With the year in boxing half over, I thought it was time to consider making a potential top five pound for pound list. This task which on the outside looks to be an easy one; turns out not to be so. It appears the overall concept and therefore the results of any P4P list are purely subjective. The biggest issue I encountered was that there is no exact formula or definition which is widely agreed on as to what constitutes a P4P candidate. So, how do fighters get to be on this honorary list if no one in the boxing community can agree on the criteria? Does it take skill, popularity, adaptability, or talent?
Thanks to helpful feedback from my boxing compadres there were enlightening suggestions on what makes a pound for pound fighter and who should be included on the hypothetical list. It is pretty safe to say that the following criteria is important in considering any fighter for this title; the fighter?s power,speed and ring generalship can translate equally to any division. The fighter?s skill and talent based solely at this point in their career. The boxer?s adaptability( with a capital A), can be measured against his contemporaries. So, it really does takes a little of everything to make a well-rounded P4P candidate.
With that stated, we can now move on to compiling a potential top 5 pound for pound list. The envelope please. The top slot is secured by the ever talented and popular Manny Pacquiao( 52(38KO))-3-2). The second slot wasn?t without debate but at the end of the day, Floyd Mayweather( 41(25KO)-0) was cited 50% of the time for this position. The other 50% left him off the list due to his MIA. With a possibility that Floyd could fall off the list completely we shall add slot 2 1/2 which will go to the hard-hitting Sergio Martinez(47(26KO)-2-2).The next three slots are up for grabs but we can make a solid argument for these fighters to be included in the honors. Third, Juan Manuel Marquez( 52(38KO)-5-1), Fourth, Nonito Donaire( 26(18KO)-1) and rounding out the top 5 Andre Ward(23(13KO)-0-0) Honorable Mention: The Klitschko Brothers, Tim Bradley, Lucian Bute and Saul Alvarez.
