Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather and 10 Best Pound for Pound Battles for 2012

Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO), Floyd Mayweather (42-0, 26 KO), Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KO), Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO) and Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO) share a distinction in boxing.

They are all unanimously featured on every major boxing authority's pound for pound list. From BoxRec to Yahoo! Sports to "the bible of boxing" Ring Magazine, the same athletes are said to be among the best.

Many of these colorful characters on boxing's pound for pound list just so happen to be only one or two weight classes from each other. Some are even (GASP!) in the same division.

While seeing the best fighters take on the contenders of their crowded divisions is always interesting, it's always more intriguing to see the best actually fighting the best.

When Mayweather dominated Shane Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO) when Mosley was ranked third pound for pound, he first had to survive two hard shots from Mosley's heavy hands in Round 2 that wobbled him.

Martinez's shocking second-round knockout of Paul Williams (40-2, 27 KO) elevated Martinez in the pound for pound rankings. A former staple of pound for pound rankings, Williams exited those same lists.

Pacquiao and Marquez have fought in three heavily debated wars in the ring. The trilogy has helped build their careers, legacies and rankings substantially.

People gather around any pound for pound showdown because the outcomes are never certain when the best face the best. Even when the winner is expected, the path to the results can be unpredictable.

Great fights, moments and victories pave the way toward history. So here are the 10 best pound for pound showdowns that are actually possible in 2012.

10. Manny Pacquiao vs. Sergio Martinez

Manny Pacquiao is 5'6.5" tall with a 67-inch reach. Sergio Martinez is 5'10" with a 75-inch reach. This fight is highly unlikely even before considering their incredible difference in weight class.

Pacquiao is the WBO world champion in the welterweight (147 lbs) division. Martinez is the Ring Magazine world champion of the middleweight (160 lbs) division.

Pacquiao comes in the ring tops at 149 lbs while Martinez is known to inflate closer to 170 lbs on fight night. Pacquiao's team has already said they'd want a 150 lb catchweight.

For someone like Martinez, that might be too low a weight to drop down to and remain competitive in the ring. Martinez is 37 years old and going too far down in weight can affect his health.

Likewise, Pacquiao coming too far up in weight this far into his career can slow him down and make him more prone to be rattled, lying punch drunk on the canvas from a fast Martinez.

While many would like to see this fight, Team Pacquiao not bending on a more favorable catchweight between 147 and 160 means a victory over Martinez would become shallow and tainted.

Likelihood of Happening: 3 out of 10.

9. Floyd Mayweather vs. Timothy Bradley

Floyd Mayweather is currently expected to head to jail January 6 to serve a 90-day sentence for battery. That means he won't be free until possibly April. Then he'll need at least two months for training.

Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO) is the current WBO junior welterweight (140 lbs) world champion. He's had one fight at welterweight back in 2010 in which he dismantled an undefeated Luis Abregu (29-1, 23 KO).

Mayweather is expected to chase a fight with Pacquiao, but Pacquiao may have already fought Bradley by then. Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum has said he won't wait for Mayweather.

Bradley is one of his potential replacements as an opponent against Pacquiao. Should Pacquiao vs. Bradley go through in May or June and Bradley pull off the upset, Mayweather vs. Bradley could occur.

Bradley is undefeated, strong, fast and very dedicated to his craft. Pacquiao's last few performances in the ring have come under heavy scrutiny.

Against Mosley, Pacquiao didn't have the killer instinct of old to put Mosley away. Pacquiao allowed Mosley to literally run away for nine out of a 12 rounds of the fight.

Against Marquez, Pacquiao's defensive holes were exploited by his long-time Mexican rival in their third fight together.

Pacquiao looked puzzled at times, unable to truly hurt or drop Marquez as he did before in their first two fights. 

Bradley pulling off an upset is possible and Mayweather vs. Bradley presents an attractive matchup of slick undefeated Americans. The only problem will be Bradley and Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum.

Mayweather and Arum have a terrible history of negotiating with one another. This led to Mayweather buying out his fight contract from Arum to become a free agent.

Thanks to the fact that beating still powerful and fast Pacquiao is a tall order and Mayweather and Bradley will have to negotiate past promoter problems, this fight is highly unlikely.

Likelihood of Happening: 4 out of 10.

8. Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have battled three times. The first resulted in a draw. The second resulted in a narrow split decision victory for Pacquiao. Both fights fueled demand for a rematch.

In the third, the 38-year-old Marquez gave his best performance against Pacquiao only to end up with a majority decision loss to his greatest foe. Because of this, Pacquiao wants to stage another rematch.

Marquez, upset with the past judging decisions, wants the fight in somewhere else besides Las Vegas like Mexico or Texas.

While Mexico is out of the question given that is Marquez's home country, Texas is a strong possibility. Pacquiao has fought twice at the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, TX to strong ticket sales.

Given the closeness of Pacquiao-Marquez III and the fact that the fight will be in Texas next time in hopes of avoiding a scoring controversy, fans will be racing for a ticket to see the biggest rematch of the year.

Likelihood of Happening: 7 out of 10

7. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley is a great eliminator to determine Pacquiao's next opponent. Out of the choices for Pacquiao's next in-ring foe, Marquez and Bradley are the top two likeliest.

Why not stage a battle between the two? The winner gets another shot at Pacquiao and comes away with all the added value to his name of defeating the other. Unfortunately, only Bradley would benefit.

Marquez is a known name near the end of his career. Bradley's the young undefeated lion in need of opponents with name value. Marquez being fed to Bradley gives Bradley better name-value.

Then Bradley vs. Pacquiao becomes a better product to sell to the buying public. Both fighters have already traded words and would love to face one another if they can't get Pacquiao.

The match would have to be on the undercard of "Pacquiao vs. His Next Opponent" in order to sell well and achieve the maximum effect of exposure for Bradley, though the bout will be high risk for him as well.

Likelihood of Happening: 6 out of 10

6. Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley

Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley fight for the same promoter, Bob Arum. Pacquiao has also received criticism from his fellow boxers for not facing a prime contender or a Black American fighter.

Bradley just so happens to be both. He's fast, he's 28 and he's an elite Black American fighter. Bradley is one of the top choices to face Pacquiao this summer in Mayweather's absence.

The matchup seems likely and if Bradley wins, Arum has a new star to build off of. The matchup itself would be competitive with many questioning if Bradley has the power to keep Pacquiao off of him.

Another group of writers and fans will question whether Pacquiao still has what it takes to fend off a hungry opponent like Bradley.

Likelihood of Happening: 8 out of 10 

5. Floyd Mayweather vs. Sergio Martinez

Floyd Mayweather vs. Sergio Martinez has been hinted at and teased by members of both men's teams. The possibility of it actually happening is hard to fully assess.

While Martinez currently resides at middleweight (160 lbs), he was once a junior middleweight (154 lbs) and says he doesn't have any problem getting back down there.

Mayweather has only journeyed to junior middleweight (154 lbs) one time back in 2007 to defeat his most popular foe, Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KO). He could venture to 154 again for Martinez.

Martinez is roughly the same height as De La Hoya, possibly a half inch shorter. With that said, beating someone as big and athletic as Martinez is no small task. Martinez would have to be a selling point.

Will Martinez's size and skill sell enough pay-per-views to actually make the risk worth the reward? Martinez is gaining popularity with each fight, but not nearly enough to justify a fight with Mayweather.

Mayweather has shocked the world before by taking on high-risk opponents with ultimately nothing to bring to the promotion of the fight. He could do so again with this fight.

Likelihood of Happening: 5 out of 10

4. Andre Ward vs. Lucian Bute

Andre Ward, the winner of Showtime's Super Six Tourney to determine the best of the talented super middleweight (168 lbs) division, is now officially the man to beat.

Lucian Bute (30-0 24 KO) is his undefeated counterpart, yet because of his lack of participation in the Super Six, there is a feeling he will have to earn his spot in the super fight against Ward.

Though Bute has fought the best of what's left, Ward has dominated the actual best and that has pumped his career up with a level of credibility Bute's just doesn't have at this moment.

Truth be told, Bute can still fight Ward this year so long as he hurries up and defeats one or two former Super Six members such as Carl Froch (28-2, 20 KO) and Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KO).

Because of how tough these opponents can be, the Ward-Bute fight has a tough road toward actuality. Bute will either become acclaimed or exposed in his matches against the Super Six alumni.

Hopefully those fights will be Bute's coming out party. Until then, there's no way to truthfully determine Bute's worth and Ward will be left to keep conquering a kingdom of scarce challengers.

