Pound-for-Pound: Ranking Manny Pacquiao and Every Top Fighter in Boxing

It's the world's best topic for debate: a pound-for-pound ranking of the top fighters in boxing!

Are you a Manny Pacquiao fan? In Floyd Mayweather's camp? A follower of Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez? Wondering what desert island Paul Williams disappeared to? These rankings should show how boxing's best stack up against one another right now.

No. 1: Floyd Mayweather [42-0]

Floyd Mayweather is now the best fighter in boxing. After years of languishing behind Manny Pacquiao on most pound-for-pound lists, Mayweather thrashed rising fighter victory Ortiz in a controversial fourth-round KO in November.

But the controversy was over Mayweather's choice of punches; there was no doubt whatsoever that he was going to crush Ortiz in a very lopsided fight. Money looked as defensively-skilled, fast and slippery as ever and has not lost a step. By contrast, Pacquiao barely defeated longtime foe Juan Manuel Marquez this year so Mayweather again looks like the best in the sport.

Next up for Mayweather is a bout with Miguel Cotto for the WBA Super Welterweight title. Cotto is a bigger fighter who could be a challenge for Mayweather. But Cotto could not match Pacquiao's speed and versatility in their recent fight, which suggests that Mayweather's evasiveness, defense and underrated punching ability will put Cotto away in late-round TKO.

If Mayweather wins, then few potential challengers will remain, and fans may finally get a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather showdown!

No. 2: Manny Pacquiao [54-3-2]

The Fighting Congressman of the Philippines was boxing's pound-for-pound king for a long time. He won the title in 2008 with his demolishing win over a fading Oscar de la Hoya. But his recent tough victory over longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez, a fight that most felt he drew or lost, suggests that Floyd Mayweather is now the best in the sport.

Pacquaio's age, speed and punching power in recent fights suggest that he may have lost a step.  He remains an artist in the ring, but his punching speed and versatility is not quite what it was two or three years ago. Nonetheless, his current stuff will be more than enough to defeat Timothy Bradley in their upcoming summer fight. Bradley is a talented, undefeated fighter but he does not have the power to put Pacquiao down, so the Fighting Congressman will win that fight handily.  

After that, with an absence of viable challengers, Pacquiao may retire. Or hopefully, he will finally get in the ring with Mayweather to determine who is the best boxer of the 21st century! The two stars must face one another; their legacies depend on it.  

No. 3: Sergio Martinez [48-2-2]

Don't tell anyone, but Sergio Martinez may be the best fighter in all of boxing. The Argentine knocked out Paul Williams, who most believed was a match for Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, in the second round of their 2011 bout. He also has recent impressive victories over both Kelly Pavlik and Sergiy Dzinziruk.

His last fight was an 11th-round KO win over British fighter Darren Barker, which was an unimpressive matchup to begin with, but Martinez took care of business.  

Next, Martinez will be fighting Matthew Macklin, a sneaky good Irish fighter who should give the Argentine some trouble before losing the fight. Macklin has power and recently lost a split decision to middleweight champion Felix Strum, which shows his chops. But Martinez has the power and punching versatility to take him down and continue to establish his dominance of the middleweight division. 

No. 4: Wladimir Klitshko [56-3]

The younger Klitschko brother isn't going to lose a fight anytime soon. At this point, he looks unbeatable. Klitschko spent the last two years trying to get David Haye to fight him, and when Haye finally stepped into the ring, Klitschko got his revenge. He completely destroyed Haye before sending him home as a defeated and humiliated contender.

Looking forward, Klitschko's utter dominance the past few years has one serious downside: There are no real opponents left for him to face in the heavyweight division. Klitschko will continue looking for small potatoes contenders to fight. But, without any real challengers, he has no way to pursue or build up another major fight.

His next bout will be against a well-past-his-prime Jean-Marc Mormeck in March. Once Klitschko whitewashes him, there may be no one left to fight.  

No. 5: Andre Ward [25-0]

Andre Ward announced himself as boxing's new force to be reckoned with this year. His dominating December 2011 win over Carl Froch was the most impressive victory of the year and won him the WBC Super Middleweight Title.

Ward is undefeated at 25-0, and unlike Timothy Bradley, Ward has the power to dominate against elite fighters. He is probably too large to face either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, but he could get a good matchup against Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams or Andre Berto. If he wins, then he will be a boxing superstar.  

No. 6: Juan Manuel Marquez [55-6-1]

Marquez is the last true Mexican warrior in boxing. After his recent narrow defeat to Manny Pacquiao, he should be considered one of the very best in the sport.

