Top Pound For Pound Fighters In Boxing

[swerb]

Alright, here's what I got ...

1. Floyd Mayweather - I hate this prick. But god damn is he good.

2. Miguel Cotto - I expect him to beat the shit out of Sugar Shane next week and cement his spot in this top five. Love watching Cotto fight.

3. Joe Calzaghe - Alright, alright ... I'm a believer! Seen his last three fights, all flawless anihiliations of Lacy, Manfredo, and Kessler. Impressive.

4. Juan Manuel Marquez - Right after the Calzaghe fight got a chance to tune over to Showtime and watch Marquez destroy Rocky Juarez, a very solid fighter in his own right. Please, please, please let us see the rematch with Pacqiauo. The two fought to an amazing draw in '04.

5. Manny Pacqiauo - Speak of the devil. A bad ass that takes big fight ater big fight. Beat Barrera again a month ago. There's few better. few funner to watch, and a win over Marquez would have him #2 on this list.

6. Kelly Pavlik - The middleweight king and a fighter on the rise after dominating wins over Miranda and Taylor. Tough to fight as he keeps coming at you, throws bombs, and has the heart of a fucking lion. Few have him this high on these lists, but another win over Taylor in the spring at the odd weight of 166 will do it.

7. Ricky Hatton - Fighting Floyd on Dec 8th in what is likely the biggest welterweight scrap since Oscar/Tito about ten years ago. 43-0, and has destroyed Kosta Tszyu, Collazo, Urango, and most recently Jose Luis Castillo to ascend to the top ten lb for lb lists and start to win over American fight fans. Gritty, hard hitting, busy ... and a pain in the balls to fight.

8. Bernard Hopkins - Back from the dead. Looked like Hopkins was about done after B2B losses to Jermain Taylor, but rebounded with a convincing win over Tarver and a surprising win over Winky Wright. Waiting on his next scrap. Says he wants to fight Calzaghe in Yankee Stadium. How great would that be?

9. Israel Vasquez - His rematch this summer with Rafael Marquez (after losing to him in March) was one of the greatest fights I've ever seen.

10. Rafael Marquez - He and Vasquez are the kings at 122, and I wouldn't mind seeing these guys fight two times a year for the next half decade. Ring Magazine (the bible) ranks these two #5 and #7 lb for lb.

11. Jermain Taylor - Spoons boy.
12. Marco Antonio Barrera - What a career.
13. Mikkel Kessler - Could prolly whip anyone but Calzaghe at 168.
14. Wlad Klitschko - Sadly, hard to tell just how good he is.
15. Paul Williams - Looked great in beating Margarito, fights Cintron in Feb.
16. Oscar DeLaHoya - Is he done? Showed vs Floyd he could still fight.
17. Winky Wright - Lost tough decision to Hopkins, no next fight scheduled. Last three fights have all been so so performances.
18. Shane Mosely - We'll see what hes got left next Saturday.
19. Juan Diaz - Lightweight king. 33-0. Wanna see him fight Casamayor.
20. Antonio Margarito - Fought hard in loss to Paul Williams.

[bustedknuckles]

Nice list Swerb. I'm surprised it hasn't generated more discussion. I do have to take exception to Klitschko at #14...I'd have him much higher like in the 5-7 range. Best jab I've seen in that division in a long time, very athletic, seems to coming into his prime.

[swerb]

Nice list Swerb. I'm surprised it hasn't generated more discussion. I do have to take exception to Klitschko at #14...I'd have him much higher like in the 5-7 range. Best jab I've seen in that division in a long time, very athletic, seems to coming into his prime.

He looks great, I agree. Probably deserves to be higher, I also agree. He's a different fighter now, Manny Steward has done wonders with him since he lost to Sanders and Brewster.

Problem is, he's yet to beat a good fighter. Through no fault of his own. He fights Ibragomiv in Feb .. I didn't get a chance to see either of his wins over Briggs or Holyfield.

There could be some promise on the horizon. Alexander Povetkin and Eddie Chambers are fighting in the spring. The winner will be Klitschko's next fight after he dismantles Ibragomiv. Both are young and show as much promise as anyone in this division in a while.

Povetkin is a former world kickboxing champ. Russian, just 28. Just knocked out Chris Byrd, which is hard to do. Byrd may be boring and limited, but hes a skilled heavy.

Chambers is 25, American. Last two wins over Dominic Guinn and Calvin Brock, once thought to be the promising young duo to challenge the Klitschko crown.

[Guest]

1) Mayweather No debate here
2) Cotto Big fight Saturday
3) tie Hopefully they settle it in a rematch
Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacqiauo
5) Kelly Pavlik Has earned this spot
6) Joe Calzaghe Looked good this weekend.
7) Juan Diaz"The Baby Bull" gets better and better
Wladimir Klitschko Hammering people
9) Paul Williams I love watching this guy work.
10) Ivan Calderon The little guy gets no respect except from me.
11) Ricky Hatton Will be lower on this list soon.

The rest:
Kermit Cintron
Antonio Margarito
Shane Mosley (not Mosely)
Vasquez and Marquez