I’ve been told by some old timers that the pound for pound rankings were invented as a way to give the late great “Sugar” Ray Robinson his just due ranking as the #1 boxer despite his size disadvantage in any hypothetical matchup against heavyweights. In this day and age, it seems almost absurd to consider that a heavyweight might have topped a discussion about the world’s top boxers.
But now, with the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto dominating headlines and PPV events the idea of a pound for pound rating system ranking smaller fighters ahead of their larger, less skilled counterparts makes perfect sense.
I have a new idea…or, rather, a twist on the pound for pound rating system. Let’s add a new component. Let’s begin rating prospects the same way we have rated the top boxers over the decades. While it’s easy to obfuscate the parameters of a general pound for pound debate between the superiority of Manny Pacquiao or Kelly Pavlik depending on one’s preference; be it titles held or excitement provided. A similar debate focused solely on untested prospects would focus purely on skill and talents.
This is a chance to discuss the merits of Andre Ward compared to those of Yuriorkis Gamboa. Does Alfredo Angulo belong on the list? Where should we rank Devon Alexander? With refinement and resources, the criteria should eventually look like the rating systems used to evaluate the top college football and basketball players prior to the NFL and NBA drafts or of minor league baseball players prior to their entry into the major leagues. It’s far from mathematically exact and there’s no way to know for certain that a prospect will handle a move up to the next level. But it makes the discussion about younger fighters far more interesting.
I’ve been toying with the idea and here’s what I have so far. Since all I really have access to right now is Boxrec and my tapes and DVDs, I’m starting with these parameters; Eligible boxers must meet the following criteria:
* Fight professionally, top amateurs cannot be considered * Cannot currently or ever have held a recognized world title (e.g. WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO) * Have a minimum of eight professional bouts
I figure it’s easier to start off with a basic framework then add to it as is necessary. I considered putting a maximum number of professional bouts, but I did not want to eliminate Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I also considered an age limit, but from time to time a Nate Campbell or Antonio Tarver comes along and is still a legitimate prospect his early 30s. Anyone who follows that career path should not be eliminated purely on the basis of their advanced age.
So, here’s my top 10 P4P Prospect list.
1. Andre Ward 16-0 (11 KOs) 2. Amir Khan 18-0 (14 KOs) 3. Devon Alexander 15-0 (8 KOs) 4. Abner Mares 17-0 (10 KOs) 5. Yuriorkis Gamboa 10-0 (8 KOs) 6. Andre Dirrell 15-0 (10 KOs) 7. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. 36-0-1 (29 KOs) 8. Lamont Peterson 25-0 (12 KOs) 9. Vanes Martirosyan 20-0 (13 KOs) 10. Alfredo Angulo 13-0 (10 KOs)
Obviously, everything is open for debate. That’s the whole point of ranking a group of largely unproven fighters by such incredibly subjective means. If I had access to CompuBox resources I’d do a lot of empirical analysis and probably end up with a different list. As it is, CompuBox probably doesn’t even have data on every fight these 10 have participated in much less every boxer eligible. This process is in its preliminary stages. I just wanted to get the ball rolling.
The Contender Season Four
So, ?The Contender? is going with Cruiserweights, landed on Versus and is moving to Singapore, huh? Talk about a change of pace. Anyway, if they really do land the likes of O’Neil Bell, Aaron Williams, BJ Flores, Johnathan Banks, etc. then it’ll definitely be the first time it truly featured a majority of the advanced prospects and bonafide contenders that the division has to offer. Maybe the idea is to give the 200 lb. division a bit of a push while the Heavyweight division mops itself up?
