‘Pound for pound’ it’s one of the most used and favorite terms of Boxing media and fans. As the year winds down here’s how I see the end of the year 2006 pound for pound rankings, and who fell off the rankings from last year.
* Top 15 Pound for Pound
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Easily stays at the top of the list again. Floyd enjoyed wins over Zab Judah and welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir. He continued his dominance, and as a top pound for pounder should, he looked invincible.
2. Winky Wright – Some might argue that Winky should be lower. You might have a point, seeing that he had a draw this year. But tell me anyone better than this crafty middleweight.
3. Manny Pacquiao – Pacman had a terrific year, and should be a viable Fighter of the Year candidate. He enjoyed dominating wins over Oscar Larios and two victories over former pound for pounder Erik Morales. Pacman has looked devastating of late, hence the high ranking.
4. Jermain Taylor – I have Taylor this high because he is one of the few undisputed champions that Boxing has in its weight classes. Taylor looked solid recently against former champ Kassim Ouma, and was neck and neck with two high rated pound for pounders in Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins.
5. Bernard Hopkins – Hopkins’ win over Antonio Tarver and the talk that he will fight again keep him high in the list for me. The fact that he moved up from a long reigning middleweight champion and defeated the light heavyweight champ still astonishes me, and that’s why he’s ranked here.
6. Joe Calzaghe – Calzaghe’s performance against Jeff Lacy was amazing, and showed many people just how good this guy can be. After watching that fight along with his long title reign it would be hard not to have him in this list.
7. Israel Vazquez – I know I might get some flak for having Vazquez this high; but, he had a stellar year. He was in a Fight of the Year candidate with Jhonny Gonzalez, and could easily be a candidate for Fighter of the Year. He is also one of the few undisputed champs as he holds the reigns at 122.
8. Marco Antonio Barrera – Still one of the best fighters around, although he dropped in my list just a little bit. Barrera won a disputed decision this year with Rocky Juarez, and did win the rematch. But, he had to fight differently to win the rematch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that he never had to do it before.
9. Shane Mosley – ‘Sugar’ Shane returns to the list after being very high on it at one time. A stellar year for Mosley with a convincing wins over Fernando Vargas.
10. Ricky Hatton – Hatton drops a bit on the list, but stays in the top 10. An uneventful year, and the fact that Hatton got exposed against Carlos Maussa are the reason for the slight drop.
11. Rafael Marquez – The dominant little man kept on trekking away in the bantamweight division, and his dominance can not go unnoticed.
12. Mikkel Kessler – Kessler may never get his crack at Calzaghe, but he still earns a sport in the pound for pound list for the first time. Kessler’s ownership of the WBC and WBA super middleweight straps make him an obvious choice.
13. Oscar de la Hoya – Oscar just doesn’t fight much anymore, but when he did this past May, he looked great in demolishing Ricardo Mayorga. Even though Oscar is not as active as he used to be, he’s still one of the top fighters -and draws- around.
14. Miguel Cotto – Cotto goes from prospect to pound for pounder. A nice year for Cotto was capped with an impressive stoppage of Carlos Quintana. Cotto’s second world title in as many weight classes nets him a spot in the lb. for lb. rankings.
15. Antonio Margarito – Margarito had a tough fight recently with Josh Clottey, and has been unable to get big fights. But, he’s still one of the most dangerous fighters around, hence his appearance on the list.
Honorable Mention: Joel Casamayor, Vic Darchinyan, Jorge ‘El Travieso’ Arce, Chris John.
Those who fell from the pound for pound rankings:
1. Zab Judah – Zab fell hard with an embarrassing hometown loss to Carlos Baldomir, and another defeat to Floyd Mayweather.
2. Erik Morales – ‘El Terrible’ used to be a consistent pound for pounder. But, he’s now 1-3 in his last four fights, including a brutal 3rd round loss to Manny Pacquiao in his last fight.
3. Antonio Tarver – Tarver’s shocking loss to Bernard Hopkins, and his decision to fight 60-plus year old Rocky Balboa later this month lead to Tarver plummeting off the pound for pound list.
4. Jeff Lacy – Lacy was emerging as a guy who might consistently be on boxing writers pound for pound list. Then he got destroyed by Joe Calzaghe, and escaped with a win over Vitali Tsypko. A rotator cuff injury will keep “Left Hook” sidelined for a long time, so a return trip is looking bleak.
5. Jose Luis Castillo – Some may still have Castillo in their pound for pound lists, and I have no problem with that. But his inactivity and weight fiasco made it hard for me to keep him in.
6. Diego Corrales – ‘Chico’ could easily make it back in the pound for pound list, just not as a lightweight. Corrales’ weight debacles and his loss to Joel Casamayor leave him off the list.
7. Carlos Baldomir – It was a great year for Baldomir that ended badly. Baldomir was creeping up on the lists, until the Mayweather loss brought him back to Earth.
8. Juan Manuel Marquez – Marquez is another fighter like Corrales who can make it back. He appears on the right path with a nice win recently over Jimrex Jaca. But, his shocking loss to Chris John, and his lack of a big fight leave him off.
The end of year Top pound for pound prospects list:
(Note: The criteria I used for prospect is a young fighter currently without a world title).
1. Paul Williams – ‘The Punisher’ has quickly emerged as one of the best young fighters around. An upcoming date with Antonio Margarito should prove his merit.
2. Chad Dawson – The hard hitting light heavyweight phenom will finally get his shot when he faces Tomasz Adamek in 2007.
3. Andre Berto – Berto has destroyed anyone put in front of him. He shows the skills of a polished fighter, and the former Haitian Olympian should have a world title strap soon.
4. Allen Green – The hard hitting super middleweight is quickly moving up the ladder, recently beating Anthony Bonsante and Jerson Ravelo.
5. David Diaz – Diaz has a title shot lined up with Joel Casamayor. Diaz made his year special when he KO’d highly touted Jose Armando Santa Cruz.
6. Rey Bautista – Little “Boom Boom” is quickly becoming the next Filipino sensation following in the lines of Manny Pacquiao.
7. Librado Andrade – The hard hitting and aggressive Andrade has paid his dues and moved up the ladder. He’s currently scheduled to get a shot at Mikkel Kessler sometime next year.
8. Kelly Pavlik – The hard punching middleweight has continued to emerge, most recently with a win over former champ Bronco McKart.
9. Carl Froch – This English super middleweight is one of the hardest punching young fighters. He’s ranked by nearly every alphabet organization.
10. Mike Arnaoutis – Despite a controversial loss to Ricardo Torres for the WBO title, Arnaoutis is still a fighter to be reckoned with. His hard punching and crowd pleasing style make him a young fighter to watch.
11. Jason Litzau – Litzau has really made a splash in 2006, and he still has one more fight to go this year.
12. Steven Luevano – The hard hitting featherweight is very close, he’s ranked by all alphabet organizations, and soon could have gold around his waist.
13. Urbano Antillon – This aggressive, hard hitting little guy packs a wallop, and should be fighting bigger names soon.
14. Demetrius Hopkins – DHop has been improving with every fight, and is starting to make his own name for himself.
15. Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. – This undefeated welterweight is just starting to turn heads. Fans of the Southern California fight circuit know him well, and know he’s a well polished fighter. Bradley recently signed with Gary Shaw, and should be a fighter you hear a lot more about in ’07.
Honorable Mention: Willy Blain, Anthony Dirrell, Andre Ward
Questions and Comments can be sent to Tom Dickey
