Finally one that makes sense!!!
TEN BEST FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD OF ANY WEIGHT!
It’s going to take until about number two for the questions of “Are you kidding?” to start rolling in, but this is why I’m right: I’ve actually seen every fighter on my list and every active titlist in the game at least once which is more than almost any journalist in the United States can say….and that ain’t bragging. It’s gospel. My criteria is simple: if you fight the best guys around, win most of the time, and are always in the fight by a point or two, you get props because that will be a reflection of your total and recent career. I don’t reward highlight reels, hip-hop credibility or exhibition bouts but I will reward my own opinions and hunches. If you’re the best, you’ve been proving it.
1. Manny Pacquiao (42-3-2, 33 KO’S)
Career Titles: Lineal World Flyweight (112 lbs.) and Featherweight (126 lbs.) titles; additional alphabet title (IBF) at 122 lbs.
Last Five Opponents: Oscar Larios, Erik Morales (twice), Hector Velasquez, Fahsan 3-K Battery, Juan Manuel Marquez
Next Opponent: A third bout with Erik Morales
My Take: What’s not to like? Manny Pacquiao at 19 became the World Flyweight champion with a KO of Chatchai Sasakul 1998 and following the loss of that title moved up ten pounds to upset Lehlo Ledwaba in 2001 and announce his arrival to the world outside Asia. Since 2003, has knocked out future Hall-of Famers Marco Antonio Barerra and Erik Morales while also dropping a narrow decision to Morales and sending Marquez and Larios to the deck a total of five times. No one in the last three years has faced better foes and his one loss since 1998 came to Morales for Gods sake. Oh, and did I mention that when he KO’d Barerra, he became the only fighter in history to win the fly and feather crowns (both by KO) and that the last guy to come close was Fighting Harada some thirty years ago? What more can one ask for?
2. Lorenzo Parra (27-0, 17 KO’S)
Career Titles: WBA Flyweight
Last Five Opponents: Brahim Asloum, Takefumi Sakata, Trash Nakanuma, Yosam Choi, Eric Morel
Next Opponent: Former WBA 108 lb. titlist Roberto Vasquez
My Take: Some of you are scratching your heads and that’s what you get for not tracking down overseas tapes. Parra is the truth. Period. He can box, punch, use his legs, has great speed and will come to your hometown to whoop your a**. Don’t believe it? The Venezuelan has fought each of his last five foes (with a combined record of 127-12) in their backyards like a modern day Brian Mitchell, including wins over the undefeated Morel and Asloum. His title win over Morel came when Eric was regarded as the world’s best fly and was creeping onto P4P lists like this one; he won 8 rounds on two cards and put Morel on the deck. Asloum was an undefeated Olympic Gold medalist who earned his title shot the old fashioned way against excellent competition and was France’s answer to Oscar De la Hoya. Parra dropped him and didn’t lose a round. Ponsaklek Wonjongkam may have the division record for defenses; Jorge Arce may be the money draw; and Vic Darchinyan has great exposure but none has faced, or has a better next foe on tap, than Parra. He also has a win over former World 108 lb. king Yosam Choi. He’s the best kept secret in all Boxing…and remember that people laughed at Larry Merchant for putting Pacquiao on his list after the Ledwaba win. I’d pick Parra over anyone in the world from 105-115 and that matters because 112 and 115 are the two best divisions in Boxing right now (regardless of their lack of TV coverage).
3. Winky Wright (50-3-1, 25 KO’S)
Career titles: World Junior Middleweight (154 lbs.)
Last Five Opponents: Jermain Taylor, Sam Soliman, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Angel Hernandez
Next Opponent: Rumored to be Joe Calzaghe
My Take: Unlike most, I like Winky’s style and won’t punish him for the losses he’s had. Only one was definitive (a five knockdown debacle a decade ago against Julio Cesar Vasquez) and the other two, Fernando Vargas and Harry Simon were narrow. Oh, and Vargas and Simon were also top of the stack guys. I had him barely losing to Taylor in his bid to become the first man to win the lineal world title at 154 and middleweight (1960) since Sugar Ray Leonard. If he takes Calzaghe and it’s close, win or lose, he probably hangs right at this spot.
4. Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KO’S)
Career Titles: World Middleweight; Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight (178 lbs.)
Last Five Opponents: Antonio Tarver, Jermain Taylor, Howard Eastman, Oscar De La Hoya, Robert Allen
Next Opponent: Claims he’s retired
My Take: Until Roy Jones-Badi Ajamu is completed, I won’t believe he’s retired. He’s already giving interviews about being bored. I didn’t have him losing either Taylor bout (win in the first, draw in the second), and while the ‘title’ he won from Tarver was NOT the lineal World light heavyweight title, Tarver was the consensus best at 178. That win came on the heels of 20 IBF middleweight title defenses over eleven years. Taylor is probably the only guy to win more than two rounds over Hopkins in that time span.
5. Marco Antonio Barerra (62-4, 42 KO’s)
Career titles: World Featherweight; Alphabet belts at 122 and 130
Last Five Opponents: Rocky Juarez, Robbie Peden, Mzonke Fana, Erik Morales, Paulie Ayala
Next Opponent: A rematch with Juarez
My Take: The difference between Barerra and Mayweather? The rematch with a young tiger who Barerra barely edged out in Juarez. The blowout loss to Pacquiao would hurt more if he hadn’t followed it with a Fight of the Year victory over Morales. I could have flipped a coin between five and six. Career accomplishment was neck and neck for me and Fana and Bruseles are a push. That leaves Morales and Juarez edging out Judah and Gatti for the deciding vote.
