None of the fighters who were included in the inaugural Yahoo! Sports boxing pound-for-pound top 10 poll competed, but we had some changes nonetheless.
That’s because, in my attempt to make this poll as strong as possible, I’ve added five voters to the 10 who started in our August poll. I’m constantly on the lookout for qualified voters and will be adding, particularly internationally, as the months progress. Joining the poll for the first time are five distinguished voters. Heading that list is Wayne McCullough, the former world bantamweight champion and Olympic silver medalist from Northern Ireland who is a freelance boxing correspondent.
Also new to the poll this month are Steve Kim, the excellent columnist at MaxBoxing.com; Thomas Gerbasi, the editor at MaxBoxing; Scott Mallon, a Thailand-based reporter/photographer whose work appears in The Ring, Boxing News, Boxing Digest and The Fist; and Eduard Cauich, the boxing columnist for La Opinion, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S.
Returning from the original poll are Tim Smith of the New York Daily News; George Willis of the New York Post; Tim Graham of the Buffalo News; Ron Borges of HBO.com; Chuck Johnson of USA Today; Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register; Keith Idec of the Herald News/The Record in New Jersey; Robert Morales of the Los Angeles Daily News and Kieran Mulvaney of Reuters.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains the top-ranked fighter, though No. 2 Manny Pacquiao has gained ground on him. Pacquiao has an important fight on Oct. 6 against Marco Antonio Barrera which may have an impact upon the October poll.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are the only fighters to appear on all 15 ballots. Mayweather received 12 of the 15 first-place votes, while Pacquiao got the remaining three votes. Joe Calzaghe, who fights Mikkel Kessler on Nov. 3 in a battle of unbeaten super middleweight champions, appears on 14 of 15 ballots.
Here are the results of our second Yahoo! Sports boxing pound-for-pound top 10 poll:
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Points: 147 (12 first-place votes) Record: 38-0, 24 KOs Status: WBC welterweight champion Last time: Won WBC super welterweight title by winning split decision over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5. August poll: 1 Up next: Will meet super lightweight champion Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. Analysis: Mayweather’s incredibly quick hands and feet make him the best fighter in the game.
2. Manny Pacquiao Points: 135 (3 first-place votes) Record: 44-3-2, 35 KOs Status: Super featherweight contender Last time: Scored an eighth-round knockout of Jorge Solis in a tune-up fight on April 14. August poll: 2 Up next: Has a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas. Analysis: Defense is what separates Pacquiao from Mayweather right now.
3. Joe Calzaghe Points: 82 Record: 43-0, 32 KOs Status: WBO super middleweight champion. Last time: TKO3 Peter Manfredo on April 7. Up next: Title unification bout with unbeaten Mikkel Kessler on Nov. 3 in Wales. August poll: 3 Analysis: Has held a world title for nearly 10 years.
4. Bernard Hopkins Points: 79 Record: 48-4-1, 32 KOs Status: Light heavyweight champion. Up next: Nothing scheduled. August poll: 5 Analysis: Addition of new voters helped Hopkins leapfrog Juan Manuel Marquez into fourth place.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez Points: 74 Record: 47-3-1, 35 KOs Status: WBC super featherweight champion. Up next: Injury forced cancellation of Sept. 15 bout with Rocky Juarez. August poll: 4 Analysis: Could be in line for winner of Oct. 6 Pacquiao-Barrera bout sometime next year.
6. Miguel Cotto Points: 53 Record: 30-0, 25 KOs Status: WBA welterweight champion Up next: Nov. 10 vs. Shane Mosley in New York. August poll: 6 Analysis: The best body puncher on this list.
7. Jermain Taylor Points: 50 Record: 27-0-1, 17 KOs Status: WBC-WBO middleweight champion. Up next: Defends titles against Kelly Pavlik on Sept. 29 in Atlantic City. August poll: 7 Analysis: Probably the one member of the top 10 with the most to prove.
8. Winky Wright Points: 47 Record: 51-4-1, 25 KOs Status: Middleweight contender. Up next: Nothing scheduled. August poll: 8 Analysis: Wright is a difficult matchup for any of the middleweight champions.
9. Israel Vazquez Points: 43 Record: 42-4, 31 KOs Status: WBC super bantamweight champion. Up next: Nothing scheduled, a likely rubber match with Rafael Marquez. August poll: 9 Analysis: New voters helped Vazquez gain considerable ground on Wright for No. 8.
10. Ricky Hatton Record: 43-0, 31 KOs Status: IBO super lightweight champion. Up next: Faces No. 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. at welterweight on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. August poll: Not ranked. Analysis: Status will skyrocket with upset of Mayweather. Dropped out: Shane Mosley
Others receiving votes: Shane Mosley, 21.5; Rafael Marquez, 17; Mikkel Kessler, 12; Wladimir Klitschko, 11; Marco Antonio Barrera, 7; Chad Dawson, 6; Oscar De La Hoya, 3; Junior Witter, 3; Kelly Pavlik, 2; Paul Williams, 2; Vernon Forrest, 1.
