Goodbye '00s: A Salute To The 20 Greatest Fighters Of The Decade, Part I

This has perhaps been the most transitionary decade in boxing’s history. Old adages appear to have been abandoned and boxing has been forced to adapt and reform.

It's been a decade where boxing has encountered its first legitimate threat for fight night supremacy.

"UFC vs. Boxing" has become a major talking point, each initially exchanged jabs but neither is yet to land either a haymaker or secure a firm triangle choke.

It is often said that there is boxing and then there is heavyweight boxing.

Well, this decade proved otherwise.

With the heavyweight division in serious decline as the last great heavyweights of yesteryear faded and retired, it was the smaller weight divisions that rightfully took their place in the spotlight.

With great gusto they have seized their chance and this decade has seen at least 10 future hall of famer's emerge, each from 175 lbs. or less.

Admittedly there remain certain facets of boxing’s make-up that remain its Achilles heel—"Mayweather vs. Pacquiao" negotiations are testament to that.

But this sport—where the fans remain some of the most passionate I have seen, appreciate the complexities and the drama involved in every prizefight, and will never allow the sport to die—may have moments of ineptitude. Hell, it may even be removed from the public conscience, but never will it be removed from the hearts of its legions of avid supporters.

This decade has seen boxing reach new depths with steroid scandals behind the scenes and political wranglings ruining super-fights—and that’s just "Money vs. Pac-man!"

The amount of Pay-Per-View sales in the heavyweight division has dwindled so drastically that often heavyweight fights are not shown live or are even removed from airwaves all together.

But hold your horses. This decade has seen massive PPV sales from the likes of Mayweather, De la Hoya, Pacquiao, Trinidad, Hatton, and Marquez—including a new PPV record of 2.4 million buys set by "Mayweather vs. De la Hoya."

So do not despair, for although the crop that I have unveiled below may not compare with those of the '70s or '80s, it is packed full with record accomplishments and talent the likes of which may never grace the squared circle again.

Anyway enough of the rally cry and on to the rankings.

Methodology

Below I have attempted to rank the top 20 fighters of the decade—starting with part I, which includes fighters 20-11.

Over the past month I have examined all 328 world or lineal champions of the last decade using a number of distinct performance variables. These variables mean the fighters below are ranked according to their level of greatness achieved since Jan. 1, 2000.

This does not mean that a fighter who places higher is technically better pound for pound, it means their accomplishments and achievements over the last 10 years have outweighed those of fighters below them.

It also leads to a set of variables that cannot be influenced by subjectivity and thus are virtually immune to any form of bias.

The three performance measures that I implemented were:

1. World and Lineal Titles

Both boxrec.com and Cyberboxingzone were used to gather information.

2. Quality of Opposition Faced

This included a) whether the fighter was a world champion or became such, and b) the fighters' standings (I used both boxrec.com and The Ring rankings at the time of the bout).

3. Manner of victory

Whether victory was obtained by knockout, undisputed decision, or disputed decision.

Below is part I of a two-part series.

Enjoy!

20. Sven Ottke : (GER) 17(3)-0

Lineal World Titles : 0

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 2, IBF Super Middleweight Champion (01/01/00-27/03/04); WBA Super Middleweight Super Champion (15/03/03-27/03/04)

Notable Victories : SD Byron Mitchell, SD Charles Brewer, KO 10 Anthony Mundine, UD Silvio Branco, MD Mads Larsen

Ottke had an innate ability to accomplish what drives all competitors—winning.

He wasn’t the prettiest boxer nor was he the most physically gifted, he lacked power, athleticism and was often thoroughly tedious viewing yet despite all of these inadequacies Ottke always found a way to prevail.

His 17-0 record in the '00s (with Joe Calzaghe, a total of 21 successful defences is still the divison record) were all super middleweight title defences including a victorious, if slightly dubious, unification clash with the explosive American Byron Mitchell.

Unfortunately for Ottke this, coupled with two other questionable decision victories (Mads Larsen and Robin Reid), serves to undermine the legitimacy of his record and denies him a higher spot. Other critics deny his credibility based upon him only ever once venturing out of his native Germany (to nearby Austria).

Nevertheless, other than the obvious absence of a fight with super middleweight supremo Joe Calzaghe, Ottke fought the best fighters out there. Wins against Brewer, Butler, Tate, and the-come-from-behind KO of Anthony Mundine are all examples of an undeniable talent.

19. Roy Jones Jr : (USA) 14(7)-5

Lineal World Titles : 1, Light Heavyweight (2001-15/05/04)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 5, WBA Heavyweight Champion (2003); 2x WBC Light Heavyweight Champion (01/01/00-2002 & 08/11/03-15/05/04); WBA Light Heavyweight Champion (01/01/00-15/05/04); IBF Light Heavyweight Champion (01/01/00-2003)

Notable Victories : MD Antonio Tarver, UD John Ruiz, TKO 6 Clinton Woods, TKO 10 Eric Harding

It seemed rather curious to me when I first found myself questioning Jones’s inclusion in the top 20 of the decade.

