With Jermain Taylor’s somewhat erratic victory over Kassim Ouma, the pound-for-pound best in boxing closed out 2006. That means it’s time to update SecondsOut’s list for the last time.
New Pound-For-Pound rankings here
In many ways, 2006 was a year of transition for the sport. Having said that, the list of the top 10 best in the business looks very much like it did on January 1st. The reason for that is simple: these guys just kept on winning. Including the draw result in Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright’s clash in the summer, the fighters included in this latest update produced a collective undefeated record over the past twelve months.
Of course, all this means that a fighter that had previously been included had to be dropped. Erik Morales, given his second loss to Pacquiao, has now permanently fallen from the ranks of the sport’s elite. Following his defeat he claimed that he will fight one more time and then go. It’s a shame that one of boxing’s staunchest warriors no longer has the stuff to make it in the ring, but that’s how things go. Replacing Morales is a fighter that’s a mainstay on many other pound-for-pound lists, and certainly deserves his spot on this one.
Something else to consider: following Pacquiao’s latest victory, there have been many fans and pundits that have stated that he should now be considered the #1 fighter in the sport, trumping Floyd Mayweather Jr., a virtually consensus choice previously. For reasons I explain in my rankings, I do not share this view. Needless to say, however, that this “battle” between the two of them is shaping up to be one of the big stories heading into 2007.
There are other fighters that didn’t crack the top 10 that stand a chance to do so in the near future. Juan Manuel Marquez, coming off a nice victory of Jimrex Jaca, is aiming to get his career back on track. Shane Mosley, who beat up on an already battered Fernando Vargas twice in a row, will hopefully take on even greater challenges. An Oscar De La Hoya win over Mayweather would certainly vault him back into a high spot on the list as well, though I consider such a victory to be unlikely. Meanwhile, there are plenty of young prospects rising through the ranks. One worth keeping an eye on is Edison Miranda, who suffered such injustice in his fight with Arthur Abraham.He has the skills and the confidence to make a real run in the middleweight league.
All in all, 2007 already looks to be an exciting year for the sport. Here’s hoping that at least one or two new faces appear on the pound-for-pound list by this time next December.
