Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Is Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather on Top?

We sports fans love lists. And the pound-for-pound rankings may be the single most subjective yet prestigious list in all of sports. Why and where we rank fighters is almost entirely determined by each fan, yet every boxer in the world wants to be the pound-for-pound king. So, to give those fighters one more list to dominate, here are my top 20 pound-for-pound boxers in the world.

1. Floyd Mayweather 42-0 (26)

Though it pains me a bit to do it, Mayweather has taken over the top spot in the rankings based on most recent performance. Manny Pacquiao struggled to squeak by Juan Manuel Marquez last November, while Money May dominated and knocked out Victor Ortiz, though the knockout blow was what Larry Merchant called a "legal sucker punch."

2. Manny Pacquiao 54-3-2 (38)

The photo above is a pretty apt description of why Pacquiao got bumped out of the top spot. Instead of blowing out an older (though still excellent), smaller fighter, he went virtually even up with his old nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez. I know, I know, styles make fights, but at this point in their careers, their fight on Nov. 12 should have been a blowout.

That's OK, though; Mayweather and Pacquiao can settle it in the ring

3. Sergio Martinez 48-2-2 (27)

Martinez is one special fighter. Though it does not factor into his ranking, the way he stood up to the World Boxing Council and Jose Sulaiman (or Slimy-man, as I call him) was really impressive. But what gets him to No. 3 on my list is his resume over the past few years.

Since fighting Paul Williams in December of '09, he has won the Ring Magazine's middleweight world championship, and the closest thing he's taken to a soft touch was Darren Barker, who was undefeated at the time. Furthermore, the wins he's compiled over the past two years have been won in style. 

4. Juan Manuel Marquez 53-6-1 (39)

Marquez looks like he's winding down his career and has even said that he might call it quits if he doesn't get a desired fourth match with Pacquiao. Frankly, that would be shocking. Maybe he can't beat Mayweather or Pacquiao (whom many think he has beaten), but there are still plenty of interesting fights to be made. How about Golden Boy stablemate Amir Khan, if Khan is able to land and win a rematch with Lamont Peterson?

5. Andre Ward 25-0 (13)

Ward may be the classiest boxer in the game. Just look at his post-fight remarks following the culmination of the Super Six.

As with Martinez, though, that isn't what earns him a pound-for-pound ranking. No, in fact, it's the work that he did in the Super Six that gets him in the top five. Running a gauntlet without suffering a loss like he has is very difficult.

Try to think of the last fighter you saw fight five top-five fighters in a row without losing. Ward's the only one I can think of.

6. Nonito Donaire 27-1 (18)

Donaire has been on a pretty good run over the past two years, but his opposition hasn't been quite as good as Andre Ward's. Still, his flashy talent, and the style with which he's beaten most of his recent competition, earns him a high ranking. Just check out his second-round knockout of Fernando Montiel, which is probably his best win since beating Vic Darchinyan in 2007. 

7. Bernard Hopkins 53-5-2 (32)

It's a shame B-Hop is nearing the end of his career. Then again, is he? He may be 47 years old, but the man is whipping fighters 15 and 20 years younger than him, and his only bad performance in recent years was an ugly win against Roy Jones, Jr. As a matter of fact, since losing to Jermain Taylor for the second time in 2005, Hopkins is 7-1-1 with one no-contest, and the only lower-level opponent he's fought during that period was Enrique Ornelas.

He's an all time great, he's still active and he's still successful against a high level of competition, so he gets a top-10 pound-for-pound ranking. 

8. Wladimir Klitschko 56-3, (49)

Though Klitschko is a charming guy, his style drives me batty. Still, you can't argue with a resume, and Klitschko's is undeniable. Since being knocked out by Lamon Brewster almost seven years ago, the man has been on a tear, practically cleaning out the division while going 14-0 (10). He's beaten almost every top-10 heavyweight and has barely lost a round. If only he were more fun to watch. 

9. Miguel Cotto 37-2 (30)

Cotto has probably lost a step over the past few years. Timothy Bradley may be a little closer to his peak than Cotto. Doesn't matter. Cotto's accomplishments over his career are greater than Bradley's, and outside of Devon Alexander, Bradley hasn't fought a fighter who could be ranked first in his division.

To put it a little differently, maybe if Cotto and Bradley were the same size, Bradley would win. But, while Margarito is no elite fighter any more, Joel Casamayor at this point isn't even a Margarito. Furthermore, avenging a defeat is always a big accomplishment.

10. Timothy Bradley 28-0 (12)

You probably guessed it while reading the last slide. Yep, Bradley is No. 10, but we could probably call Cotto and Bradley 9a and 9b. In terms of ability at this point, Bradley probably has a slight edge over Cotto, but as stated before, Cotto's overall body of work is better at this point.

In any case, in addition to the aforementioned win over Alexander, Bradley has wins over Lamont Peterson, Kendall Holt, Luis Carlos Abregu and Nate Campbell when he was still good. The guy can fight; he just made a stupid business and sports decision when he turned down a fight against Khan.

11. Carl Froch 28-2 (20)

Sure, he got outclassed by Andre Ward, but what super middleweight wouldn't? Lucian Bute? Maybe. But Froch's wins are more impressive than his losses, and his loss to Mikkel Kessler wasn't a particularly bad one.

In any case, even if you don't like to let a body of work be the primary factor in rating fighters, imagine a round robin in which all of the fighters were magically the same. Froch would be standing among the final 15, and I say he'd be standing at 11. He's big, strong, tough and he boxes better than we gave him credit for.

