The Pound-for-Pound Top 10

04/17/201404/16/2014 Jazz Singh Gill

The recent Manny Pacquaio vs Tim Bradley rematch was another rare chance for boxing fans to see two certified members of the fabled pound-for-pound top 10 compete.

The result of the fight did much to change the mythical rankings that only exists in people’s heads. And despite only being opinion, the pound-for-pound rankings are given more credence than any title, making these opinions as valuable as anything in sport today.

Of course, fighters can only earn the right to seriously be considered members of this elite club that so many never reach. Only through consistency, quality and bravery will a fighter ever be considered a pound-for-pound top 10 fighter. For this reason, the following list may have a few omissions that will raise a few eyebrows.

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Mayweather Vs. Maidana: Preview And Prediction

04/28/201404/16/2014 Bill Barner

On May 3, 2014, the hungry heart of Marcos Maidana (35-3 with 31 KO’s) will attempt to dethrone the unofficial Pay-Per-View and Pound-for-Pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (45-0 with 26 KO’s)

ABOUT THE FIGHTERS

Floyd Mayweather Jr., the American fighting out of Las Vegas, NV, is the current WBC Super Welterweight Champion, WBA Super Middleweight Champion, Ring Magazine pound-for-pound Champion, Ring Magazine Welterweight Champion, and Ring Magazine Jr. Middleweight Champion.

A native Michigander, Mayweather has a stellar amateur career as a three-time Golden Gloves Champion and a 1996 Olympic Medalist. Since turning professional, Mayweather has achieved World Champion status in five weight classes, ranging from Super Featherweight to Jr. Middleweight, and is a two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year. Most notable about Mayweather’s career is the caliber of opponents faced. He has fought, and beaten, twenty world champions. His list of victims reads like a who’s-who of boxing, including Oscar De La Hoya, Zab Judah, the late great Arturo Gatti, Carlos Baldomir, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, and Saul Alvarez.

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Mayweather Jr. to fight Pacquiao on May 7th, 2016?

04/16/2014 Enlightened-One

I recently read an article that quoted Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, claiming that if the eagerly-awaited Mayweather-Pacquiao super-fight does happen, it could be as a career finale for both men.

During the Pacquiao-Bradley II post-fight interview with Larry Merchant of HBO Boxing, Manny stated that he thought he had two years left as a professional boxer, which means his career would come to a close around May 2016.

Intriguingly, Mayweather has three more contests remaining on his contract with Showtime beyond the Maidana bout. Assuming that Floyd remains undefeated and fights every May & September each year, his final bout under the Showtime banner would be September 2015… and a victory on that date would equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 professional record.

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A retrospect of the 4th fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez – would five times be too much?

04/16/201404/16/2014 Ivan Ivanov

The 4th fight turned out to be a climatic episode of the famed rivalry and a defining moment for Juan Manuel Marquez. This was the third KO loss for Manny Pacquiao in his stellar career and normally it would mean the end of the road for a 34 years old welterweight . He has rebounded from the fiasco, rebuilt his bona fides and the dramatic turn of events has set up the stage for a 5th episode.

I’d like to focus on the knock down and KO punches thrown by Marquez in the 3rd and 6th round of the 4th fight as it was basically (but not exactly) the same shot. It appeared Marquez had adapted the punch specifically for his rival, a tailor made “Pacquiao special”. The move was designed individually for Manny Pacquiao taking into consideration his southpaw stance, fighting style, temper and usual reaction to attack. It could be argued that the KO was caused by a lucky strike, a fluke combined with lack of focus on Pacman’s part who believed (not without reason) that his opponent was finished. It has to be taken into consideration though that Marquez laboriously executed his game plan under severe stress while he was being outclassed and on the verge of being stopped by the congressman.

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Pacquiao is back as he beats Bradley

04/16/201404/15/2014 James Stillerman

Many boxing fans were calling for Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao to retire since he was 35 years old and coming off two losses in his last three bouts, yet he proved a great deal of them wrong as he demonstrated that he`s still one of the best fighters in the world in defeating, top ten pound for pound boxer, Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, en route to a twelve round unanimous decision. His speed, power and aggressiveness was too much for Bradley, especially in the last six rounds of this matchup.

