As America prepares for its Fourth of July celebration, here’s a look at the nation’s top boxers:
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs)
The frustratingly inactive 5-division former world champ is widely regarded as the most skilled fighter in the sport today. In his last bout, he nearly shut-out the consensus top ranked welterweight at the time, Shane Mosley. Mayweather also holds victories over Zab Judah, Oscar De la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, and Genaro Hernandez. His next fight is scheduled for September 17 against the current WBC welterweight champ, Victor Ortiz.
2. Bernard Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs)
The 46-year-old seemed all but finished a year ago after two back-to-back lackluster wins against Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones Jr. Then, a December 2010 draw with WBC light heavyweight champ, Jean Pascal and a unanimous decision title-winning rematch against Pascal five months later, put B-Hop back at the top of the 175 lb. division. The former unified middleweight champ and current consensus top light heavyweight is scheduled to face former world champ, Chad Dawson, in October.
3. Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs)
This Olympic gold medalist has marked his territory on the main stage with a dazzling two year stretch, which has seen him score one-sided unanimous decisions over Arthur Abraham, Sakio Bika, Allan Green, and Edison Miranda as well as a dominant eleventh round technical decision over Mikkel Kessler. At 27-years of age and with Carl Froch waiting for him in the finals of the World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament, there’s plenty of more room for growth.
4. Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs)
The consensus #1 ranked jr. welterweight in the world and WBC/WBO title holder has been inactive since his tenth round technical decision victory over Devon Alexander in January. Although nothing is planned for the immediate future, Bradley’s past work, which includes two title unification bouts and several other high-profile wins, is more than enough to earn him this high ranking.
5. Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs)
Dawson’s stock fell sharply after losing his title via eleven-round technical decision to Jean Pascal last August, but a one-sided win over fringe contender, Adrian Diaconu, helped restore some of his world class credibility. Prior to the loss to Pascal, Dawson had scored some impressive wins with two decision victories apiece over Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver as well as wins over Tomasz Adamek and Eric Harding. Dawson is scheduled to meet Bernard Hopkins in October.
6. Steve Cunningham (24-2, 12 KOs)
Philadelphia’s Cunningham is the current IBF cruiserweight champion and he also holds the distinction of having beaten all three of the other reigning title holders at one point or another. Cunningham has been at, or near, the top of the division for the better part of six years with wins over Marco Huck, Guillermo Jones, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Troy Ross, and Wayne Braithwaite topping the list of career achievements.
7. Robert Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KOs)
The lanky southpaw from Gilroy, California has already held world title belts in three divisions (featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight) over the course of three years. Technically sound and physically gifted, Guerrero has recently started adding a dedicated aggression to his game, making him even tougher to deal with as an opponent. He’s scheduled to face jr. welterweight, Marcos Maidana in an August showdown which should let him know if he can move up and be competitive in a stacked 140 lb. weight class.
8. Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KOs)
After about two years where Judah seemed lost and drifting between contender and pretender status, the veteran southpaw is back at jr. welterweight and has scored three quality wins in a row, besting Jose Armando Santa Cruz, Lucas Matthysse, and Kaizer Mabuza since his return to the division where he won his first title. Judah is scheduled to meet Amir Khan on July 23 in his biggest fight since he faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2006.
9. Paul Williams (29-2, 27 KOs)
Rebounding from a brutal second round KO at the hands of middleweight champ, Sergio Martinez, in November of last year, Williams has returned to the jr. middleweight division, where he holds wins over Verno Phillips, and Kermit Cintron. The lanky southpaw from Georgia also holds wins over Sergio Martinez and Winky Wright at middleweight and Antonio Margarito at welterweight. “The Punisher” is scheduled to face Cuban amateur stand-out, Erislandy Lara, on July 9.
10. Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs)
The reigning WBC welterweight champion salvaged a fading young career by turning in an exciting and memorable title-winning performance against Andre Berto in April. Ortiz has scored wins over Antonio Diaz, Nate Campbell, and Mike Arnaoutis in his career, but is best known for his TKO 6 loss against Marcos Maidana in 2009. the 24-year-old southpaw is scheduled to meet Floyd Mayweather Jr., September 17.
Five to Watch: Tavoris Cloud, Kelly Pavlik, Brandon Rios, Andre Berto, Cornelius Bundrage
Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and The Boxing Tribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.
