Boxing Rankings: 10 Fighters Who Are a Win Away from the Top-10 P4P

As boxing continues to fall behind MMA in popularity, some boxers who are a step away from greatness may not be household names to the average fan.

I though I'd shed some light on what boxers are on the brink of stardom, and ready to be included on boxing's most prestigious list.

Yes, some are fighters you have heard of before and not all are ones who will have your scratching your head and saying; who?

Here are the 10 fighters who are ready to be included as one of the 10 best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Miguel Cotto

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NEW YORK - JUNE 05: (L-R) Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico prematurely celebrates during his bout with Yuri Foreman after Foreman's corner throws in a towel during the WBA world super welterweight title fight on June 5, 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx bor

Miguel Cotto, a 30-year-old fighter out of Puerto Rico has tasted success before.

He has compiled a record of 36-2 with 29 K.O.s and has tasted defeat at the hands of two great fighters—Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.

Cotto is a former title holder in both the Junior Welterweight and Welterweight division and is the current WBA Light Middleweight Champion.

Cotto had won 32 fights in-a-row until he lost by TKO in the 11th round against Antonio Marogarito—a fight marred with controversy due to Margarito allegedly using a plaster-like material underneath his gloves to gain an unfair advantage against Cotto, one Margarito was eventually suspended for when caught using the plaster gloves against Shane Mosely.

Since the loss to Margarito, Cotto has won four out-of his last five fights only losing to Manny Pacquiao—the world's No. 1 pound for pound fighter according to Ring Magazine—and beating fighters such as Michael Jennings, Joahua Clottey, Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga.

Cotto has a rematch with Margarito on July 16th of this year and I feel that if Cotto can avenge one of his two losses on his record he should move up into the top 10 pound-for-pound list.

Jean Pascal

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MONTREAL, CANADA - MAY 21: Both Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal raise their hands in victory after twelve rounds of action during the WBC Light-Heavyweight Championship fight between Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal at the Bell Centre on May 22, 2011 in M

Jean Pascal, a 28-year-old fighting out of Canada, has earned a 29-2-1 record in the ring with 16 wins coming by way of knockout.

Pascal is a former title holder in both the Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions.

After winning the WBC Light Heavyweight title in a unanimous decision against Adrian Dicanou in 2009, Pascal went on to defend his title three times—including a technical decision over skilled Chad Dawson which also untied the Ring Magazine title and the IBO titles with his WBC belt.

His next two fights would be against one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in history, Bernard Hopkins. In their first bout in December of 2010, Pascal and Hopkins fought their way to a draw setting up a no-brainer rematch.

The rematch came in May 21st of this year where Hopkins stunned the boxing world and won a unanimous decision over Pascal making Hopkins the oldest major title holder in boxing history.

Pascal was just two spots out of the top 10 pound-for-pound list before his loss against Hopkins. So if Hopkins grants Pascal with a third fight between the two and pulls off a victory he could very well see himself on the top 10 list for best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Vitali Klitschko

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BERLIN - NOVEMBER 16: Pro boxer Vitali Klitschko sits prior to coaching young boxers at the 'Kick im Boxring' at the TC Gruen Weiss boxing hall in Treptow district on November 16, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The 'Kick im Boxring' project encourages youth in

Vitali Klitschko is a 39-year-old heavyweight fighter out of the Ukraine who has compiled a record of 42-2 with 39 knockouts.

Sure, it may seem like a stretch to put someone who is about to turn 40 on a list for the best fighters in the world. In this case it is not a stretch so much for the age but for the fight that needs to happen in order to make the jump onto the list.

Klitschko has only been beat once in the last 10 years that coming at the hands of one of boxing's best heavyweights in recent memory, Lennox Lewis in 2003.

Klitschko has beaten every up-and-comer that has been thrown his way and doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

The problem here is that to have Vitali Klitschko make the list of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, he would have to beat the one person who could be worth anything to his career, his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko.

Seeing how the two brothers have sworn they will never fight each other the possibility of this happening is slim, but I had to put Vitali on list for the sheer dominance he has demonstrated over the last decade in the Heavyweight division.

Lucian Bute

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LONDON - NOVEMBER 16: Reebok Boxing Gloves are shown during the British Boxing Board of Control Press Conference at London Pavillion on November 16, 2006 in London, United Kingdom. The BBBC announced a one year deal with Reebok to supply boxing gloves fo

Right on the edge of being on the list for best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Lucian Bute has had a blemish-free career thus far, earning a record of 28-0 with 23 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Winning by way of knockout in seven-of-his-last-10 fights, Bute has been on a tear lately.

Bute has successfully defended his IBF Super Middleweight title eight times in-a-row since winning it in 2003 against then champion Alejandro Berrio.

With a dominating win over Jean-Paul Mendy in their fight scheduled for July of this year, Bute has a good shot at breaking though and making the list for best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing.

