Ralph Rimpell?s Boxing ?Pound for Pound? List III
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 15 Jul 2008
Once again it?s time for me to let the boxing community know who I believe the top ten ?Pound for Pound? best fighters in the world are today. I would first like to take the time out to thank Mr. Dong Secuya (Editor) for the opportunity of becoming a contributor to Philboxing.com. So let?s get started.
1. Manny ?Pac Man? Pacquiao (47-3, 35 KOs) has been boxing?s ?Pound for Pound? number one fighter since he defeated Barrera, Morales, and Marquez (unofficially). In an article posted for another Website on October 15, 2007, I listed him as the best fighter in the world over Floyd Mayweather Jr. I received much ridicule for that observation. Why did I list him as number one? Unlike Floyd, this is a fighter who is not afraid of risking his professional record. He makes no excuses as to why he will not fight certain fighters. His mission is to fight the best fighters in an around his division. He was not rated number one solely on what he has done in the past, but also what he is currently doing. He cleaned up the featherweight division before moving to a higher weight. He fights for the most money like any smart businessman, but his concern is for bringing the fans the fights they want to see. Former Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield once said, ?If you wanna be the best, you have to beat the best?. That is exactly what Manny has done. He recently one a third world title at lightweight. If Pacquiao wants to maintain his status as the best fighter in the world, he will have to defeat the best fighter in the division he chooses to remain in. If it?s lightweight, then it is king of the hill Nate Campbell. If it?s junior welterweight then champion Ricky Hatton.
2. Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) is currently boxing longest reigning champion since 1997. He has fought the best available competition at 168lbs and beat them all. He became a unified champion (WBO, IBF, WBC) when he defeated the tough Mikel Kessler. He also became the recognized light heavyweight champion (according to Ring Magazine) when he defeated all time great Bernard Hopkins in a close match. The fans are salivating for a fight between him and middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. He is opting to fight former all time great Roy Jones, Jr. instead. There is talk that this may be his last fight. Should he defeat Jones and then go on to defeat Pavlik, he and Pacquio could be tied for the number one spot on this list.
3. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (39-0, 25 KOs) is a great fighter. No one can take that away from him. He has won world titles in five weight classes. He beat the best fighters at junior lightweight and lightweight. My colleagues apparently believe that the ?Pound for Pound? title should be bestowed upon fighter solely because of his past accomplishments. A fighter?s resume is important, but one must also factor the fighter?s current activity. Before and after defeating De La Hoya, he had the opportunity to fight the best fighters in the welterweight division. These fighters are Margarito, Williams, and Cotto. He declined to fight them all. No one can blame him for fighting De La Hoya. It was the richest fight of all time. The public was not crying out for a rematch which was going to happen. What they wanted was to see him fight Cotto or Margarito. Instead, much to everyone?s dismay, he abruptly retired. I don?t believe for one minute that Mayweather is retired. Based on his past accomplishments, he is ranked number four on this list. If Cotto should defeat Margarito and Oscar De La Hoya, look for Mayweather to announce he is coming out of retirement to fight Cotto. If Margarito should defeat Cotto and then De La Hoya, look for Mayweather to remain retired because he was always afraid of Margarito.
4. Bernard ?The Executioner? Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs) is a fighter who continues to defy ?Father Time?. In his last outing we saw him lose a decision to Joe Calzaghe. He now drops to number five on this list. Hopkins scored an impressive knockdown of the Welshman early in the fight and also fought well whether or not one thought the fight was exciting or not. It was a hard earned victory for Calzaghee. That speaks volumes for the level that Hopkins is still performing on at this late stage of his career. Hopkins has not announced his retirement. Look for him to close out his career in a rematch either against Trinidad or Roy Jones, Jr. if Jones can pull an upset over Calzaghe.
5. Miguel Cotto (32-0, 26 KOs) comes in at number five on this list. Last year he beat two future hall of fame fighters, Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. As of July 26, 2008 Cotto is finally taking the fight this writer and many fans want to see him take. We give him a lot of credit. He is braver than Mayweather. He will finally face fellow welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. Mayweather gave every excuse in the world as to why he would not face Margarito. He turned down a whopping 8 million dollars. Cotto really has his work cut out for him. Most of his critics didn?t think he would come this far in the game of boxing. He deserves much credit. He has a lot of heart and determination. Should he defeat Margarito, he will silence the critics and prove he is just as good as his countryman Felix ?Tito? Trinidad.
6. Ronald ?Winky? Wright (51-4-1, 25 KOs) drops to number six on this list. In my opinion, this man has only lost one fight in his entire career, which was a close decision loss to Bernard Hopkins for the World light heavyweight crown last year. Will someone go to the local police precinct where Wright lives and fill out a missing persons report! He has no scheduled fights in the foreseeable future. Wright could easily win a world title at middleweight and then give Pavlik a good run for his money if not defeating him. Look for Wright to come back in a big way by late 2008 or early 2009.
7. Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) has won world titles at junior welterweight and welterweight. Gave a very good effort against Mayweather but came up short and was KO?d in 10 rounds. He is the man to beat at junior welterweight. There is talk of Hatton facing Pacquio should he defeat IBF champ Paulie Malignaggi. Hatton is still in his prime. Look for him to defeat Malinaggi and taker on Pacquio in a blockbuster mega fight.
8. Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) is the current recognized middleweight champion of the world by ring magazine. This fighter got the attention of the boxing world in a big way when he knocked out the then highly touted hard punching Edison Miranda in impressive fashion. He went on to knockout then middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and beat him by decision in a rematch. Joe Calzaghe?s team refused a superfight with him in favor of a safer superfight against faded former multichampion Roy Jones Jr. Pavlik does not only have the right complexion, but he can also fight. He is capable of becoming a great champion if he continues to win.
9. Antonio Margarito (36-5, 26 KOs) In his last fight, he was seen knocking out Kermit Cintron in a rematch for the IBF welterweight championship in spectacular fashion. He faces Miguel Cotto in a mega fight on July 26, 2008 to establish supremacy in the welterweight division since Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not want to fight either of them, especially Margarito. For some reason, my colleagues don?t want to give Margarito his due credit. Maybe it?s because of a tough win against Joshua Clottey which was not that impressive, or a close point?s controversial loss to Paul Williams. Maybe it?s because he has five losses. Keep in mind that this fighter did not have an amateur career. He turned professional at the age of fifteen and managed to win two world titles. In the fight against Cotto, Margarito will show the world why Mayweather or other top fighters did not want to fight him. Look for Margarito to destroy Cotto in six rounds. Maybe then he will finally get some credit for being a great fighter.
10. Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) shocked the world by knocking out unified lightweight champion Juan Diaz. This is a fighter who should have become a world champion a long time ago in the Junior lightweight division. For a while, most boxing critics thought he would amount to nothing more than an underachiever and an eventual gate keeper for up and coming fighters. Yes, we were wrong! He cracks the top ten of this list with his world title win over Diaz. There was talk of him facing former champion Joel Casamayor but nothing ever materialized. He has challenged new fellow champion Manny Pacquio, but so far there has been no response. He is scheduled to face former two division champion Joan Guzman. That promises to be an exciting fight.
Contact Ralph Rimpell: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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