Ah, yes. Much like the compulsion to get tattooed again so soon after getting your very first tattoo, the vaunted Pound-for-Pound list just keeps calling me back, baby.
It isn’t without good reason, Howlers. It has been over seven months since my first one (which, honestly, I thought was my last) and a lot has changed. But in the great tradition of my first list, Version 2.0 remains just as useless and unnecessary – perhaps even more so! And I will explain why my Top Ten are listed as such.
Read on and enjoy (or not; whatever you wanna do), friends!
1. Winky Wright (Middleweight Contender), 50-3-1 (25) I’ve always told myself that it would take a pretty significant performance by the former Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion or a lack of consistency and quality by my former #1 selection, Floyd Mayweather Jr., to facilitate a swap of the two in my list. And wouldn’t you know it? It took a draw of all things against the Undisputed Middleweight Champion of all fighters. Hardly the recipient of a controversial decision, Wright’s in the best place in the world right now. If he comes to his senses and decides he’d like a rematch for Jermain Taylor’s gold and beats him, he’s cemented. As for consistency on Winky’s part? He’s got it in spades, taking on no soft touches in no less than his last seven fights, taking on J.C. Candelo and Angel Hernandez when they were legitimate contenders before beating the likes of Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad and Sam Soliman before facing Taylor. Anyone’s top three current fighters will always be debatable under very educated circumstances (is anyone really wrong as long as there’s a good foundation for argument?) so with that in mind, I give you Winky Wright as #1.
2. Manny Pacquiao (Junior Lightweight Contender), 42-3-2 (33) Manny jumps three slots on my list because of something I stressed heavily in touting the #1-ness of Winky Wright and that’s consistency. I can’t speak for anyone else who throws together lists but in my eyes, it was only a matter of time before ‘Pac-Man’s’ march to the top of the featherweight/junior lightweight rankings scooted him higher than the likes of current top-rated junior lightweight Marco Antonio Barrera… and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Sure, Erik Morales beat Pacquiao in their first outing. But sure enough, that Terminator-style approach to fighting made certain that a brand-new fight plan be employed, bringing down the mighty ‘El Terrible’ in the tenth heat of their rematch. And say what you will about Oscar Larios. He may or may not be a speck worn after his third round TKO loss to World Junior Featherweight Champion Israel Vasquez, but he ain’t easy. And Pacquiao swept him. To top that, Pacquiao sees a rubbermatch against Morales for The Ring World Junior Lightweight Championship (Pacquiao’s #1 and Morales is #3 in ‘The Bible of Boxing’s’ ratings) in November. If Pac prevails, it’ll be a helluva way to cap off a great year at the top.
3. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Welterweight Contender), 34-0 (24) Yes, #3. And it all comes back to that big ‘C’ word: Consistency. This isn’t to say that ‘Pretty Boy’ hasn’t been consistent. He’s just consistently taking on fighters who lack the ability to define him. And if it isn’t the fighters, it’s the dodgy path to building a legacy. The IBF Welterweight title? Come on. I mean, yeah, Floyd ultimately bailed the belt but why even fight for it (while coughing up alphabet money) in the first place? With all the post-fight kafuffle as a result, facing Zab Judah, IMO, just came off as a ‘Super’ waste of time. Mayweather’s fully seated in his prime. It’s now time to take advantage of his stature and take on the true best of the best before it’s too late. One great fight can make it happen. Three that come to mind immediately are The Ring World Junior Welterweight Champion/WBA Welterweight Titlist Ricky Hatton, WBO Welterweight Titlist Antonio Margarito or WBO Junior Welterweight Titlist Miguel Cotto (but who hasn’t thought of those guys? Duh). Because let’s face it: The De La Hoya fight ain’t happening and Shane Mosley’s too busy at junior middle. Then again, #3 ain’t a bad town to coast through.
4. Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC Junior Lightweight Titlist), 62-4 (42) with 1 No-Contest Yes, it is one notch south, but what a tedious notch it was in prevailing over Rocky Juarez in May. And just when you think that hardship had past, ‘The Baby-Faced Assassin’s’ gotta step up and do it all over again in September. Bummer, man. Odds are, Juarez’ odds in beating Barrera in the rematch’ll look a little nicer and unfortunately, Juarez’ll make Barrera look a little older. The truth is, not every fighter can be Erik Morales and piss you off into a frenzy and if it takes that kind of fighter to make you stand out, well, you might just wanna stick to the Mzonke Fanas of the world and keep well away from the Manny Pacquiaos and Rocky Juarezs of the world.
5. Bernard Hopkins (World Light Heavyweight Champion), 47-4-1 (32) with 1 No Contest Damned if we all didn’t think the elder statesman of Our Sport was done for after his second debatable loss to Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor. It just shows us all how little we really know about this game because in June, ‘B-Hop’s’ ’farewell’ performance and victory over Antonio Tarver proved to be a career-defining tour-de-force for the record-breaking former middleweight king. Will he or won’t he stick around? Can he resist the allure of victory and legacy? If so, we’ll undoubtedly see Bernard Hopkins grace the fabled Halls of Canastota, New York in 2011. You can bank on that. Until he makes any possibility of a ring return null and void, Hopkins’ win over Tarver takes him to #5.