6. Floyd Mayweather (36-0, 24 KO’S)
Career Titles: World Jr. Lightweight and Lightweight; alphabet belts at 140 and 147
Last Five Opponents: Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Henry Bruseles, Demarcus Corley
Next Opponent: Rumored at BoxRec to be Kermit Cintron
My Take: Here come the allegations. “Hater!” “Doug Fischer bandwagon rider!” Whatever. Mayweather is the latest example of the ESPN/MTV phenomenon. Here’s the template made famous by Roy Jones: Get some impressive wins early in your career, secure giant HBO contract, start putting together highlight reel wins against the second tier for bragging rights to impress the style over substance Sports Center crowd and let your worshippers state that ‘no one else can beat him anyways’ when your opposition is questioned. Seriously. Look at the above five fighters; all have taken risky, nail biting challenges and have one on tap. Their last five foes lists are all better than Floyd’s and three of them (Barerra, Pacquiao, and Hopkins) are all proven to be bigger box office draws that could take the same career route Floyd is if they wanted to. They just haven’t. They, like Floyd would be against anyone, were mostly heavily favored to win their fights. It’s true that possible Floyd opponents Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto don’t want to make those fights right now, but Floyd doesn’t want Antonio Margarito and publicly turned down Joel Casamayor in favor of Mitchell and Stevie Johnston in favor of Sosa and Phillip N’Dou while lightweight champ. After the Jose Luis Castillo fights, I was convinced that Floyd was the best fighter in the world even though I had him losing their first bout four years ago (losing to good fighters and winning the rematch is what great fighters do). To make Floyd fans happy, if Carlos Baldomir beats Gatti to retain the World welterweight title and Floyd faces him, he likely moves up. I give big cred to winning real world titles (when they are available) and Baldomir will have not lost in 20 fights at that point with three wins against the 147 lb. top ten.
7. Diego Corrales (40-3, 33 KO’S)
Career Titles: World Lightweight; alphabet belt at 130
Last Five Opponents: Jose Luis Castillo, Acelino Freitas, Joel Casamayor, Damian Fuller, Felix Kitts
Next Opponent: None yet but likely to be Freitas or Casamayor.
My Take: His last five opponents are weakened by the last two names listed, but the first three are his last five fights. If Castillo had made weight is their second fight and still won, he’d be here.
8. Jose Luis Castillo (54-7-1, 47 KO’S)
Career Titles: Two-time World lightweight champ
Last Five Opponents: Rolando Reyes, Diego Corrales, Julio Diaz, Joel Casamayor, Juan Lazcano
Next Opponent: The Nevada State Athletic Commission
My Take: The weigh-in fiasco that killed Corrales III hurts, but recent opponents and total accomplishment since beating Johnston in 2001 is unreal.
9. Jermain Taylor (25-0-1, 17 KO’S)
Career Titles: World Middleweight
Last Five Opponents: Winky Wright, Bernard Hopkins, Daniel Edouard, William Joppy, Raul Marquez
Next Opponent: Probably Sergio Mora
My Take: Regardless of the way his last three fights were scored, Taylor showed he belonged and four of his last five were against champions or former titlists. He is the most rapidly improving fighter on this list.
10. Martin Castillo (30-1, 16 KO’S)
Career Titles: WBA Jr. Bantamweight
Last Five Opponents: Alexander Munoz, Hideyasu Ishihara, Eric Morel, Roger Galicia, Alberto Ontiveros
Next Opponent: Nobuo Nashiro
My Take: Best all-around fighter in Boxing’s second best weight class. He’d tear the world title off lineal champ Masamori Tokuyama and would have been a titlist long ago if not for getting jobbed against Felix Machado is a cut-shortened technical decision. His rematch war with Munoz was one of the year’s best fights.
by Cliff Rold.
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
What a refreshing P4P list ;D
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hairdoo
What a refreshing P4P list ;D
That list was as wack as Wacko's ass! ;D
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
mayweather is better than a 6
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
Winky is better than a number 'X' ;)
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
Afterb 120 days this topic is still on the board! And i still disagree!
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
This list is even more ridiculous now than it was when it was originally posted. Not to mention, isn't the guy that posted this one of the people saying that Mayweather would get knocked out by Oscar Delahoya??
So what happened?
Mayweather jumps up yet another weight class (something that a p4p great does ;)) beats Oscar, and that means that Delahoya is old, or faded, or it was a real bad night for Delahoya, etc. etc.
Kinda hard to deny who is p4p #1 anymore.
Re: Finally one that makes sense!!!
[quote=frozensolid_702 ]
This list is even more ridiculous now than it was when it was originally posted. Not to mention, isn't the guy that posted this one of the people saying that Mayweather would get knocked out by Oscar Delahoya??
So what happened?
Mayweather jumps up yet another weight class (something that a p4p great does ;)) beats Oscar, and that means that Delahoya is old, or faded, or it was a real bad night for Delahoya, etc. etc.
Kinda hard to deny who is p4p #1 anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hairdoo
Lets hope Oscar shows he still has it and cleans Mayorga's clock!! If that is the case as i suspect it will... Then I'll ride with Oscar by SD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hairdoo
I' am 100% sure Oscar could beat PBF at 147 but I got a gut feeling he will lose the decision and you watch the controversy after the fight.
so Floyd wins by SD.. wow I was way off wasn't I ::**
I didn't write the list I just said it was a refreshing one!