It's truly incredible to think about how important Marquez is to Mexican boxing. Erik Morales remains active, but despite his best efforts, is clearly in decline. Marquez is the heir to the legacy of Julio Cesar Chavez, Marcos Antonio Barrera and Morales himself, and his near-victory over Pacquiao justified his status. 

Marquez's record contains only five career defeats. Two of those came in his previous fights with Pacquiao, and many believe Marquez actually won one or drew both. However, his fight against Floyd Mayweather was a one-sided loss, but Marquez was fighting at true welterweight. In reality, the Mexican warrior is a junior welterweight or lightweight and may well be the best in the world at those levels. Pound-for-pound, he is certainly one of the world's toughest, most talented boxers.

Looking forward, Marquez is still in great shape at 38 years old.  But it's hard to see who else he really wants to fight. He won't get another shot at Pacquiao, so will he take on one of the young champions like Victor Ortiz or Amir Kahn? Or will he ride off into the sunset while he still has it?

No. 7: Nonito Donaire [28-1]

Donaire remains a rising star in boxing, but he will need to rebound from a couple of lackluster performances. His recent fights have been decision wins over Omar Narvaez and Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., which was less than impressive.

Donaire's rise to prominence began with his shocking 2007 upset of then-undefeated star Vic Darchinyan. He then rose up boxing's lower weight classes while defeating former titlists Rafael Conception, Manuel Vargas, Hernan Marquez and Wladimir Sidorenko. That got him a fight with Fernando Monteil for the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles. Donaire's victory made him boxing's newest phenomenon.  

But since then, he has failed to live up to the hype, winning his bouts, but hardly in overwhelming fashion.

Donaire will need to find a good fight against a top contender in the lightweight division, perhaps Chris John or Yurokis Gamboa, and notch a dominating win to recapture the attention of the boxing world.  

No. 8: Timothy Bradley, Jr. [29-0-1]

Timothy Bradley was right to hold out on fighting Amir Khan after all. Everyone thought he was insane for turning it down, but Bradley ended up with the fight he wanted: a June bout against Manny Pacquiao.

Bradley is a talented, undefeated fighter. But the upcoming fight is likely his ceiling. Pacquiao has the speed to attack Bradley and penetrate his vaunted defense, and Bradley does not have the power to knock out the Fighting Congressman. So, Bradley will get his money, but if and when he loses to Pacquiao, what will be next?

No. 9: Bernard Hopkins [52-5-2-2]

Bernard Hopkins remains boxing's ageless wonder. At 46, he is still the king of the light-heavyweight division. Hopkins recently dismantled Jean Pascal to secure the crown and secure his legend. Although he briefly lost his title when Chad Dawson threw him to the ground in their most recent fight, the move was later ruled a foul and the fight declared a no-contest. The two agreed to an April rematch, and Hopkins will be gunning to knock Dawson out.  

No. 10: Amir Khan [26-2]

Amir Khan, boxing's British sensation, remains a rising star in the sport. He lost to Lamont Peterson in his most recent fight, but the result was highly controversial. The referee, playing perhaps to a pro-Peterson crowd in his hometown of Washington, DC, made two very questionable point deductions that ended up deciding the result of the fight.  

Khan and Peterson have since agreed to a May rematch, which should determine the top dog in the light-welterweight division and possibly create a new match for either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather.  

No. 11: Lamont Peterson [30-1-1]

Lamont Peterson may be the most underrated fighter in boxing. Truly, if it's not Sergio Martinez, it has to be Peterson. His defeat of Amir Khan, controversy aside, was impressive, and in May, he will get a chance to defeat Khan again and secure his dominance of the light welterweight division.  

Peterson has a lot at stake in his next fight. He is fighting to become the next American boxing star. If he defeats Khan and Timothy Bradley loses to Manny Pacquiao (as expected), Peterson could be in line for a very, very lucrative fight with either Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather.

No. 12: Miguel Cotto [37-2]

Miguel Cotto is one of the most underrated fighters in boxing. It seems almost unfair to rank him out of the top 10. But since Juan Manuel Marquez nearly defeated Pacquiao and Bradley has yet to face him while Cotto was crushed in four rounds, 11th is where he sits in the power rankings.

Cotto is always seen as a perennial also-ran, but that is unfair. He is a welterweight champion with only two losses in his career. One of those losses came against Antonio Margarito, and considering how well Cotto thrashed Margarito in December, there was likely some cheating involved. So, his one real loss was against Manny Pacquiao, which still leaves him in boxing's elite.

Looking forward, Cotto has an upcoming match with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather in May. Their bout will go a long way toward defining Cotto's career: If he loses, then he will always be seen as a strong champion who was a cut below the very best, but if he upsets Mayweather, then people will view him in a completely different light moving forward. 

