I am often besieged with the query: Who is the best fighter alive today? In professional boxing, the pound-for-pound ranking is a good place to find answers. It is a mythical ranking of fighters based on their abilities and achievements.
The operative word here is mythical; hence, it is by no means official. It is not sanctioned by any of the alphabet bodies and every boxing scribe has his own take of who the best pound for pound fighter is. In short, your opinion is as good as anybody’s for that matter.
That being the case, allow me to share The Last Round’s pound-for-pound list. I have limited it to only eight deserving fighters. I will give credit only where it is due:
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.- The best fighter in the world struts his wares tomorrow at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas to challenge Carlos Baldomir for the welterweight crown. He is a former super featherweight, lightweight, and junior welterweight champion. He is extremely talented, fast, powerful and always superbly conditioned. He can beat you coming forward, moving backward, lying back against the ropes or possibly even lying on his bed with his pajamas on. Undefeated and supremely confident of his natural boxing abilities, Floyd is indeed the pound for pound king.
2. Manny Pacquiao- The Pacman is no. 2 on my list because he has not dominated as many weight classes as Floyd has. But hey, being second to superman means you are better than everybody else.
3. Bernard Hopkins- The Executioner still makes the list because this columnist thinks that his retirement is pure hogwash. Right after he dethroned over-hyped light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver, he remarked that he would come out from the grave for a $10-million fight. So much for his promise to his mother.
4. Winky Wright- This slick southpaw shamed Shane Mosely twice and made Felix Trinidad look like an amateur. Although his last fight with middleweight champ Jermain Taylor was officially ruled a draw, this column scored the fight for the Winkster.
5. Ricky Hatton- This undefeated Englishman thrashed former pound-for-pound entrant Kostya Tsyu to win the junior welterweight crown before moving up to welterweight to annex the WBA crown.
6. Marco Antonio Barrera- His loss to the Pacman notwithstanding, this proud Mexican warrior is back on track, scoring career boosting wins against archrival Erik Morales and prospect Rocky Juarez.
7. Jermain Taylor- This US 2000 Olympian ended Bernard Hopkins’ record streak of 20 middleweight title defenses. He has a wicked left jab and a booming right hand behind it. He is undefeated and one of boxing’s newest superstars.
8. Joe Calzaghe- Largely due to geography and poor matchmaking, this southpaw Welshman remained boxing’s best-kept secret for years. He quietly dominated the super middleweight division before thrashing young upstart Jeff Lacy to prove that indeed he is one of the best.
King without a kingdom. Being the best however, does not equate with box office success. When the world’s best boxer fights, does the world in fact take notice? I’m afraid not. Mayweather’s last fight against head case Zab Judah generated only 350,000 buys, a far cry from the biggest non-heavyweight pay per view event to date, the De la Hoya-Trinidad snoozer, which attracted 1,250,000 paying customers. Mayweather’s pound for pound predecessors-Roy Jones Jr., Shane Mosely and Bernard Hopkins, also failed to become the crossover stars that boxing needed. Contrast that to Mike Tyson and Oscar de la Hoya, boxing’s biggest draws, who both have the ability to captivate even the casual boxing fan, but never even reached the pound-for-pound pinnacle.
But now that Iron Mike has been reduced into a sideshow, and the Golden Boy is just a fight away from retirement, boxing needs a new pair of shoulders to carry its cross. Is Floyd Mayweather the savior? Maybe. Maybe not. For now he’s boxing’s best superstar, but definitely not the brightest.
The Last Round. This week’s last round is on newly appointed PMS Chief Cerge Remonde and his wife Marit, pound for pound, a potent mix of beauty and brains. Cheers guys!