This was after all the Pensacola Pinwheel that had captured 160, 168, and 175-pound world titles and had even become the first former middleweight world titlist in 106 years to win a heavyweight world title when he beat John Ruiz in 2003.

Then it dawned on me—Jones really had passed his peak when we entered this decade. Sure he was able to do ample damage in light heavyweight divison, which included his reign as the unified titlist from 2000-2003.

He had handy victories over David Telesco, Eric Harding, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, and Clinton Woods before his brief and much vaunted dabbling in the heavyweight division. He even posted a last great victory with a gutsy, late stand against Tarver, one fight after capturing the WBA heavyweight title from John Ruiz.

Had the decade ended there Jones may have been at the top of this list. Unfortunately for Roy, a decade is 10 years long, not five.

The Tarver win represented his last meaningful victory and was followed by consecutive crushing, knockout defeats to both Tarver and Glen Johnson. His last attempt at ring title failed at the hands of Joe Calzaghe in 2008.

Jones loses further credibility having not rematched Bernard Hopkins, and for his failure to meet the next best light heavy, Dariusz Michalczewski.

That once-snappy left jab began to slow, the rapier-like left hooks and straight rights became much easier to counter, and so the air of invincibility that Jones had surrounded himself with was blown away emphatically by one Antonio Tarver left hook.

18. Kostya Tszyu : (AUS) 8(6)-1

Lineal World Titles : 1, Light Welterweight (03/11/01-04/06/05)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 3, IBF Light Welter Champion (03/11/01-04/06/05); WBC Champion (01/01/00-2003); WBA Super Champion (03/02/01-2003)

Notable Victories : KO 2 Zab Judah, RTD 7 & KO 3 Sharmba Mitchell, UD 12 Oktay Urkal

Tsyzu dominated the light welterweight division for half of this decade by not only defeating but also stopping the best the division had to offer in Zab Judah, and twice halting Sharmba Mitchell.

The Russian born Australian naturalised fighter went 9-1 in the decade, facing almost exclusively top shelf competition.

He had an aesthetically pleasing boxer puncher style with the ability to unhinge a fighter at any minute—no better evidenced than the straight right that evoked Zab Judah to partake in a rendition of the "chicken dance."

His lone loss came in the crossroads fight with Ricky Hatton, a closely contested bout that turned out to be the last of his career.

The "Thunder from Down Under" will be remembered as one of the greatest light welters of all time, with the majority of his accolades emanating from this decade . The only thing to count against him will be that he didn’t go down all "guns blazing," as we usually demand from our champions.

17. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam : (THA) 44(25)-1-1

Lineal World Titles : 1, Flyweight (02/03/01-18/07/07)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 1, WBC Flyweight Champion (02/03/01-18/07/07)

Notable Victories : KO 1, TD 7 Daisuke Naito, KO 1 Malcolm Tunacao

No doubt this selection will evoke cries of Pong-who?

That should be nullified somewhat when I tell you Pong has gone an amazing 44-1-1 in the 2000s, including 33 straight victories and 17 title defenses lasting over six years. His record admittedly is slightly inflated, owing to champion Thai fighters' propensity to fight so often and against vastly inferior opposition.

He remains a national hero in his home country and is synonymous with Thailand boxing. He possesses power that supersedes his small stature and is a very wily southpaw that, still to this day as a 15-year veteran, poses a challenge to upper echelon fighters.

Wonjongkam prevents himself from being held in higher regard, owing to a generally poor level of competition faced and that, since his debut, he has fought exclusively in the Far East.

Nevertheless, he clinched the lineal title sensationally, dispatching with ease Tunacao. He also holds two victories (first victory was the fastest ever KO in a world flyweight bout at 0.34 seconds) over arguably the next greatest flyweight of the decade Daisuke Naito, and it was only when he was past his peak after 68 pro fights that Naito was able to defeat Pong.

16. Ricky Hatton : (ENG) 29(20)-2

Lineal World Titles : 1, Light Welterweight (04/06/05-02/05/09)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 4, WBA Welterweight Champion; 2x IBF Light Welter Champion (04/06/05-2006 & 20/01/07-2007); WBA Light Welter Super Champion(26/11/05-2006)

Notable Victories : RTD 11 Kostya Tszyu, TKO 11 Paulie Malignaggi, UD Juan Urango, KO 4 Jose Luis Castillo, UD 12 Luis Collazo

The "Hitman" went 28-1 in the weight class in the 2000s. Defeating a remarkable seven world champions along the way. 