12. Vitali Klitschko 43-2 (40)

You can certainly make the argument that he lost to the two best fighters he's faced. I'd argue that he has never been behind on the scorecards in a professional fight, and furthermore, who's better than him today? In fact, his loss to Lennox Lewis sent the Briton into retirement.

Yes, it's disappointing that he's going to fight Derek Chisora. But the truth is, Klitschko and his little brother have beaten everyone there is to beat. Let's hope Seth Mitchell develops into something special.

13. Lucian Bute 30-0 (24)

Lucian Bute is one helluva fighter. He has some weaknesses and hasn't fought the very best super middleweights yet, but overall, he's a real talent. Just watch him take out Librado Andrade. As a matter of fact, apart from the first Andrade fight, Bute hasn't struggled with anyone throughout his career. 

14. Chris John 46-0-2 (22)

Chris John has only ever beaten one elite boxer, and that was almost six years ago. But what an elite fighter he beat: Juan Manuel Marquez. Besides that, he doesn't have too many very good wins. Beating Rocky Juarez and Hiroyuki Enoki is OK, but what really gets him ranked is longevity. He's been fighting for 14 years, hasn't sustained a loss and has defended his title (though it is a paper title) 14 times. He's very good, and has been for a long time.

15. Yuriorkis Gamboa 21-0 (16)

Gamboa gets ranked for almost the exact opposite reason John did. John has been steady if unspectacular for a long time; Gamboa has been spectacular over mediocre to good opposition for a short period of time.

RingTv.com ranks Gamboa much the same way I do: just outside the top 10 with an expectation that he'll be crack it soon. He's an extraordinary talent, and greatness is expected of him. If only Juan Manuel Lopez hadn't lost...c'est la vie.

16. Chad Dawson 30-1 (17)

Poor Chad Dawson. After two years of beating up then-elite Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, he finally gets to box against someone else and promptly loses to Jean Pascal. Then, he seemed to be doing some good work against Bernard Hopkins and foolishly body slammed him.

Still, this guy is highly talented and physically gifted. Let's hope he gets the rematch with Hopkins (and that no one is foolish enough to put the fight on Pay Per View) and then starts fighting younger contenders. Four man tournament between Tavoris Cloud, Jean Pascal, B-Hop and "Bad" Chad, anyone? 

17. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam 83-3-2 (44)

Wonjongkam has been fighting since 1994. That's almost 20 years, yet he only has one signature victory, against Koki Kameda, to regain his title in 2010. After that, there are wins over Edgar Sosa last year and the fastest knockout in a flyweight title fight against Daisuke Naito in 2002. Still, as with Chris John, he's an excellent fighter with excellent skills. It would just be nice to see him challenge himself more than a few times over the course of almost 90 fights.

18. Toshiaki Nishioka

Nishioka isn't exactly a household name in America (then again, neither is Wonjongkam), but that's not what the pound-for-pound list is about. He can flat-out fight and might be the hardest puncher at 122 pounds. He's coming off his most recognizable win, against Rafael Marquez, and is hoping to parlay that into a fight against Nonito Donaire.

Additionally, though, Nishioka has wins against Rendall Munroe, Jhonny Gonzalez, Ivan Hernandez (when he was still good...ish) and Genaro Garcia (same caveat). He may be a late bloomer, but better late than never. 

19. Brandon Rios 29-0-1 (22)

Rios is the second-best lightweight in the world according to both RingTv.com and ESPN.go.com, and although I think Robert Guererro will ultimately have a better career, with rankings like these, there's always some "what have you done for me lately?"

Rios has been on an impressive tear since beating Jorge Luis Teron in 2010. He has beaten contenders John Murray, Urbano Antillion and Miguel Acosta, all dramatically and all definitively. There are questions about his professionalism after he didn't show up on weight for the fight against Murray, and he lost touch with a lot of people when he made fun of Freddie Roach's Parkinson's disease, but he fights like he means it.

20. Abner Mares 23-0-1 (13)

I was on the fence about this one. I wasn't sure whether Lamont Peterson might deserve it more, but after looking at their records side-by-side and factoring in the close nature of Peterson's win over Amir Khan, I had to give it to Mares. He has three consecutive wins over two top five ranked boxers in his division, and the only one with even a spot of controversy had more to do with the referee, Rusell Mora than with him.

In any case, back to Mares: he's fast, technically good, with enough pop to hurt elite bantamweights. How about a match with Jorge Arce or Anselmo Moreno (which would crown a Ring champion)?  

Honorable Mentions

Lamont Peterson: Has some nice wins and some very good skills, but I'm not certain he's elite. His victory over Khan raised as many questions as answers for me.

Amir Khan: One loss might be a fluke, but two makes me start to worry. A lot of talent and heart, and some very good wins. I want to see how he comes back before I rank him too highly.

Roman Gonzalez: I think he's a pound-for-pound great waiting to happen. When he fights, he looks like Alexis Arguello. The problem is, he needs to fight a high-caliber opponent. Too bad Giovanni Segura lost.

Tavoris Cloud: Is right on the cusp. If he can get Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson or Bernard Hopkins in the ring and beat them, he cracks the top 20.

Juan Manuel Lopez: Avenging his defeat to Orlando Salido will go some way towards restoring credibility, but he needs to show improved defense and beat some elite guys before he starts climbing. Too bad Chris John won't leave Indonesia.

Brian Viloria: Maybe he's the guy Gonzalez should match up with. Viloria's problem is that he's mercurial, brilliant sometimes and sluggish at others. I have to see some consistency before he can move up.