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Here it is, the top twenty pound for pound list according to Boxingtalk publisher G. Leon. There's been a ton of movement since our last update. Who's in? Who's out? Read on and see for yourself. Last Update: December 2, 2009
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| Even the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr couldn't dethrone Pac-Man from the top spot. The fashion in which Pacquiao has disposed one hall of famer after the other is what, as Don King would say SKD or something-kinda-different. Now all that stands in the way of Pacquiao achieving G.O.A.T type status is Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight will happen soon. Why? Because IT HAS TO. | | |
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| The undefeated pound for pound Picasso is back! His domination of the best Mexican fighter in the world, Juan Manuel Marquez, let everyone know Mayweather is still on top of his game. However, during Floyd's brief retirement, Manny Pacquiao became a monster and now presents Mayweather with a challenge the world is salivating to see if he can overcome. | | |
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| We're nearly in 2010 and the 45 year old is still among the three best fighters in the world today! With the signed mega-fight rematch with Roy Jones Jr going up in smoke, it should be interesting to see if Hopkins and the young lion at light heavyweight Chad Dawson can come to terms. | | |
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| Paul Williams showed everybody how to erase an upset loss as he disposed of Carlos Quintana in Roy Jones-Montell Griffien like fashion. His huge win over Margarito, the nature in which he avenged his lone loss, coupled with dominating victories over Verno Phillips and the never before dominated Winky Wright places the Punisher inside the top 5. Frankly, I believe he's a serious problem for ANYBODY in boxing. After the long awaited fight with Pavlik fell through twice, Williams now faces a more difficult styles match in the form of Sergio Martinez. Williams should have made this fight for the Martinez's belt in order to get himself one division closer to Mayweather. | | |
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| And still the best Mexican fighter in the world, Juan Manuel Marquez has plenty of options to explore at 135 and 140 pounds. Rubbermatch with Pacquiao is always a possibility somewhere down the line, but rematches with Juan Diaz, or a fight with Ricky Hatton might be more realistic options for 2010. | | |
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| He failed to get the decision against the younger, stronger Miguel Cotto, but future hall of famer "Sugar" Shane Mosley proved he has quite a bit left in his tank. The nature in which he dominated and knocked out Antonio Margarito makes it impossible for me to pick Cotto in a rematch over Mosley, who finds himself closer to the top of this list than he's been in the last seven years. Mosley will face undefeated WBC champ Andre Berto in a fight Shane has declared he will "ruin" the young fighter en route to the Mayweather-Pacquiao winner. | | |
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| It didn't take long for Chad Dawson to establish himself as the premier light heavyweight in the world. He's 4-0 against Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, his win over Adamek looks beter every day. Dawson is expected to make a mandatory defense against the Diaconu-Pascual II winner, but the fight he really wants is Bernard Hopkins | | |
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| The Pride of Puerto Rico finds himself back in the top ten primarily due to the shadow of doubt that has been "cast" on his lone loss to Margarito. Holds wins over Zab Judah and Sugar Shane Mosley. Returned with an easy stoppage win to take the WBA trinket from Michael Jennings, gutted out a hard fought decsion over Joshua Clottey and got thrashed by Manny Pacquiao. Cotto stays in the top ten because of his level of opposition, but the punishment he took during Margarito, Clottey and Pacquiao fights leads me to believe his days in the top ten are numbered. | | |
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| Three consecutive classic bouts against Rafael Marquez keep Vazquez in the top ten, but with only one tune up fight in 2009, the fourth Marquez fight or another significant bout must be made quickly for Vazquez to stay in the top ten. | | |
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| Three consecutive classic bouts against Israel Vazquez keep Marquez in the top ten, but with only one tune up fight in 2009, the fourth Vazquez fight or another significant bout must be made quickly for Marquez to stay in the top ten. | | |
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| Explodes on to the list with a totally dominating performance against Mikkel Kessler, whom many favored to win the Super Six Boxing Classic. The nature in which Ward dominated leads me to believe he'll have little trouble with Jermain Taylor, who he may seriously hurt, and Andre Dirrell. | | |
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| The best damn little fighter in the world makes a way late debut on Boxingtalk's top 20 pound for pound. Now that he's here I'm sure all of my boricua brothers will be telling me it's about time. I just hope the time comes where Calderon scarfs down enough Pollo Gusiado con arroz y habichuelas to face Vic Darchinyan at 115. | | |
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| Talk about a disappointing 2009 for the Pride of Youngstown, Ohio. By the end of the year Pavlik will likely have two nothing wins after twice pulling out of bouts with Paul Williams. Much to the dismay of die hard fans, following the second pull out Pavlik's second meaningless fight of the year was announced. Needs to make a significant fight and quickly. Pavlik's run to the title was memorable, what he's done since become middleweight champion has been the exact opposite. | | |
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| King Arthur makes his debut on Boxingtalk's pound for pound list. Abraham destroyed Edison Miranda in their rematch, would have likely defeated Kelly Pavlik had Top Rank accepted the fight. When the Pavlik unification became an impossibility Abraham entered the Super Six Boxing Classic and nearly decapitated Jermain Taylor in the twelfth round of stage one. Next up for King Arthur will be speedster Andre Dirrell and WBC champ Carl Froch. | | | NEXT: | SHO VS. ANDRE DIRRELL TBA |
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| The Winkster maintains a top 15 fighter because in my opinion he was unfairly punished by the powers that be. Dropping a razor thin decision to Bernard Hopkins shouldn't keep you on the shelf for two years until you return against Paul Williams. I favor Wright over any of the current champions at middleweight and his handlers should look to get him a win asap before moving on to a big middleweight fight. | | |
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| Hatton still on the list? Crazy right? I don't think so. He's only lost to the two best fighters in the world and would still be favored over anybody at 140 not named Pacquiao. Hatton's got some time before his retirement forces him off the list. Potential fights with Marquez, the Bradley-Peterson winner or even Juan Diaz-Malignaggi winner are HBO approvable, so it should be interesting to see what 2010 has in store for The Hitman. | | |
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| Anybody that's seen Celestino Caballero fight knows the kid can throw down with the best of them. Unfortunately none of the marquee names around his weight class, Vazquez, Marquez, Lopez, are all that interested in fighting him. Can't say I blame them. A 6 foot 122 pounder isn't the easiest guy to prepare for. | | |
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| John should have probably been on this list quite some time ago. He's clearly an elite level fighter who has proven that he can beat the best outside of his backyard. Holds a very strong win over Juan Manuel Marquez, and contrary to some reports, I've seen the fight and John deserved the win. | | |
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| Nate Campbell totally shot himself in the foot when he lost his lightweight championships on the scale against Ali Funeka. After a hard fought win over Funeka, Campbell moved up to 140 to face Timothy Bradley in a fight that was stopped early due to a clash of heads. Like many fighters promoted by Don King these days, Campbell has no idea what's next. | | |
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| In my opinion, Devon Alexander is the best young fighter in the world. "The Great" dominated former champ Junior Witter in August to capture the vacant WBC title and the sky appears to be limit for this 22 year old St. Louisan. | | |
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