Quote:
Originally Posted by Gyrokai
1 Miguel Cotto: He lost to Margarito in his youth, but his experience, intelligence, and staying power earned him the top spot.
2 Manny Pacquiao: Finally he faced someone who could decision him. He fought many great wars.
3 Andy Lee: Won a belt over a well known fighter, through a risky gamble with the champ.
4 Kelly Pavlik: Very poplar in Vegas, many compare his venues to Tyson type auras.
5 Antonio Margarito: Aging now, but always consistent, he lost, but always brought his A-game, a Hagler type.
6 Joan Guzman: He lost to Manny when he was younger, had wars with now aging Soto, but when Pac is gone, he is sure to take over.
7 Wladimir Klitschko: Him and Steward made a great team.
8 Mikkel Kessler: Germany loves this kid, he's had his ups and downs but he's legit.
9 Pauli Malinaggi: Down in the pound for pound list, from being number 7.
10 Rafael Marquez: Nemesis, Vazquez, has recently announced his retirement.
11 Edwin Valero: Still fighting in Japan, can't find a marquee matchup to break the top ten, but keeps winning.
First of all - I like this list. I think too many people here overestimate how much things will change in 5 years. Honestly, looking at todays potential php's, quite many are at least a few years older than 30. Put in another way - it is much easier to stay in a p4p list than to get there. So most names on the list are likely to be boxers who are already well known now, perhaps even fighters who could arguably be considered world class already.
Anyway, I dont have the knowledge to make even a so-so list. But I thought I would make a list of 10 fighters who are yet to be named in this thread, and who I feel could feature in a p4p list in 5 years. But bear in mind that any fighter on the current p4p-list, as well as those prospects mentioned by others have as good - or better - chance of eventually being there.
In no particular order:
- Humberto Soto (27). People are already talking about him as a threat. In 5 years MAB, JMM and perhaps even Pacquaio are likely to be away, and then he could very well be among the biggest names below 140.
- Giovanni Lorenzo (26). Middleweight prospect. Should get a title shot within 2-3 years, could very well take it. Also, if Taylor, Pavlik etc moves up (and we all expect them to do that), he has as good a shot as anybody at ruling 160.
- Jorge Linares (21). 23-0 and with a Vegas debut coming up, I am surprised he is a not a feature on everybody's lists.
- Michael Katsidis (26). I honestly dont know if he has the tools, but at least his style will bring him fans and - hopefully - therefore big fights. And he is surely more likely to take p4p advantage of this than John Duddy.
- Zaurbek Baysangurov (22). No, I dont believe this one either. But I really wanted to include a Russian (or ex-Soviet) fighter, and I am not really familiar with that many prospects from that area (especially if we are not counting heavyweights). And I truly believe that Russia and Russian money has the potential to change the sport a fair bit within the next years. Everybody who follows (English) football know how much Russian Oil (and gas) money can alter a sport, and if they start throwing their weight behind boxing - well, expect them to be a force. Just this fall we will see a number of intriguing HW match-ups in Russia, expect much more of this in the years to come.
- Lucian Bute (27). Somebody already mentioned Jean Pascal, Bute is the other interesting SMW coming out of Canada. Expect him to win the IBF title this year, and if he can hang in there in possibly the most interesting division in the years to come, he might just creep in at a low number on the p4p-rankings.
- Yoan Pablo Hernandez (22). Former Cuban Olympian, now pro cruiserweight and fighting out of Germany. Not quite the potential of an Odlanier Solis, but since I refuse to include heavyweights on a p4p-list, Hernandez it is.
- Daniel Ponce De Leon (26). Hmm. It's not impossible, especially not if the other big names around his weight class start to slip and/or retire.
- Hozumi Hasegawa (26). Stays in Japan, but retains his WBC belt and eventually gains respect. Has hit eye set on domestic mega-fight against Koki Kameda.
- Arthur Abraham (27). Stays relatively protected in Germany, perhaps having 8-10 fights in those 5 years. As he keeps winning against at least semi-respected fighters, he eventually creeps in on the lower end of the p4p ranking.
