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).