Top 25 Pound-For-Pound List

[NorthSideX4]

I revised this list in mid-March but enough has transpired in the last three months to merit an update. Floyd Mayweather beat up on Zab Judah to collect another paper title, this one at 147 pounds, Oscar De La Hoya smashed Ricardo Mayorga into submission, Marco Antonio Barrera barely pulled out a spirited challenge from Rocky Juarez, Ricky Hatton was fortunate to get the “W” versus welterweight title holder Luis Collazo, Bernard Hopkins defied the odds and Father Time by dominating Antonio Tarver en route to winning the light heavyweight championship, and middleweight champ Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright fought to a hotly contested (and disputed) draw.

Read on to see who has advanced, who has dropped, who has fallen off completely, and who is knocking at the door, but keep in mind that this is just the opinion of one boxing writer (and admitted lifelong fight fan). You all know my criteria for ranking these fighters, I don’t see the use of repeating it here for the 15th time in the past two years. You’re welcome to disagree with the placement of all 25 fighters that I deem “elite”, just keep it civil unless you want to wind up in a “Bitch Bag”. Enjoy!

1. (tie) Winky Wright, 50-3-1 (25), and Manny Pacquiao, 41-3-2 (32) – Although I thought that Wright won eight of the 12 rounds of last Saturday’s competitive middleweight title fight (along with the Tim Dahlberg, Ron Borges, Kevin Iole, and many other ringside scribes, not to mention a lot of fans who watched the fight on HBO), the Winkster’s nature of taking his foot off the gas pedal in the final round of fights he THINKS he’s winning handily bit him the ass (again) resulting in a spilt-draw verdict against the younger and physically stronger champ. The draw cost Winky the undisputed middleweight title and it also caused him lose his grip on the number one spot on this list just a little bit by having to share the space with Manny Pacquiao, who had advanced to the no. 2 spot earlier this year with his impressive stoppage of Erik Morales. If Wright had the mentality of the Filipino icon, he would be 54-0 (and have at least 15 more KOs to add to his current .500 percentage of 25). If Pacquiao had the technique, defense and poise that Wright possesses, he probably would have stopped Juan Manuel Marquez and got El Terrible out of there in their first scrap. Both veterans have their flaws, but both also epitomize what my pound-for-pound criteria is all about. They are elite fighters who take on other elite fighters as often as possible. Wright has gone 4-0-1 in his last five fights, which includes four bouts against three fighters that I ranked inside my top 15 at the time the St. Petersburg southpaw fought them (Shane Mosley, twice, Felix Trinidad and Jermain Taylor). Pacquiao’s recent record is even more impressive since he’s gone 4-1-1 in his last six bouts, which includes four bouts against three fighters that I ranked inside my top 10 (two were top five - Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, twice).

3. Bernard Hopkins, 47-4-1 (32) – What more can be said about ‘the Executioner’ that hasn’t been written since his surprisingly easy points victory over reigning light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver? The stubborn old man from Philadelphia is a great fighter. He’s the closest thing today’s fight fans are going to see to Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore. He hasn’t been an exciting fighter to watch in at least five years, he wasn’t gifted with exceptional athletic gifts, he’s never been that pretty of a technician or the cleanest boxer around, but the man who went unbeaten for 12 years (and many believe he deserved to win both of his back-to-back losses to Jermain Taylor last year) could have fought in any era. The scary thing is that at his new weight, Hopkins, who says the Tarver victory was his last fight, could probably continue to compete at the world-class level for another two years.

4. Floyd Mayweather Jr., 36-0 (24) – There’s no debating that the Pretty Boy is the most naturally gifted, technically proficient and skilled boxer on this list. The problem I have with Mayweather, which has been repeated by Yours Truly and debated by the fighter’s legion of supporters among the press and fandom ad nauseam, is that he hasn’t tested himself in over three years – long enough for me to question if he is really as good as he looks; long enough for me to question if he REALLY wants to seek out and challenge the best fighters currently campaigning in and around his weight classes (the 140 and 147-pound divisions). It sucks that Zab Judah lost his undisputed welterweight title to an unheralded journeyman before Mayweather was able to get to him. The Brooklynite would have been the first top 15, pound for pound, fighter that Mayweather had faced since Jose Luis Castillo (or maybe Diego Corrales, ‘cause I’m not even sure if the Mexican was considered top 15 when PBF battled him). Even if Judah hadn’t dropped the ball vs. Baldomir, did Mayweather, who clearly lost three of the first five rounds vs. “Super” (and was lucky not have a knockdown count against him), really look like the best fighter on the planet? I’m not so sure, and I’m not so sure about his sincerity in wanting to face top welterweight contender Antonio Margarito. When Mayweather bypassed a guaranteed $8 million payday vs. the Tijuana native in order to pursue a more lucrative showdown with Oscar De La Hoya, he said it was “just business” and assured the boxing press and fight fans that he would come back to Margarito if a super bout vs. the Golden Boy couldn’t be made this year. Well, De La Hoya has no idea what he wants to do, but he definitely ain’t fighting again this year, however, now we hear that Mayweather has a whole list of fighters that he might take on in November, including the winner of the Mosley-Vargas rematch and Carlos Baldomir if the Argentine overachiever beats Arturo Gatti next month. Whatever Floyd. If you don’t want to fight Margarito for whatever reason just say so and stop jerking the guy around. The majority of fans and media will give you a pass at least for the rest of this year, but I wonder for how much longer?