6. Ricky Hatton (World Junior Welterweight Champion/WBA Welterweight Titlist), 41-0 (30) Featured at #10 on my last list, World Junior Welterweight Champion (as recognized by The Ring so, to me, it still counts…) Ricky Hatton might wanna change his first name to ‘Risky’ because he skated a loose tight-rope in challenging likeable southpaw welter Luis Collazo for the WBA strap in May. Many observers thought Collazo actually won (although the controversy was minimal, at best) and if you saw the contrast in their countenances, post-fight, you might be inclined to agree, but what’s true is true: Hatton squeaked by and now must commit to a mandatory defense against Germany’s Oktay Urkal if he’d like to keep the WBA belt. I mentioned in my last list that “Hatton needed to up the quality of competition at 140 or leap to welter and invade.” Well, Hatton did the latter and indeed experienced mixed results so a return to 140 certainly isn’t out of the question. After all, he hasn’t turned in his Ring belt yet so he’s still the champ. When at the end of the day, making that jump to 147 and facing a genuine livewire while there did the trick. Ricky Hatton remains at #6 on my list.
7. Jermain Taylor (Undisputed Middleweight Champion), 27-0-1 (17) Sometimes you can’t win even when you’re undefeated. Imagine being Jermain Taylor. Young, personable, handsome, with a beautiful wife and a great kid along with a stack o’ belts. Everything’s perfect except for that one nagging issue. Getting that one decisive win over that one top-flight fighter to convince one and all that you’ve really arrived and that you’re not just some heavily adorned prospect. It’s just that close, huh? But anyhoo, let’s not get so caught up in how ‘Bad Intentions’ has fared against his championship opposition, as much as considering his opposition itself. Bernard Hopkins in two straight fights followed by a Winky Wright chaser? C’mon, how many other fighters are going out of their way to track down the best of the best to prove themselves? Yeah, I figured so. And this cat’s the real champ at 160 to boot. Not Javier Castillejo (although he is one of my faves) or Arthur Abraham. So what held Taylor back from rising further in my unofficial-yet-officially crappy list? Maybe it was the lack of a decisive enough win. Sue me. But what kept Taylor on this list (and even two spots higher at that) was his holding back the challenge of the game Winky Wright in the best middleweight fight of the year thus far. If Winky changes his mind about a rematch with Taylor, look for a more determined champion (much more united with trainer Emanuel Steward) to show up for work. Wright will have his work cut out for him, indeed.
8. Joe Calzaghe (World Super Middleweight Champion), 41-0 (31) Another surprise to many of us so-called experts was the ridiculously one-sided championship effort the new Ring World Super Middleweight Champion dealt to former IBF titlist Jeff Lacy in March. I know I was on the side of the ‘Left Hook’ Mafia, pre-fight. No shame there. There were a lot of us and boy, did we look the fools in the aftermath! Humility aside, Joe Calzaghe toppled a brick shithouse in Lacy and took the very first Ring Super Middle Championship as well as Lacy’s IBF strap to add to Calzaghe’s long defended WBO trinket while giving us a man to beat at 168. Once the Mikkel Kessler-Markus Beyer throwdown is history, maybe the winner (my money’s on The Viking Warrior, Kessler) will make the ultimate unification and one of the best fights in the division’s 24-year history happen. Of course, the odds of me waking up in a cornfield in nothing but my underwear, hung over and covered in vomit are minutely better but hey, I’ll hold out hope.
9. Israel Vazquez (World Junior Featherweight Champion), 40-3 (29) Yes, Israel Vazquez. And just why the hell not?! Well, didn’t he stick the fork in Oscar Larios to capture The Ring’s World Junior Featherweight Championship last December and cut Ivan Hernandez’ head in June more times than a canasta deck? Damn straight. Vazquez, who’s flown under the radar for years is finally coming into his own, save for getting noticed in his rematch against against Larios four years ago (playing in rotation generously on ESPN Classic these days!). Four out of his last five wins were secured by stoppage against good to damn good opposition. By staking his claim to the 122-pound division, Vazquez has few frontiers to conquer. Maybe a fight with perennially raw Daniel Ponce De Leon or unpronounceable-yet-highly (and I do mean HIGHLY) padded Somsak Sithchatchawal and then truck to 126. But Vazquez got on this list because of his quality of opposition, consistent results and honor he earned as a real World Champion. Fair play to him.
10. Miguel Cotto (WBO Junior Welterweight Titlist), 27-0 (22) Man, that Coyote’s really gotta be on peyote for this one, huh? Nope. Haven’t been able to score some in at least five or so years. But on to Cotto. Look, it isn’t his performance against the Poster Boy For Nuts and Guts, Paul Malignaggi, that got Cotto on my list. It’s a cumulative consideration of the likes of Malignaggi. Tough guys for Cotto’s caliber. Although Cotto’s defended his WBO strap seven times, his level of competition has been solid for a kid like him. Wanna be fair? Go back as far as 2002 when Cotto TKO’ed Justin Juuko in only Cotto’s tenth fight. Most pundits believe that was the last time Floyd Mayweather Jr. took on a live body. How about less than a year later when Cotto TKO’ed former WBC Lightweight Titlist Cesar Bazan in the 11th? Sure, Cotto’s had his wobbles. Big deal. You never know how to handle the obstacle until you’re thrown headlong into it. Miguel Cotto’s being tested from all angles and all styles and I think now’s the time to drop the WBO bauble, hit welterweight and track down Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito, Ricky Hatton and yes, even Floyd Mayweather Jr. Oh, and let’s dispense with the whole ‘Next Felix Trinidad’ bit, huh? Maybe we’re seeing the ‘First Miguel Cotto’ here.