Thankfully, this time the judges correctly score the bout for Pacquiao, giving him two scorecards of 116-112 and one scorecard 118-110, as opposed to their first encounter, where the Pac Man destroyed Bradley, yet ended up on the wrong end of the one of the worst decisions boxing has seen in a long time.

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How would the great Ricky Hatton have fared against the great Manny Pacquiao had the two met in their respective primes? “Hitman” looks back

04/16/201404/15/2014 James Slater

It’s almost five years ago since Manny Pacquiao scored that brutally terrifying 2nd-round knockout over Ricky Hatton. Going into the fight in Las Vegas in May of 2009, many people were expecting Hatton to either: give Pac-Man a serious run for his money, or: actually defeat him with his advantages in size and physical strength. This line of thinking was completely blown out of the water after less than six-minutes of action, as Pacquiao scored a KO for the ages.

Still, all these years later, Hatton, now retired and secure in the knowledge that he gave his all in each and every fight of his career, thinks back to that night a half-decade ago. Could Hatton, had he prepared himself properly, with a hassle-free training camp, have beaten the southpaw dynamo? Would the peak Ricky Hatton, the fighting machine that upset the great Kostya Tszyu, have been too much for the man who turned pro as a 106-pounder all those years ago in The Philippines?

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Pacquiao vs Bradley, Canelo vs Lara, and Bob Arum!!

04/14/2014 Vivek Wallace

Carter C. (Northridge, CA): I think Pacquiao’s performance proves how good he truly is. I would like to know how you assessed his performance and what would you like to see next from him?

Vivek W. (ESB): Going into the bout, my official prediction was a Pacquaio stoppage down the home stretch, possibly as late as the 12th round. What I predicted and what we saw were two vastly different things, but in the end, the results carried the same weight. I just truly felt that his work-rate and the power it embodies alone would be able earn him a victory in this fight. Bradley has shown us great evolution, but there are a few major flaws within his game that I seriously doubt can be corrected at this stage of his career. It’s one thing to work on a particular set during camp; but in the heat of the battle, a veteran will revert to those tendencies that are deeply rooted and engrained in the brain every single time.

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Fans again asking for Mayweather-Pacquiao – Arum implores fans to “boycott” Mayweather-Maidana fight

04/13/2014 James Slater

Manny Pacquiao looked very good last night in gaining “revenge” over the man who officially defeated him but never really beat him almost two years ago. Still fast of hand and still having real fire in his belly, the Filipino superstar won a wide decision over an aggressive but wild Tim Bradley. But, once again, the talk at the post-fight press conference was of a Floyd Mayweather Junior-Manny Pacquiao showdown: this must-see fight being one that fans have been hoping for, and hoping for, for a number of years now.

Pacquiao told the gathered media that his phone line is “always open,” and that as such a fight with the undefeated Mayweather can be made. Fans, though, gave up holding their breath many moons ago (the fight would have been a true world event, transcending boxing had it taken place in 2009 or 2010) and there really doesn’t seem to be too much hope of the fight being made this year or next – at a time, by the way, when both greats will be aged 38 and 36 respectively; with Floyd being the older man.

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Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Tim Bradley Flops in Las Vegas

07/04/201904/13/2014 George Goddiess

Heading into tonight’s rematch in Las Vegas it was tough to predict who would come out victorious … continue

Alex Leapai Interview: “I’m going to let my fists do my talking against Klitschko”

04/13/201404/12/2014 Tony Nobbs

On April 26, Samoan born banger Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24 KOs) has the opportunity to become boxing’s next “Cinderella Man” when he challenges Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KOs) for the WBA (super)/IBF/WBO/IBO and Ring magazine heavyweight championships in Oberhausen, Germany.

The thirty four year old Leapai from Logan, a satellite city of Brisbane, Queensland, earned his shot as the WBO mandatory challenger by upsetting Hamburg based Russian Dennis Boystov (33-0, 26 KOs) in Bayern on November 23. He scored two knockdowns in the most impressive performance of his career.

Alex’s family moved to New Zealand when he was four before settling in Australia eight years later. A promising Rugby League junior, he held the Australian Amateur Boxing League heavyweight title before turning professional in 2004.

He was 2-2-2 after six bouts before winning 23 of his next 25 with one draw and one points defeat that was later avenges with a knockout. He was good enough to defeat handy Americans like Travis Walker and Darnell Wilson while supporting his family as a full time delivery truck driver and part time fighter.

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