5. Marco Antonio Barrera, 62-4 (42) – Like Hopkins, there’s no debating Barrera’s greatness, the Mexico City native would have been a champ in any era, just look at his record and his accomplishments that are too numerous to detail. Hell, look at his four losses, which have come to three men: Junior Jones, Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao. You gotta be a future hall of famer (or damn close) to beat Barrera. So what does that say about Barrera’s grueling close call vs. Rocky Juarez? Is the young Texan a future hall of famer? Too early to tell. What’s not too early to tell is that Barrera is slipping. Father Time is getting to him. Age doesn’t have him beat, but it’s slowing him down – that’s clear whether you think Juarez added the fifth “L” to Barrera’s ledger or you believe the veteran pulled out a draw or close points win (both of which happened in a span of 20 minutes thanks to ‘California addition’). So Barrera falls a few notches from no. 3 where I had him at the start of this year, but give the “old” lion credit, he’s agreed to face the young lion again this September.

[NorthSideX4]

6. (tie) Jose Luis Castillo, 54-7-1 (47)/Diego Corrales, 40-3 (33) – Yeah, yeah I know, Castillo failed to make weight for the rubber match between these two warriors canceling the third bout, burning everyone involved in the promotion plus thousands of fight fans who traveled to Vegas to see the fight, thus the Sonora native is living embodiment of all that is evil in the universe. So why would I continue to rank Darth Castillo? Because kids, my rankings are based on what happens in the ring, not what transpires outside of it. If Castillo is suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for 12 months or more, I’ll drop him from this list entirely based on inactivity. But until that happens, I still got to give it up to Castillo for fighting often and fighting on an elite level since regaining his WBC lightweight title from Juan Lazcano two years ago. Since then, you all know what he’s been up to – beating up very good-to-elite fighters. His American rival is just as ambitious when it comes to his fight schedule, more so in fact, because Corrales has fought elite fighters back-to-back since taking on Joel Casamayor in October of ’03, not bothering to mix in fighters who are merely “good” in-between his battles like Castillo has. Neither of these two are likely to go down as all-time greats but they combined to produce an all-time great fight last May. Since then the only thing that has come from matching them up again is all-time great controversy. It’s time they go their separate ways. Corrales, the lightweight champ, has very interesting potential title defenses vs. the likes of title holders Juan Diaz and Acelino Freitas (which would be a return match), not to mention a rubber match (that would actually happen) vs. Casamayor. After he pays his fines and serves whatever time he has to serve, Castillo can look forward to excellent 140-pound match ups vs. young guns like Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto (at 140 or 147 pounds).

8. Jermain Taylor, 25-0-1 (17) – Let me begin by giving Taylor his props. Some fans and media may call him the ‘disputed’ middleweight champ, but nobody can dispute his championship heart. There’s absolutely no dog in the young man and he deserves a lot of credit for his gutsy performances vs. Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright, even if you think he lost all three of those fights. Personally, I think he’s 1-2 in his last three bouts (I thought he narrowly beat Nard in their rematch), but I have to admit that he gave Hopkins and Wright the toughest fights the two veterans had engaged in since December of ’99 (when Nard first battled Antwun Echols and Winky took on Fernando Vargas). I rated both Hopkins and Wright as my no. 1pound-for-pound fighter when Taylor faced them, so even if he only won four legitimate rounds vs. the crafty tecnicians, he’s still being competitive with the two of the best boxers on the planet – that’s got to count for something, and it does in my book, which is why Taylor has cracked my top 10 for the first time in his career. Some will email me after reading this and tell me that he deserves to be in the top five based on his victories. They’ll say that it doesn’t matter if I (or others) disagree with the official verdicts in his last three bouts, a win is a win. To them I have two replies: no.1 – bulls__t, if you win three consecutive controversial fights, there’s a problem (and if you don’t think the fights were controversial, you’ve been living under a rock), and no. 2 – it’s MY list, you goof balls, OF COURSE my opinion counts. It’s the ONLY thing that counts! But I’ll put it to you this way – take a look at the fighters who occupy my top 5. You can argue about the order of these five boxers, but what can’t be debated is that each man is a COMPLETE fighter with all-around skills and textbook technique. They can fight just as effectively backing up as they do coming forward; they can fight just as effectively on the inside as they do on the outside. They know how to defend themselves while backed against the ropes and they know how to fight off the ropes. This is not true of Taylor. For all his ring accomplishments he’s still a developing fighter; he’s still a work in progress. To all of Taylor’s fans (as well as his training and promotional teams), I do not write this to disrespect the man. There is no shame in having room to improve (it’s a good thing, folks). I don’t expect him to be as complete a fighter as those in my top 5, he’s hasn’t been fighting as long as they have. Nard and Winky were pros when he was 10 and 11 years old. ‘Nuff said.