No. 13: Victor Ortiz [29-3-2]

Victor Ortiz's meteoric rise up boxing's ranks came to an end at Floyd Mayweather's fist. Mayweather crushed Ortiz in their recent fight, and he will have to regroup after the brutal knockout.

But Ortiz is still viewed as a top fighter and draw. He will get a chance to rebound in his rematch with Andre Berto in June. If he defeats Berto again, he could match up against Lamont Peterson or Amir Khan in the fall.  

No. 14: Paul Williams [40-2]

Where is Paul "The Punisher" Williams? He was once the most feared fighter in boxing, a towering 6'1" middleweight who was 39-1 and owned career victories over Sergio Martinez and Winky Wright.  

In 2010, boxing pundits were fond of saying that neither Manny Pacquiao nor Floyd Mayweather would have a complete career if they declined to face Williams in the ring.

Those days are gone. They died when Williams was knocked out cold by Martinez in the second round of their November 2010 title fight. Williams was clearly shaken and took months to recover before notching an uninspiring decision win over Erislandy Lara.

Can Paul Williams rekindle his career? He will need to defeat upstart Nobuhiro Ishida this month. If he does it in impressive fashion, he could get a rematch with Martinez (if he even wants it) or perhaps Carl Froch, Andre Berto or Victor Ortiz.  

No. 15: Vitali Klitschko [42-2]

Like a fine wine, Vitali Klitschko has gotten better with age. The Russian giant has not lost a fight since a 2003 defeat to Hall of Famer Lennox Lewis. Will he ever go down again before he retires?

The big problem is that Vitali and his brother, Wladimir, are the only good fighters in the moribund heavyweight division. But since they will not fight one another,  heavyweight boxing is left with nothing interesting to see. Sadly, it's hard to see that changing in 2012.  

No. 16: Chris John: [46-0-2]

Chris John was the hardest boxer to rank in the whole pound-for-pound list. Where do you put a guy who is undefeated over 48 professional fights across more than a decade? You could make a case for John as high as five or as low as 20, depending on how you value the lightweight division. He is very tough to rank because though he is undefeated, most of his fights have been against very sub-par competition.

Nonetheless, he did defeat Juan Manuel Marquez back in 2006 for the featherweight title, which was an extremely impressive win.

But, based on his rising age and unimpressive string of fights over the last four years, he can't rank above the top welterweights or the Klitschko brothers. But if he notches one more signature victory before his retirement, that perception will change significantly. 

No. 17: Lucian Bute [29-0]

The good news is that Lucian Bute is undefeated at 29-0. He is a rising star in the middleweight division and could be king of the weight class for years if he continues his rise.

The bad news is that Bute is still unproven against the best fighters. His signature win is against an over-the-hill Glen Johnson. His upcoming fight with titlist Carl Froch will go a long way toward defining his place in the boxing world.  

No. 18: Andre Berto [28-1]

Once the darling star of the welterweight division, Berto is still recovering from his explosive "Fight of the Year" loss to Victor Ortiz in 2011. It was an excellent fight, but his loss sent Berto back to the drawing table while Ortiz went on to challenge Floyd Mayweather.

Now, after Berto's win over titlist Dejan Zavec and Ortiz's loss to Mayweather, the two will have a June 2012 rematch of their epic title fight. If Berto wins, he will again be the top contender in the welterweight division and a prime matchup candidate for Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson, Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.

No. 19: Chad Dawson [30-1-2]

Chad Dawson was once the king of the light-heavyweight division. But then, he lost handily to rising star Jean Pascal, Bernard Hopkins returned to prominence and Dawson became a sideshow. Dawson remains a very skilled fighter who can handle anyone in the ring, but his style is non-confrontational and rather un-watchable.

Dawson's recent fight with Hopkins, which was a controversial victory that became a no-contest, was widely derided as a lackluster bout that he won with a very dirty throw move. 

Dawson will face Hopkins in an April 2012 rematch. His reputation and future is at stake because if he can defeat Hopkins, he will again be the top fighter in his class. If he loses, all boxing fans will remember is his dirty throw of Hopkins and his lackluster loss to Pascal.  

No. 20: Carl Froch [28-2]

Carl Froch remains one of the world's best middleweights. But he may have run up against his ceiling. Froch's 2010 loss to Mikkel Kessler was telling, and his recent defeat at the hands of Andre Ward will leave him contemplating his future. His reputation will keep getting him big fights, including a matchup with Lucian Bute, but is he a top fighter or a stepping stone on the road to superstardom?