Boxing's Top 10 Pound-For-Pound Rankings

TheDailySportsHerald.com's 3-man boxing panel have cast their votes for the sport's ten best boxers, pound-for-pound. Here are the results:

1. MANNY PACQUIAO (48-3-2, 37 KOs)

Clearly established as a dominant fighter, Pacquiao's greatness is still an enigma in many ways. His past two wins were thorough dominations and Pac-Man did his part for sure. But has he raised his game that much or was the competition just disappointing? A knockout of Ricky Hatton would certainly help answer that question.

2. BERNARD HOPKINS (49-5-1, 32 KOs)

His dominant win over Kelly Pavlik was the shocker of 2008. So what does the 43-year old legend have next? Sure he has nothing to prove, but assuming Calzaghe ducks into retirement, let's hope B-Hop doesn't hesitate to take on the likes of Chad Dawson. Whoever he fights next, don't bet against this man ever again.

3. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ(49-4-1, 36 KOs)

Max Kellerman states that he has never seen a fight in which he felt Marquez was beaten. He might be right. In any case, fans should appreciate this legend while he still has some youth left. The upcoming fight against "Baby Bull" Juan Diaz should be terrific.

4. SHANE MOSLEY (46-5, 39 KOs)

Mosley's destruction of Antonio Margarito was the most amazing performance of the past few years. No, not because he won, but because he physically dominated the larger Margarito. At 37, Mosley is once again king of the welterweights. I wonder if Manny Pacquiao would like to take on this aging Welterweight? Probably not. An eventual rematch with Cotto is more likely. A reasonable observer could have called their last fight a draw.

5. CHAD DAWSON (27-0, 17 KOs)

When you are this good but not yet a household name, you often end up treading water. Sadly, this immense talent will be wasting his time in a rematch with the rapidly aging Antonio Tarver on March 14. Let's hope B-Hop or Calzaghe gives him a shot soon. How would either fare against a fighter with faster hands?

6. PAUL WILLIAMS (36-1, 27 KOs)

The lanky lefty apparently intends to fight at Middleweight next. Too bad. I would rather see him at Welterweight. Although his camp believes dropping back to Welterweight is not a problem for the future, moving up in weight is always available to this fighter the later his career goes. Contracts are almost done for a fight with Winky Wright in April on HBO. This will be a bigger test than some think.

7. ISRAEL VAZQUEZ (43-4, 31 KOs)

Multiple eye surgeries indicate what a brutal toll the 3 fights with Marquez have taken. The third fight clearly should have been 2008's Fight of the Year. Currently, Vazquez's career is in limbo until he recovers. When he does, we can expect big things from this warrior.

8. RAFAEL MARQUEZ (37-5, 33 KOs)

Marquez appears able to knockout a large percentage of his foes. Too bad people are forgetting that just because of his last two defeats at the hands of Vasquez. A 4th fight would be great, but Marquez shouldn't wait around for Vazquez's eye injury to heal before stepping into the ring again. A fight with Juan Manuel Lopez could be intriguing as well.

9. IVAN CALDERON (32-0, 6 KOs)

Calderon's defeat of Hugo Cazares last summer only further cemented his status as the king of the small boxers. Apparently, he has plans to go back down to 105 pounds for his next fight. A tremendous boxer, Calderon's lack of punching power prevents him from gaining wider recognition.

10. NATE CAMPBELL (32-5-1, 25 KOs)

At age 36 you wonder whether Campbell will ever be able to cash in on his victory over Juan Diaz. His fight with Joan Guzman fell through when the latter could not make weight and then gutlessly refused to fight over the weight. Campbell will make a mandatory defense of his Lightweight Championship against Ali Funeka on February 14.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES

Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Juan Diaz, Kelly Pavlik, Ricky Hatton, Wladmir Klitschko

By Manish Pandya
Staff Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.com