His obvious standout victory was against the No. 2 light welterweight of the past 10 years, Kotsya Tszyu, in which he won the lineal title. His rough brawling style that comes naturally to him wore down and frustrated the venerable champion, tiring Tszyu in innumerable clinches, refusing to be deterred, and showing a stout chin when faced with Tszyu’s short sharp punches

While he struggled each time he moved up to welterweight, he has suffered only one loss at 140—at the dynamite hands of Manny Pacquiao, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by whom Hatton got demolished in round two.

An aggressive brawler, he was made to order for both Mayweather and Pacquiao, and thus on reflection, was out of his depth.

Hatton maybe technically by far the worst boxer on this list but his achievements are undeniable. The lineal champion for four years and defeats of Vince Phillips, Ben Tackie, Carlos Maussa, Juan Urango, Jose Luis Castillo, Juan Lazcano, and Paulie Malignaggi are more than worthy of our acclaim.

15. Erik Morales : (MEX) 13(6)-6

Lineal World Titles : 0

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 5, WBC Super Bantamweight Champion ([06/09/97]-2000); 2x WBC Featherweight Champion (17/02/01-22/06/02 & 16/11/02-2003); WBC Super Featherweight Champion (28/02/04-27/11/04); IBF Super Featherweight Champion (31/07/04-2004)

Notable Victories : UD Manny Pacquiao, SD Marco Antonio Barrera, UD Guty Espadas Jr, UD Jesus Chavez, UD Paulie Ayala

If this list were evaluated according to how exciting a fighter was to watch, Morales would have undoubtedly rested in the top five.

He possessed the ability to adapt seamlessly to any given scenario—if the fight regressed into a toe-to-toe brawl "El Terrible" could slug it out with the best of them, if it was a calculating, cerebral fight Morales had the ability to match wit with the most intelligent of fighters.

For all this talent, he may come to be defined by his trilogy with Barrera, which coupled with the Marquez/Vazquez battles, were the most enthralling of the decade.

Morales spent the decade climbing through the ranks from super bantam to featherweight and finally super feather.

At 122 he fought only in the unification super-fight with Barrera, one in which both fighters slugged it out round after round. Morales came away with a much-disputed decision (one which the WBO refused to recognise). The ambiguity of the result no doubt helped pave the way for their two further bouts.

At feather he defeated stiff opposition in Espadas Jr, Paulie Ayala, and In Jin Chi yet came away with clear points victories.

His first lost to Barrera ensued and his jaunt at featherweight proved only a stopgap. It was at 130 lbs. where further super-bouts lied. Morales went 6-3 in the weight class, although the fights were almost exclusively against top competition, and the losses came after he was well faded.

It was at this weight that he achieved—what now appears to be in retrospect—his greatest career victory when he defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision. Morales however never quite recaptured that career-defining night and slumped to two defeats against Pacquiao, just as he had done to Barrera. Those six losses serve as Morales’ dour note and, despite credible success, his standing in this list is limited by his percentage of wins to losses.

14. Wladimir Klitschko : (UKR) 22(4)-2

Lineal World Titles : 1, Heavyweight (20/06/09-Present)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 3, 2x WBO Champion (14/10/00-08/03/03 & 23/02/08-Present); IBF Champion (22/04/06-Present)

Notable Victories : UD & TKO 7 Chris Byrd, UD Sultan Ibragimov, RTD 9 Ruslan Chagaev, UD Samuel Peter

Wladimir Klitschko’s placing on this list does not mean that I view him as the greatest heavyweight of the decade—quite the contrary. Both his brother Vitali and Lennox Lewis are far more deserving of that accolade.

In terms of accomplishments, however, Wladimir exceeds both as he has been active throughout the decade and either atop the heavyweight pile or on the tier below for at least nine out of 10 years.

The boxers on his resume do not read like a "who's who" of the heavyweight division, but that’s not Wladimir’s fault.  That’s attributable to a dearth of talent in boxing’s showcase division over the last 10 years.

Wladimir has unified two of the belts and nearly everyone he's fought prior to 2003 and after 2005 has either been a mandatory or someone who was ranked in the division's top 10 at the time.

He also laid claim to a lineal title when he stopped WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev, however this remains disputed by boxing critics owing to his brother’s re-emergence.

Humiliated by a journeyman underdog in his knockout loss against Lamon Brewster, this was preceded by a devastating knockout loss at the hands of former South African farmer Corrie Sanders.

Nevertheless, he avenged his loss at the hands of Brewster and both of those losses have enabled Wladimir to improve and shape himself into one of the greatest heavyweight of the decade.

