This is no precise science, so I?m winging it here. When you see most PFP lists, fighters from all weight classes are lumped in together. I figured I?d make it easy-ish on you readers out there as well as myself and take it by weight class. And figuring the ?best? boxers in the world HAVE NOT (or will not) fight each other, this short list is highly debatable, if not downright WRONG to the naked eye. Check my list, check it twice, and then give me your comments, whether ugly or nice.
HEAVYWEIGHT- Vitali Klitschko: Most of my Boxing Insider compatriots will flip their collective lids when they read this choice. For years I?ve been saying that Wladimir, not Vitali is the best pure boxer in the division. But after Wlad?s recent moment-in-the-spotlight vs. David Haye (in which he failed to deliver spectacularly), all I have to do is close my eyes and envision a fight between himself and big brother and the answer as to ?who would win? is easy. Wladimir can bring all the skill in the world to the ring, but Vitali brings the even bigger size, tough-to-figure-skill set and punch output to beat him. Not to mention Vitali has the proven better chin and the ?Big Brother? psychological edge over Wlad. So figuring these two will never duke it out anyway, and they are the #1 and #2 heavyweights in the world today, my hypothetical gut instinct tells me Vitali would prevail in this not-gonna-happen-ever match-up. Therefore, in this case, he would be the #1 PFP man in the division.
CRUISERWEIGHT- Steve Cunningham: This one was slightly tough, but still definitive. If you look at most ratings in the cruisers, you normally see Cunningham?s name at the paramount. But also names like Marco Huck, Denis Lebedev, Krzystof Wlodarczyk and Antonio Tarver can be yanked into the argument, in part because skill-wise, these guys are damn-near at the same level, with perhaps Tarver being the only exception. Thing is, Cunningham has defeated all of the aforementioned pugilists minus Lebedev and Tarver. But Huck defeated Lebedev, and Tarver is 40+ years old. That might not be fair to Antonio?s skills, but I just can?t see him defeating Cunningham at his advanced age. Another fact that could be argued is that Wlodarczyk did defeat Cunningham by SD back in 2006, but Steve won the rematch a year later in another close scrap. It would be a clearer picture if there were ?True? marquee fights out there for Cunningham. But aside from his SD victory over now-heavyweight title challenger Tomasz Adamek back in 2008, most of Cunningham?s more recent victories have been against pretty non-descript guys. And that?s why this pick is hard to gauge here in 2011. So I?ll leave it at this: On any given night, the spot for #1 at cruiserweight is ready to be taken. Perhaps Cunningham should follow in the steps of Adamek and move up to heavyweight. Everybody keeps screaming for a REAL US-based heavyweight contender. Maybe Cunningham is the guy, or maybe not. Thing is, he?s not getting any younger, and his options at 190-lbs are limited to say the very least.
