By Bob Smith: This weekend’s split decision for Bradley raises a lot of questions about who should rank in what place on the pound for pound list. And by the pound for pound list, I mean that of ESPN, which is much more reasonable and one that I typically agree with about 90% of the time, not that of Golden Boy/Ring Magazine, as it unfortunately has become in part a promotional tool for them.
#1 and #2 should be the same on everyone’s list: Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward. But after this, it gets interesting. Juan Manuel Marquez was #3 due to the Manny Pacquiao knockout. But he just lost to Timothy Bradley. Does that make Bradley #3? I would argue no, for in the first place, though he did win cleanly, Marquez is more of a 140 pound fighter than 147 pound fighter (though he has been competitive of course in both divisions). And, though Marquez did knock Pacquiao out, he himself would have been knocked out within a few rounds, or at a minimum clearly lost a unanimous decision in his fight with Pacquiao. Can I then rank Bradley above Pacquiao? The other irony is that although Bradley clearly lost to Pacquiao when they first fought, a much diminished Pacquiao might lost to Bradley with an emphasis on the might. It all depends on how Pacquiao does in his fight with Rios.
Which brings further irony. Klitschko, as bad as he did look in his Povetkin win, would then have to move up in the relative rankings, ahead of Pacquaio and Martinez (who nearly all accept has declined as a fighter) and also Marquez. But does such a lackluster performance merit a #3 ranking in the pound for pound list? And is it right to put Rigondeaux above such a seasoned veteran, when he has only had one impressive victory as a professional, that of his fight against Donaire?
Who then is most deserving of the #3 spot? Is it someone who has had only 12 professional fights and one impressive victory in Rigondeaux? Is it the heavyweight champion Klitschko who looked awful, even if he did win, against Povetkin? Certainly it should not be Pacquiao, who got knocked out cold in his last fight, nor should it be Martinez, who was a shadow of his former self in his last fight against Murray. But does Bradley, who had a fluke decision against Pacquaio but did beat Marquez, who in turn knocked out Pacquiao, deserve it?
I have to hold my nose and put Klitschko in the #3 spot instead of Bradley. Then further questions arise. Is it right to place Rigondeaux, with only one impressive professional victory, above either Martinez or Pacquiao? Maybe, and then again maybe not. But is Bradley a better boxer than Rigondeaux? Certainly not, even if he did beat 1 or 2 pound for pound fighters that were ranked higher than he was.
Then, the rest should be as follows: #4 Sergio Martinez; #5 Guillermo Rigondeaux; #6 Timothy Bradley; #7 Juan Manuel Marquez; #8 Manny Pacquiao; #9 Nonito Donaire; and #10 Carl Froch.
But this list of course is not static but dynamic. If Golovkin wins in impressive fashion against Stevens, by this I mean a KO or TKO, he should take the place of either Carl Froch, or Groves, if Groves beats Froch. Unless of course, either Maidana or Broner wins in a more impressive win against the other. I still don’t think that Garcia is a top 10 fighter, though he is still one of the very best in the world.
Within the list, if Pacquiao knocks out Brandon Rios, he should move up to #3 again and have everyone else move down a notch. I can’t see the ranking of Martinez go higher, unless he defeats Golovkin. Sergio Martinez versus Floyd Mayweather would be a great match, but I just don’t see it happening. If Martinez loses to Cotto or Canelo, he should be off the list, though I don’t see him losing to either of those fighters. And if Guillermo Rigondeaux defeats Agbeko is a dominating fashion, I would give the #3 pound for pound ranking to him, even if Pacquaio gets a flashy knockout against Rios, because Agbeko is a much fighter than Brandon Rios.
So, then, this is the list: #1 Floyd Mayweather, #2 Andre Ward, #3 Vladimir Klitschko, #4 Sergio Martinez, #5 Guillermo Rigondeaux, #6 Timothy Bradly, #7 Juan Manuel Marquez, #8 Manny Pacquaio, #9 Nonito Donaire, and #10 Carl Froch. Note that I would have put Vitali Klitschko on this list, but I view him as being in semi-retirement at this time. Broner or Golovkin are the most likely fighters to legitimately crack the pound for pound top 10 in my opinion.
What do you think of this list? Am I right or wrong? Do I understand anything or no? What is your top 10 pound for pound list?
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