13. Rafael Marquez : (MEX) 20(17)-3

Lineal World Titles : 1, Super Bantamweight (03/03/07-04/08/07)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 2, IBF Bantamweight Champion (15/02/03-2007); WBC Super Bantamweight Champion (03/03/07-04/08/07)

Notable victories : RTD 7 Israel Vasquez, TKO 8 Tim Austin, KO 8 Mark Johnson, TKO 8 Mauricio Pastrana, TKO 4 & RTD 9 Silence Mabuza

Rafael Marquez may perhaps be inextricably linked with Israel Vasquez and their epic trilogy (which in 2010 will become a quadrilogy) at super bantamweight in which Marquez scored one victory.

Yet it was at 118 lbs. where Marquez plied his trade for the most part of the decade. From 2000-2007, Marquez was 17(15)-1 in the weight class defending his IBF title on seven occasions.

His decade got off to a shaky start when he suffered his sole defeat at 118 lbs. via knockout at the hands of a very game Genaro Garcia, but in 2001, took a monumental turn and his wins that followed comprise a much-envied resume.

It was during the next five years that Marquez defeated lower weight legends Tim Austin and Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson. His captivating 2001 narrow decision victory over pound-for-pound, top-10 Johnson was perhaps a harbinger for the excitement that was to follow—most notably the trilogy with Vasquez.

He dominated Johnson in the rematch and continued his pursuit of bantamweight supremacy, elevating himself to greater heights when he became the first man to stop and defeat No. 1 bantam and IBF champion Tim Austin.

Before he stepped up to super bantam Marquez continued his domination at 118 lbs. and secured five more stoppages in his seven defences, including two victories over previously unbeaten Silence Mabuza.

By the time he met Israel Vazquez in what was to be the first of three scintillating bouts he was universally recognised as being ranked in the top 10, pound for pound.

12. Israel Vasquez : (MEX) 22(16)-2

Lineal World Titles : 2, 2x Super Bantamweight (03/12/05-03/03/07 & 04/08/07-Present)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 3, 2x WBC Champion (03/12/05-03/03/07 & 04/08/07-2008) IBF Champion (25/03/04-2005)

Notable victories : TKO 6 & SD 12 Rafael Marquez, KO 3 Oscar Larios, TKO 12 Jose Luis Valbuena, KO 10 Jhonny Gonzalez

As with Marquez, their trilogy granted him great acclaim and his victory in their second bout ensured him a spot on most critics' top 10, pound for pound—where he remains to this day.

Since 2004 Vazquez has ran roughshod over the competition at 122 lbs. He went a "magnifico" 14-2 this decade in the weight class.

Of course it will be his two victories over Marquez that gather most praise, but lest we forget, he also demolished the lineal champion Oscar Larios, avenging the defeat of 2002. Additionally, he made eight defenses of his title, defeating more than capable fighters such as Gonzalez, Valbuena, Hernandez, and Guerrero.

Vazquez perhaps lacks the size to have success at featherweight, but surely if successful in his fourth bout with Rafael Marquez, that will be his next challenge and will further his legacy.

11. Vic Darchinyan : (ARM) 33(27)-2-1

Lineal World Titles : 1, Super Flyweight(07/02/09-Present)

Sanctioning Body World Titles : 4, IBF Flyweight Champion (16/12/04-07/07/07); WBC Super Flyweight Champion ; (01/11/08-Present); IBF Super Fly Champion (02/08/08-2009); WBA Super Flyweight Super Champion (01/11/08-Present)

Notable victories : KO 9 Cristian Mijares, KO 11 Irene Pacheco, KO 5 Dmitry Kirillov, RTD 11 Jorge Arce

It's amazing to me that, considering all that Darchinyan has achieved this decade, his professional debut was as recent as Nov. 2000.

Not many fighters can lay claim to being one of the greatest fighters in two weight divisions in this decade, Darchinyan arguably was at 112 and 115 lbs.

At flyweight "Raging Bull" went 14-1. Often blasting the opposition out of the water Darchinyan fast gained a reputation as an extremely hard-hitting fighter whose style was difficult to combat. 

Throughout his time at 112 lbs. he defeated good, but not great, competition such as Wandee Singwancha (twice) and Irene Pacheco before being swept aside in his first defeat when Nonito Donaire knocked him out in pretty spectacular fashion.

This was to be Vic’s last fight at 112 lbs. and he fast established himself at super flyweight even though he only fought there on six occasions.

In his first major fight, he scored a controversial draw against Z Gorres where the referee let a number of clear knockdowns go unnoticed. He clinched his first title at 122 lbs. by defeating Dmitry Kirilov, and added to that when he destroyed universally recognised No. 1 and unified belt holder Cristian Mijares

In retrospect, however, some of his wins don't look as good as they did at the time, as Arce was past his best. Questioning of Mijares relevance was justified when he subsequently lost his next two fights to Nehomar Cermeno.

Nevertheless, in the immediate aftermath of his defeat of Jorge Arce, Darchinyan was viewed as a pound-for-pound prodigy and it was only his unsuccessful attempt at a world title in a third weight class that saw him removed from such standing.