9. Ricky Hatton, 41-0 (30) – The Ring and Boxing Writers Association of America’s ‘Fighter of the Year’ for 2005 drops from no. 8 – a spot he earned by forcing then-top 5 pound-for-pound player Kostya Tszyu to quit on his stool after 11 grueling rounds one year ago – because of a near loss to the tough and skilled but unheralded Luis Collazo last month. Hatton got the “W” by the skin of his teeth adding the WBA’s 147-pound title to the undisputed junior welterweight title he won by whupping Tszyu, but he also showed that he’s not as dominant at welterweight as he was at 140, and his relentless pressure fighting style is not as formidable vs. a fellow youngster (Collazo is 25) as it has been vs. older fighters (Hatton’s previous three opponents, Ray Oliveira, Tszyu and Carlos Maussa, were between 34 and 37 when the Mad Hatter faced them).

10. Joe Calzaghe, 41-0 (31) – The best 168 pounder in the world is the only fighter I rank inside my top 10 who hasn’t fought at least one elite fighter (someone I currently rank or ranked inside my top 20). The talented and skilled Welshman is here based on his absolute dominance over the younger, stronger and harder hitting title holder, Jeff Lacy, and because of his overall longevity. The veteran southpaw won his first world title nine years ago and went on to make 18 defenses of that WBO strap, including victories over former title holders Robin Reid, Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell. Chris Eubank, who Calzaghe won the belt from in ’97, was an aging veteran at the time but a UK legend nonetheless (and Calzaghe is the only man to have dominated the enigmatic Brit).

11. Rafael Marquez, 35-3 (31) – The best bantamweight on the planet has made six title defenses since winning the IBF belt from Tim Austin in February of 2003. However, fighting guys like Mauricio Pastrana and Silence Mabuza twice (Rafa will take on the South African again on August 5th) is doing nothing for his stature in the sport. It’s bad enough that he’s a 118 pounder, but Marquez, who is 31 years old, is also getting up there in age (for the lighter weights). He’s obviously an elite fighter but he needs to do something special – and very soon – if he wants to have a legacy that goes beyond hardcore fans. There are talks of Rafa facing WBO 118-pound titlist (and fellow giant bantamweight) Jhonny Gonzalez if he beats Mabuza again, and that fight is a big step in the right direction.

12. Erik Morales, 48-4 (3 – I’ll be the first to admit that ‘El Terrible’ looked like a finished fighter in the final three rounds of his brutal 10th-round stoppage to Pacquaio, but I’ve written him off as a spent bullet at least three times in the past six years and the Tijuana native has proven my wrong each time. However, there is only so much punishment the human body can endure before breaking down and I think it’s safe to say that Morales is an “old” 29. It’s never safe to count him out completely, but all signs indicate that Morales’ scheduled fall rubber match with the PacMan will be his last mega fight. I’ve kept him inside my top 15 because of the awesome quality of his recent opposition plus his many accomplishments, but it’s also in honor of the excitement he helped create with his great trilogy with Barrera and his entertaining battles vs. Daniel Zaragoza, Wayne McCullough, and Pacquaio.

