rejuvenated himself after his loss to Cory Spinks in the early part of 2004, knocking Spinks down in the last round to give Spinks something to remember if a rematch occured, very close and exciting fight between the two with Spinks getting the decision. Came back just one month later and fought Pineda in a controversial split decision, 5 months later Zab seemed to have got his act together and pleased his hometown crowd and Crushed Wayne Martell in one round, Count the current dismantling of welterweight kingpin Cory Spinks in great fashion knocking him from pillar to post, with some of the greatest movements and showing of speed and power a boxer can display and this is why Zab is in the top 10.

10. Trinidad- 2 year layoff, came back possessed move movement and sharper skills and precision than when he left. Was explosive the whole fight and Brought it to the heavy hitter Mayorga with some of the most powerful punches thrown in 2004, Trinidad ****d Mayorga and took everything away from him and walked through his arsenal and knocked him out in the 8th.

My top 10, agree or disagree those are my picks and I feel are strong in their order.

G. Leon's Top 20 Pound For Pound