Austin Trout enters at No. 13 after his unanimous-decision win over Miguel Cotto on Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden, while Cotto’s second stright loss drops him out of the ratings from No. 9. Each fighter between them — Yuriorkis Gamboa, Abner Mares, Adrien Broner and Vitali Klitschko — moves up one spot. (Note: Results are through December 3.)
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Welterweight Grand Rapids, Mich. 35 43-0-0 26 The Latest: Whether you believe Mayweather’s claim that he chose to enter a toe-to-toe battle with Miguel Cotto or you think he showed signs of slippage, the five-division champ proved his greatness on May 5. Immediate plans unclear after early release from 87-day jail sentence.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 2 Andre Ward Super Middleweight Oakland, Calif. 28 26-0-0 14 The Latest: The world’s top 168-pounder followed up his triumph over Carl Froch in the Super Six final with his highest-profile victory to date: a clinical TKO of fellow pound-for-pounder Chad Dawson. He fights ex-champion Kelly Pavlik on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 3 Manny Pacquiao Welterweight Philippines 33 54-4-2 38 The Latest: The only eight-division champion in history fell victim to a dumbfounding decision on June 9 against Timothy Bradley, losing on points despite outlanding his opponent convincingly. He’ll fight longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez a fourth time on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 4 Sergio Martinez Middleweight Argentina 37 50-2-2 28 The Latest: The recognized middleweight champion made his fifth defense of the lineal 160-pound title on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas, outboxing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for 11? rounds before surviving a manic final-reel rally that had him badly hurt — and made a rematch all but inevitable.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 5 Nonito Donaire Bantamweight Philippines 30 30-1-0 19 The Latest: The Filipino Flash scored a 29th consecutive victory with a ninth-round knockout of Toshiaki Nishioka on Oct. 13. Despite an injured left hand that required nine stitches, Donaire could return as soon as Dec. 15 against Jorge Arce — his fourth fight in 2012.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 6 Juan Manuel Marquez Junior Welterweight Mexico 39 54-6-1 32 The Latest: After exceeding all expectations and nearly upsetting Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 12, the future Hall of Famer moved up to beat Serhiy Fedchenko in March for a title in a fourth different weight class (at 140 pounds). He’ll complete his quadrilogy with Pacquiao on Dec. 8.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 7 Wladimir Klitschko Heavyweight Ukraine 36 58-3-0 51 The Latest: The younger Klitschko defended his WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring magazine titles on November 10 against Mariusz Wach with a unanimous-decision victory, the champ’s first outing since losing trainer Emanuel Steward. It’s been more than eight years since he lost.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 8 Timothy Bradley Junior Welterweight/Welterweight Palm Springs, Calif. 29 29-0-0 12 The Latest: Bradley was fortunate to get the decision against Pacquiao and the WBO welterweight title that came with it. Bradley was rumored to be fighting ex-welterweight champion Andre Berto at Marlins Park on Dec. 15, but the fight was scuttled and his plans remain unclear.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 9 Yuriorkis Gamboa Featherweight Cuba 30 21-0-0 16 The Latest: Gamboa was ahead on all three cards when his Sept. 10 fight with Daniel Ponce De Leon was stopped due to a cut. He’s since inked a deal with 50 Cent’s upstart company and will return against Michael Farenas on the televised undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez IV.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 10 Abner Mares Bantamweight Mexico 27 25-0-1 13 The Latest: The winner of Showtime’s bantamweight tournament moved up to win a 122-pound title, then defended it with an impressive win over Anselmo Moreno on Nov. 10. He wants Nonito Donaire (and Donaire wants Mares) but will Golden Boy and Top Rank let it happen?
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 11 Adrien Broner Lightweight Cincinnati, Ohio 23 25-0-0 21 The Latest: The brash 23-year-old, for years regarded as talented but untested, converted at least a few skeptics with a knockout of Antonio DeMarco for the WBC lightweight title. Possible fights with WBO titleholder Ricky Burns or Juan Manuel Marquez could be next.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 12 Vitali Klitschko Heavyweight Ukraine 41 45-2-0 41 The Latest: The other Klitschko brother walked through Manuel Charr on Sept. 8 for his ninth title defense. Retirement for a political career may be next: Vitali’s party won seats in the election last month. If not, a lucrative showdown with British bigmouth David Haye could loom.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 13 Austin Trout Junior Middleweight Las Cruces, N.M. 27 26-0-0 14 The Latest: Trout had been unknown to all but hardcore boxing fans, an unbeaten 154-pound beltholder who’d been toiling in obscurity, before a Dec. 1 defense of his WBA title against Miguel Cotto at the Garden. After a convincing points win, he’s one of the division’s hottest names.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 14 Orlando Salido Featherweight Mexico 32 39-11-2 27 The Latest: Long perceived as a journeyman, Salido blasted his way into pound-for-pound consideration with a pair of crushing knockouts of Juan Manuel Lopez to win and defend the WBO featherweight title. A fight with undefeated contender Mikey Garcia is expected this fall.
RANK FIGHTER AGE RECORD KOs 15 Carl Froch Super Middleweight United Kingdom 35 30-2-0 22 The Latest: The Nottingham native conjured a career performance against Lucian Bute, scoring a fifth-round TKO to win the IBF 168-pound title. He defended it with a crushing knockout of Yusaf Mack on Nov. 17 and doubts the expected March rematch with Bute will take place. The Next Five: Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KOs), Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KOs), Chad Dawson (31-2-0, 17 KOs), Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KOs), Jean Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KOs).
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