13. Glen Johnson, 44-10-2 (29) – It sucks to be ‘The Road Warrior’. Johnson, who is 37 years old and doesn’t have a lot of time left in the game, has seen potential lucrative fights fall through his fingers in the past three weeks. Recent rival Antonio Tarver is looking at a match with Jeff Lacy, old rival Bernard Hopkins is retiring, and Joe Calzaghe has pulled out of yet another proposed fight because of a hand injury (what a shocker!). So the bad news is that he’s unlikely to land a fight vs. an elite fighter, but the good news is that there are plenty of good fighters for him to test in the 175-pound division. The easiest one to land would be Clinton Woods, who he beat for the IBF title in February of ’04. The British fighter has looked good since the loss, winning the vacant IBF belt and defending it three times (including a decision over Julio Gonzalez and stoppage of Rico Hoye.). Woods-Johnson III could be a damn good fight, as could Tomasz Adamek-Johnson or Johnson-Paul Briggs and Johnson-Chad Dawson. If Johnson wants to hold on to the pound-for-pound-list status that he earned with his excellent schedule in ’04 (when he won Fighter of the Year accolades) he needs to take on and defeat one of the new faces in the light heavyweight division.

[NorthSideX4]

14. Oscar De La Hoya, 38-4 (30) – The Golden One was dropped from this list because he took last year off, but the long vacation seemed to recharge his batteries as he looked fabulous stomping some manners into Ricardo Mayorga last month. Mayorga was tailor-made for De La Hoya, but the nine-time world titlist looked as sharp and powerful as he did during his prime years as a lightweight and 140 pounder on his way stopping Mayorga in six. Since leaving the welterweight division in 2001, Goldie hasn’t always looked that sharp. He’s lost to Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins (and he received a gift versus Felix Sturm), however, many observers thought he beat Mosley in their rematch, Hopkins is an all-time great middleweight who just won the 175-pound championship, and Sturm is a very solid young fighter who has picked up another 160-pound title. De La Hoya recently announced that he won’t fight again this year, but he is contemplating coming back in May of next year to face Floyd Mayweather. If he doesn’t carry this grand plan out, I’ll drop him from my list for inactivity (again) but if he does take on the Pretty Boy and beats him… well, I’ll put it this way, I didn’t think anyone could top the final performance that Hopkins put on vs. Tarver, but that would definitely beat it. I’m hoping De La Hoya goes for it next year, if not, then in all likelihood this year is the last time De La Hoya’s name will grace one of my P4P lists, and if that’s the case then thanks for the memories Oscar.

15. Joel Casamayor, 32-3-1 (20) – The crafty Cuban southpaw continues to be a player by staying active (he fought in February and fights next month on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights) and by virtue of the fact that he’s never been decisively defeated. Acelino Freitas beat him by two points on all three scorecards in a very close fight (that Casamayor was docked two points by the ref), while the guys I’ve got tied for no. 6 on this list could only manage split decision victories over the ’92 Olympic gold medalist and former 130-pound titlist.

16. (tie) Juan Manuel Marquez, 44-3-1 (33)/ Chris John, 37-0-1 (20) – After his failed (and very ill-advised) trip to Indonesia where he lost a unanimous decision to young Mr. John this past March, it looked like Marquez might quietly fade away from the consciousness of most general fight fans, which would have been a tragedy because the Mexico City technician is one of the most intelligent active fighters in the world. If only he were a little smarter outside of the ring. After breaking into the top 20 by partially unifying the featherweight title (vs. Manuel Medina and Derrick Gainer) and then busting into the top 10 with his courageous come-from-behind draw vs. Manny Pacquiao, JMM allowed poor management to gradually drop the status he worked so hard to attain (he only fought twice – vs. Orlando Soto and Victor Polo – in the two years between his battles with PacMan and John). Thankfully, it looks like Marquez is getting back on track. He’s scheduled to fight once-beaten Thai contender Terdsak Jandaeng (whose one loss is to Joan Guzman) in the Showtime-televised co-feature to his brother’s rematch with Silence Mabuza. I had John ranked higher than Marquez after reading reports of their fight, but after finally seeing a tape of the WBA title bout, I had to even the two up because I thought the Mexican won eight rounds. However, I’ll give credit to John for being competitive with such a dangerous vet. The 26 year old’s wins over Gainer, Osamu Sato, Oscar Leon, and Ratanachai Sor Vorapin let me know that the kid is for real.

18. O’Neil Bell, 26-1-1 (24) – It’s not often that an undisputed champion is this low on anybody’s pound-for-pound list, but that’s the way it is when you occupy one of boxing’s overlooked divisions and were lucky to get a decision over Dale Brown in your first world title fight. Still, “Supernova” gave Jean-Marc Mormeck, a cat that I and many in the press were very high on, a lot of hell before knocking the tough and talented Frenchman out in 10 exciting rounds in January, so he belongs on this list.

