BoxingWatchers.com Boxer Power Rankings—End of 2008

Welcome to the final set of power rankings for 2008. With all due respect to Nikolai Valuev (actually, maybe not that much respect), everyone of consequence has finished their fight schedules for the year.

If you've been to BoxingWatchers.com before, you'll remember that this is not a pound-for-pound list (we recently did one of those too), but a pseudo-scientific way of ranking how boxers have been performing over a rolling three-year period.

Staying active, winning and winning by KO all help your score. Losing, obviously, does not. Fighting people who come into the bouts on winning streaks also helps. A "perfect" score would be 36, and anything above 20 is pretty damn good.

Some great boxers like Bernard Hopkins aren't on this list because they haven't been active enough. Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao? He's here, but not holding down the top spot.

Intrigued? Read on...

1. Arthur Abraham - 24.96

Yes, he pretty much fights exclusively in his native Germany. But it's hard to say any world class boxer at any weight class is on as much of a roll right now. Since May of 2007, King Arthur has knocked out six straight opponents.

2. Wladimir Klitschko - 23.67

Is it his fault the heavyweight division is less than scintillating? Dr. Steelhammer can only fight the guys who are out there, and with the notable exception of the Sultan Ibragimov fight, he's been taking care of business.

3. David Haye - 21.07

He's fun to watch because there's always the feeling he could get the KO or end up looking up at the lights himself. It looks like he's getting his shot at Vitali Klitschko in June, so next year could be a big one for Haye.

4. Celestino Caballero - 20.72

Fresh off an impressive knockout of previously undefeated Steve Molitor, Caballero makes his first appearance in these rankings. I'd love to see him fight Israel Vazquez.

5. Manny Pacquiao - 20.62

Pac Man proved the doubters wrong by wiping the mat with Oscar De La Hoya. Now we'll watch anxiously to see if he can succeed the Golden Boy as the top draw in the sport.

6. Vic Darchinyan - 17.00

Vic enters the rankings after pretty much dominating highly regarded Cristian Mijares. His February fight with Jorge Arce should be a fun one.

7. Andre Berto - 16.34

Though undefeated, Berto has his fair share of critics waiting to be impressed. He'll get a chance in the first intriguing bout of 2009 when he steps in against Luis Collazo.

8. Paul Williams - 15.89

The Punisher is a champion at 154 pounds but is willing to move up or down to make the right fight. A case could be made that he's entering the new year as the most avoided boxer out there.

9. Kelly Pavlik - 15.36

Marco Antonio Rubio awaits in February as The Ghost returns to his hometown and a more comfortable middleweight division. The big question is when he will face Abraham.

10. Antonio Margarito - 15.20

Endangered his rep for fighting anyone, anywhere by holding out for more money to face Shane Mosley, but it's all good now. We know he's not scared of Mosley, or anyone for that matter.