New Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Rankings

TheDailySportsHerald.com's boxing panel has updated their votes for the sport's ten best boxers, pound-for-pound. Here are the results:

1. MANNY PACQUIAO (49-3-2, 38 KOs)

Pac-Man's thorough Round 2 destruction of Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009, undeniably makes him the top man . . . for now. Even though any reasonable boxing fan should have expected the victory, the speed and power of Pacquiao was still awesome to behold and made the fight shockingly one-sided. He is fairly being included among many all-time greats, although Bob Arum's favorable comparison to Ali is ludicrous.

2. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ (50-4-1, 37 KOs)

Marquez has dropped back to #2 in our rankings thanks to Manny Pacquiao's brilliant performance. Despite this, he still has a chance to climb back to the top spot. Since his close contest with Pacquiao in 2008, he has followed every Pacquiao victory with an even more impressive one of his own. If the perpetually under-appreciated Marquez upsets Floyd Mayweather Jr. on July 18 at 143 pounds who can deny him the throne?

3. PAUL WILLIAMS (37-1, 27KOs)

Paul Williams looked great in beating a still capable Winky Wright in his last fight. His stamina, reach, and skill are an almost unbeatable combination at this point. The most ducked fighter alive is a nightmare for any opponent between 147 and 160 pounds and would be favored against anyone he fought.

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

Freddie Roach was right when he stated that Mosley is the most difficult fighter for Manny Pacquiao out there right now. Mosley possesses the requisite hand speed, toughness, boxing savvy, and power to give Pacquiao fits if they ever fought. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that after all of these years Mosley can make weight below 147 pounds. Roach knows this: A faded Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds is one thing, Sugar Shane is something else.

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

Hopkins is relaxing and pondering future opponents. Adamek? Froch? Dawson? The latter would be the best fight by far and the most challenging for B-Hop. However, the money may not be enough for the risk. Fighting Adamek or Froch appeals to B-Hop, but will he give them enough money to make it worth their while? Let's hope we get to see this legend one more time before he rides off into the sunset.

6. CHAD DAWSON (28-0, 17 KOs)

Dawson dutifully cruised to victory over Antonio Tarver in a fight that some blind boxing fans believe was close. Dawson was in complete control of the fight throughout. Still, Dawson is stuck with mostly boring opponents at 168 or 175 (other than B-Hop) and is unfortunately not the kind of knockout artist that garners much attention.

7. MIGUEL COTTO (33-1, 27 KOs)

There is big talk that promoter Bob Arum desires to have Cotto fight Pacquiao soon. This would be a great fight and a tremendous challenge for Pacquiao if fought at 147 pounds. If under that weight, Pacquiao may have the advantage. In any case, Cotto would be wise to keep his mind on his next opponent, Joshua Clottey, who could wreck nearly all future plans on June 13.

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

Vazquez's injuries hopefully won't keep him out any longer. If they do, we will unfortunately have to consider dropping him from the list.

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

Marquez is back in action on May 23 against Jose Francisco Mendoza. It will be good to see him after the long layoff and hopefully the battles with Vazquez won't have taken too much from him.

10. JOSHUA CLOTTEY (35-2, 20 KOs)

Clottey's upcoming fight with Cotto will show many people how good this guy really is. His tough chin alone will pose a problem for Cotto. Even if he wins, Clottey will likely be avoided by most fighters, which is why Cotto deserves respect for fighting him.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Vic Darchinyan, Ivan Calderon, Timothy Bradley, and Juan Manuel Lopez

By Manish Pandya
Staff Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.com