Andre Berto

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LAS VEGAS - APRIL 30: Boxer Andre Berto reacts to the crowd from the stage before the start of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 30, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather and Mosley will meet in a 1

Andre Berto is a 27-year-old fighter hailing form Miami,Florida, with a record of 27-1 with 21 knockouts.

After blazing through 27 wins in-a-row, Berto had his first taste of defeat in April of 2011 when he lost a unanimous decision to Victor Ortiz, who was a large underdog in the fight.

The fight cost Berto his WBC Welterweight title and ended his five-fight reign as champion.

Gaining a rematch with Ortiz will be crucial to getting his career back on track and on the list of best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Steve Cunningham

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NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 12: Boxer Steve Cunningham watches the game between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils on November 12, 2008 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Rangers defeated the Devils 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Gett

Steve Cunningham is a 34-year-old fighter out of Philadelphia, PA who has a professional record of 26-2 with 12 knockouts.

Cunningham won 19 fights in a row to start off his career before losing to Kryzysztof Wlodarczyk in 2006 in an IBF Cruiserweight title bout—a loss Cunningham later avenged and won the IBF title from Wlodarczyk just six months later.

After one successful defense of his IBF title, Cunningham lost to Tomasz Adamek in 2008.

Cunningham later won the IBF title back in 2010 and has defended the title once against Enad Lucina in early 2011.

A fight with WBO Cruiserweight title holder Marco Huck could be the fight that could land Cunningham in the list for boxing's best pound-for-pound.

Felix Sturm

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STUTTGART, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 16: German boxer Felix Sturm poses during a public training session at the airport on February 16, 2011 in Stuttgart, Germany. Sturm will defend his WBA middle weight title against Ronald Hearns of the U.S. on February 19, 2

Fighting out of Bosnia, Middleweight Felix Sturm has a record of 35-2-1 with 15 knockouts.

Sturm lost a controversial decision to Oscar De la Hoya in 2004 where Sturm clearly out-boxed De La Hoya and the Compubox numbers supported Strum's case, but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused to reverse the decision.

Sturm went on to become a three-time world champion beginning in 2003 and currently holds the WBA Middleweight title.

Sturm has a fight lined-up against Matthew Macklin in June of 2011 but that's not the one fight that's going to get him on the list.

Beating the current No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter according to Ring Magazine, WBC Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez would make Sturm a clear-cut favorite to be on the pound-for-pound list.

Amir Kahn

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BOLTON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 27: Commonwealth Lightweight Champion Amir Khan works out in front of the media in his training gym on March 27, 2008 in Bolton, England. Kahn held his open workout in the lead up to his next fight against Martin Kristanse

Junior Welterweight boxer Amir Kahn hails from Great Britain has a professional record  of 25-1 with 17 KO's.

Kahn is the current WBA JR. Welterweight champion and has successfully defended his title four times since winning it back in 2009 against Andreas Kotelnik.

Beating notables Paulie Malignaggi and mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana in those four title defenses.

Kahn could crash the pound-for-pound list by beating current No.6 best pound-for-pounder, WBC and WBO champion Timothy Bradley.

Yuriorkis Gamboa

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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - MARCH 26: Yuriorkis Gamboa wears the championship belt after winning the IBF WBA World Featherweight title by beating Jorge Solis of Mexico during Top Rank's 'Featherweight Fury' on March 26, 2011 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Ne

Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba has a professional record of 20-0 with 16 wins coming by way of knockout.

Gamboa has had a successful career dating back to his amateur days where he won a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Currently Gamboa holds both the IBF and WBA Featherweight titles, successfully defending the WBA title five times and the IBF title once.

One of these two fights could get Gamboa in the talks for the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. One would be against No. 2 Featherweight in the world Chris John or against the current WBO Featherweight title holder Orlando Salido,—a fighter Gamboa beat two fights ago in September of last year—unifying the belts, and would be cause enough to move him into the best pound-for-pound list..

Kermit Cintron

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LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Kermit Cintron celebrates his victory over Jesse Feliciano in the IBF Welterweight title fight at Staples Center on November 23, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. Cintron won the fight by way of TKO in the 10th round. (Pho

Kermit Cintron a JR. Middleweight boxer out of Puerto Rico has a record of 32-3-1 with 28 knockouts.

Cintron is a former IBF Welterweight champion who lost his title to Antonio Margarito in 2008—suffering his second loss to Margarito in as many fights.

Since the loss to Margarito, Cintron moved into the JR. Middleweight ranks he has been on a tear. He is the only boxer to beat fellow top contender, Alfredo Angulo and has a chance to further his name by beating Carlos Melina on July 9th of this year.

The one fight the could land Cintron on the top 10 pound-for-pound list would be against fellow list member Miguel Cotto. The winner between the two would set the winner firmly onto the list for best Pound-for-pound.