Likelihood of Happening: 7 out of 10

3. Wladimir Klitschko vs. Vitali Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KO) and Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KO) are the pinnacle of the heavyweight division. Both are superb world champions.

Wladimir holds the Ring, WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles. Vitali holds the WBC belt. Though the brothers have vowed to never clash against one another, it's fun to dream.

The bout would feature two heavy-handed fighters of great athletic ability and skill clashing in a bloody tactical battle.

Wladimir is five years younger than his 40-year-old brother, but Vitali is sometimes considered the more skilled of the two. If ever there was a 50/50 fight in boxing, this is the one.

Because they are brothers, getting them to fight each other would be the hardest battle of all.

Likelihood of Happening: 1 out of 10

2. Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao is the fight everyone wants to see, but as these warriors age, how much does everyone really want to see it?

Pacquiao had his worst performance in at least three years this past November against Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather could be perceived as the overwhelming favorite in light of that fight.

Marquez is an expert counter-puncher who gave Pacquiao problems. Mayweather is seen as the best counter-punching defensive fighter in the game. How many problems will he give Pacquiao?

But then people have failed to remember when the media and the fans were looking at how quick Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton and asked how many problems Pacquiao could give Mayweather.

The pendulum of public opinion switches with every match these two engage themselves in. On some nights, Pacquiao will look better. On other nights, Mayweather will look better.

It's only when these two actually sign up to get in the ring together to prove once and for all who is the better fighter, that the public's appetite will be satisfied. Everything else is just an appetizer.

Though Mayweather is in jail until April, Pacquiao's promoter has mentioned November or some other time in the fall as a possibility to stage the biggest fight of boxing's modern era.

Likelihood of Happening: 6 out of 10.

1. Andre Ward vs. Sergio Martinez

Andre Ward is an Olympic champion who became the inaugural winner of Showtime's experimental Super Six tournament to determine the next superstar in boxing.

He now owns the super middleweight Ring Magazine championship belt and the WBC and WBA world titles. Sergio Martinez owns the Ring Magazine belt at middleweight, only one division below.

Martinez has already disowned his place as a WBC-ranked fighter thanks to the fiasco behind his title being stripped for not fighting the right opponent. He's held onto his Ring Magazine belt with pride.

Ward has mentioned that out of all the accomplishments, prizes and belts he's received, he acknowledges the Ring belt as his greatest trinket. It proves he's the best in his division.

The Ring belt has no sanctioning fees and has the most accurate rankings in boxing right now, especially when compared to the WBC, WBA, WBO or IBF rankings.

Ward and Martinez are leading a new train of thought that bucks the old system of multiple-belt chasing in place of winning the one and only Ring belt and then fighting to defend it against the best available.

The two fighters are ranked within the top five pound for pound and a battle at catchweight could easily catapult either fighter to number one—164, 165? They can come to an agreement.

Martinez has also been very unhappy with HBO, who rejected the fight that would have allowed Martinez to keep his belt, resulting in Martinez being stripped. Now Martinez is threatening to go to Showtime.

Showtime has Ward in an exclusive contract, With their vow to continue to be competitive against their biggest rival HBO, snatching up Martinez in a three to four fight exclusivity deal would be major.

Showtime bought Andre Berto vs. Victor Ortiz II out from under HBO, who aired the original fight, all because they knew it would produce fan-friendly action. Martinez always produces fan-friendly action.

Ward is more of a technician who needs the right opponent to make his fights seem more war-like. When Ward meets Martinez, he'll push him to his boxing limits and force a war like no other.

Both men have great chins, great speed and highly contrasting styles that make for the best kind of fight. With Martinez's demand of a Pacquiao or Mayweather fight getting no traction, Ward is a must.

This may be a blessing in disguise because unlike if Martinez were to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao, Martinez will get more credit if he can somehow become the first to vanquish Ward.

For Ward, it's vice versa. If Ward were to defeat Martinez, especially in impressive fashion such as with a knockout, it would be a double-bonus.

If the fight is competitive as hell or controversial in any way, then another one is in order and a trilogy might begin. Either way, Boxing needs a pound for pound superfight to surprise and amaze people.

This is that fight.

Likelihood of Happening: 5 out of 10