19. Martin Castillo, 30-1 (16) – the classy and gutsy 115 pounder is a quiet belt holder who is on the cusp of being recognized as one of the best fighters in the lighter weight classes. He’s already viewed by most hardcore fans as the best junior bantamweight in the biz, which his decision victories over former titlists Eric Morel and Alexander Munoz (twice) proved. What he needs now is exposure. Fighting guys with seven pro fights in Japan might earn Castillo a little spendin’ change but it won’t get his name mentioned outside Mexico, Southern California, and internet message boards. And if he ever hopes to advance into the top 15 territory of this list he’ll need to either partially unify titles, or lure in a name opponent like Joes Navarro, Fernando Montiel, or the next guy on this list.

20. Jorge Arce, 44-3-1 (34) – It was a tough call putting ‘Travieso’ in this slot above long-time WBC flyweight title holder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, but the “interim” belt holder from Mexico has been in with tougher fighters recently than his counterpart from Thailand, and although Arce hasn’t gone unbeaten in 10 years like Wongjongkam, he’s on a pretty good win-streak himself. Arce hasn’t lost a bout since suffering a classic one-shot KO to recent hall of fame inductee Michael Carbajal back in ’99 (in a fight he was winning handily). The former WBO and WBC 108-pound titlist has won 24 consecutive fights since then, a streak that includes solid little guys like former two-division champ Rosendo Alvarez (his most recent victim), Yo Sam Choi, Melchor Cob Castro (twice), Joma Gamboa, Hussein Hussein (twice), and Adonis Rivas (twice). It’s doubtful that a showdown with Wonjongkam will ever happen, but that’s OK, the 115-pound division is beckoning.

THE FURIOUS FIVE

Antonio Tarver, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Antonio Margarito, Israel Vazquez, and Acelino Freitas

www.maxboxing.com www.doghouseboxing.com

[Gandalf]

for the effort, northside

[El Gamo]

CC nORTHSIDE,that's Doug Fischer's list isn't it? I may not agree with some of his positioning but that guy ALWAYS backs his decisions up.I like him.

[NorthSideX4]

coolclick back at cha Miles & the game!

[babyboNe]

cc north...good list...

[Violent Demise]

This list is a joke.  Floyd Mayweather should be #1. Joel Casamayor and Rafael Marquez top 10. And O'Neil Bell top 15. And what's with all the ties?

[B@rr3r@]

This list is a joke. Floyd Mayweather should be #1. Joel Casamayor and Rafael Marquez top 10. And O'Neil Bell top 15. And what's with all the ties?

I agree....

[Jody Lane]

CC for the list.

[Violent Demise]

Sc for the bad list.

[Wacko3205]

Can't say that I agree with that list...but as we all know...P4P aint nothing but an opinion...it's never 100% right...or 100% wrong...it's just what it is.

[El Gamo]

Can't say that I agree with that list...but as we all know...P4P aint nothing but an opinion...it's never 100% right...or 100% wrong...it's just what it is.

That's true but what makes this list good(even though I totally disagree with some of the positions)is that it justifies why someone is where they are and the justifications are good!!

[Bomp]

Can't criticise a list where the guy admits he's using his opinion. CC north.
IMO I'd put Calzaghe higher (cause I'm a fan) at the expense of putting Diego Corrales and Castillo lower down, possibly below Hatton as well on achievement. The only real big fight Castillo has won is his second with Corrales, in which he had a clear weight advantage.

Agreed with pulling Floyd down a peg or two, he probably is the most naturally gifted boxer, but he needs to prove it against either Hatton or Margarito. If he fights Vargas or Mosely it's a blatant cop out, he's been given the benefit of the doubt so far but shouldn't any longer, and should drop down even lower in the rankings. If there was no one else to fight on and around his weight division it would be ok to fo on this tour of has-beens, but that is not the case.

[Jody Lane]

Can't criticise a list where the guy admits he's using his opinion. CC north.
IMO I'd put Calzaghe higher (cause I'm a fan) at the expense of putting Diego Corrales and Castillo lower down, possibly below Hatton as well on achievement. The only real big fight Castillo has won is his second with Corrales, in which he had a clear weight advantage.

Agreed with pulling Floyd down a peg or two, he probably is the most naturally gifted boxer, but he needs to prove it against either Hatton or Margarito. If he fights Vargas or Mosely it's a blatant cop out, he's been given the benefit of the doubt so far but shouldn't any longer, and should drop down even lower in the rankings. If there was no one else to fight on and around his weight division it would be ok to fo on this tour of has-beens, but that is not the case.

I agree mosley has seen better days and at 34 or 35 he won't improve so a fight with PBF really doesn't justify PBF's plan of only mega-fights from now on. Unless he just wants a passing of the guard thing.