By Bob Smith: The ESPN pound for pound list is a much better alternative to the Golden Boy Pound for Pound list, as Golden Boy is a major promoter of boxers in addition to being the owner of Ring Magazine. Yet in my view, certain fighters are consistently underrated by the list, and certain fighters consistently overrated.
Like most serious boxing fans, I view Floyd Mayweather Jr as the #1 pound for pound boxer, and Manny Pacquiao as the #2 pound for pound boxer. Yet after this, my list diverges considerably from the ESPN list. Am I suggesting that I am a better boxing critic than the ten member ESPN panel? Certainly not, but boxing is a business as much as a sport, and ESPN is a company not a set of dispassionate fans, and so other factors other than pure skill and accomplishment go into their rating.
For me Wladimir Klitschko is unquestionably the #3 pound for pound fighter in the world. For starters, he has not lost (or even come close to losing) since 2004, and his 26 title fights are only one shy of the all time record of 27 by Joe Louis. He has his brother have really dominated the heavyweight division as few if any divisions have been dominated over the last ten years – the common complaint about poor competition is due in part to Klitschko being so much better than his opponents.
#4 goes to Juan Manuel Marquez who is one of the best counter punchers in boxing, still very dangerous, and probably in the top half dozen of most intelligent fighters in the ring.
#5 goes to Gennady Golovkin, who has been as dominant as any fighter over the last two years, so scarily dominant that no big name dares to fight him – but until he extends his KO record by defeating an Alvarez, Cotto, Froch, or Chavez Jr., it is difficult to rate him higher, no matter how impressively he knocks out former champions and top tier contenders.
#6 is Roman Gonzalez who has truly been devastating in his record and has fought and beat the best competition available.
The rest of the list is, in order, Rigondeaux, Bradley, Kovalev, and Cotto. Kovalev is included because of the technique and restraint he used to outclass Hopkins; Cotto because of his history, his win over Martinez, and his resurgence. Cotto is a tough inclusion though, for a fight with Alvarez for me would be a toss up, and Cotto does not match up well against middleweights – however, he is the 2nd best junior middleweight in the world.
I realize that this might be random, but I do not have time to write a completely different article, so I will include some upcoming notes and reflections for the first six months of the year. An immediate one is that in my view Stiverne will defeat Wilder by UD or mid to late KO – I just don’t see Wilder being able to handle the power and speed of Stiverne, and I don’t think that the jab of Wilder is developed enough to keep Stiverne out of range to hurt him.
Also, I see Artur Beterbiev as being within the space of two years the 2nd best or best light heavyweight boxer in the world – his power is devastating, he is composed of chiseled granite, and he is a stalker with an excellent amateur pedigree like Golovkin or Kovalev – he does need some time to develop, but I anticipate this will happen quickly.
I do see a Floyd Mayweather on Manny Pacquiao fight happening, and Floyd winning by a UD, and finally putting the doubters to rest. I just don’t think that at this point in Pacquiao’s career he has the capacity to overwhelm the Mayweather defense and the extent of how he loses will hopefully cast a doubt and whether he ever had that capacity.
Finally, I like Cotto over Alvarez if they do fight in May or June. Cotto has more skill and experience with this level of fight, will be the A side, and Canelo has a tendency to over-rely on his intellect when faced with a superior boxing talent – he will let Cotto set the tone for the bout and be the ring general, and Cotto will successfully time his combinations. I do see Canelo as ultimately someone who will equal or exceed the career of Cotto, but for now, Cotto is the better fighter, not by much, but by enough to win a split decision in New York.
Have a great year and hopefully the Mayweather-Pacquaio fight will finally take place before June!
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