Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and the Top 5 Pound-for-Pound Boxers
Ranking the best boxer in the world isn't a hard question to answer, but where do the rest of the elite fall in terms of their pound-for-pound status?
Several boxers have emerged within the top five in recent years. Just two years ago, fighters like Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Joe Calzaghe were among those at the top of the list.
This list has radically changed over the past two years, and while Hopkins remains among the best, new stars like Nonito Donaire and Sergio Martinez have put on sensational performances against the best in their divisions, launching them into superstardom.
No. 5: Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO)
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Marquez' last five opponents include Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz (twice), Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Joel Casamayor. They have a combined record of 171-9. He was victorious against all but Mayweather in 2009.
Among these are 2009's "Fight of the Year" versus Juan Diaz and two impressive stoppage wins over Katsidis and Casamayor.
In two fights with Manny Pacquiao, he came close to defeating the pound-for-pound king, falling short with a draw in the first meeting and a split-decision loss in the rematch. He has been looking to get a third fight ever since.
That will be the only thing that can dramatically raise his position in these rankings as of now.
What's next for Marquez?
He was scheduled to fight Erik Morales on April 9, but now Morales is taking on Marcos Maidana instead. If Marquez gets a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, look for it to happen sometime during the fall. Bob Arum has reported that it is tentatively being scheduled for a November date still yet to be determined.
No. 4: Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KO)
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Martinez' last five opponents include Paul Williams (twice), Kelly Pavlik, Kermit Cintron and Alex Bunema. He went 3-1-1 against them. They have a combined record of 172-10, which is oddly similar to that of Marquez' last five opponents (171-9).
Martinez was the popular choice among fans for "Fighter of the Year" in 2010. He defeated Klly Pavlik to claim the WBC and WBO middleweight titles and capitalized on that performance with a second-round knockout of Paul "The Punisher" Williams in a November rematch.
Martinez has slick boxing, along with knockout power showcased in his last fight versus Williams, which was the "Knockout of the Year." The iron-chinned Williams walked into Martinez' left hand, knocking him face first down to the canvas.
What's next for Martinez?
On March 12, Martinez will be taking on undefeated Ukrainian Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0) on HBO. Dzinziruk is unknown to most boxing fans and should present more problems than expected for Martinez. If Martinez makes it past the 1996 Olympic silver medalist, an exciting bout with Alfredo Angulo or a rematch with Kelly Pavlik may be on the horizon.
No. 3: Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KO)
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Donaire has gone 5-0 against his last five opponents, which include some of the toughest opposition the bantamweight division has to offer. They were Fernando Montiel, Volodymyr Sydorenko, Hernan Marquez, Manuel Vargas and Rafael Concepcion. They have a combined record of 132-12.
After his impressive knockout win over Montiel this past weekend, the Filipino-American star launched himself to the top of the bantamweight division and the top of the sport alongside former schoolmate Manny Pacquiao. Prior to that bout, most ranked him at or close to the top five in the sport. There's no denying it now.
Donaire has been undefeated for nearly 10 years, and at 28 he has a very bright future ahead of him.
What's next for Donaire?
A fight with the winner of Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko could happen sometime later this year. The winner of that fight will be ranked second in the division. Even a fight with the winner of Yonnhy Perez and Vic Darcinyan could keep him occupied until that fight can be made.
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No. 2: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO)
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Mayweather's position is fairly obvious, but his inactivity is enough to keep him out of the No. 1 position and may be enough to remove him from the list.
After coming out of a mini-retirement, Mayweather returned in September 2009 to take on Juan Manuel Marquez and dominated him for 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision. He followed up on that performance with a 12-round decision victory over Shane Mosley in 2010.
Since then, he has only been fighting court battles, which are probably tougher than any opponent he has ever faced.
It's a guilty feeling to put him in here over opponents who are fighting two or three times a year, but his skills and achievements cannot be denied. He is one of the best boxers the sport has ever seen, and he is also one of the most popular.
What's next for Mayweather?
If a fight with Manny Pacquiao happens down the line, it will be the biggest fight either fighter has ever been in. Until that sensational but unlikely day comes, he will be at No. 2 until he retires. Even fighting other opponents will keep him out of that spot, but nobody should get mad about who he chooses to fight. Just seeing him in the ring should be good enough because they rarely do.
No. 1: Manny Pacquiao (52-3, 38 KOs)
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A lot of fans seem to have overlooked Pacquiao's fight with Antonio Margarito last November.
It was arguably his greatest performance ever inside the ring. He dominated the bigger fighter in Margarito, who outweighed him by almost 20 pounds on fight night. After 12 rounds of domination, which saw Pacquiao land 474 of 1,069 punches, according to CompuBox statistics, he won a unanimous decision.
Prior to that, wins over Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton proved to be the deciding factors in his status as the sport's top fighter.
Until Pacquiao loses, if he ever does, he will remain at this position. It will be hard to emulate what he has done so far.
What's next for Pacquiao?
A bout with former WBA super-welterweight champion Shane Mosley will be taking place April 9. Everyone expects Pacquiao to dominate the 39-year-old, and while it should be competitive for a few rounds, it will give us a good comparison to Mayweather, Mosley's last opponent. History shows us Pacquiao destroys Mayweather's past opponents, so it will be interesting to see how he does.
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