By Yousef Faroniya
04.08 - The East Side Boxing readers have spoken! After writing "Who is Your Pound for Pound King" and posting my rankings and my reasons, I was met with the passionate opinions of some of readers of the column. Some agreed, many didn't, but so is life. But enough about me, on to what you, the East Side readers, had to say.
And the Best Fighters in the World Are...
I don't care who Roy Jones fights, he beat Hopkins with one freakin' hand! The man can't be beat, and I'm not even a big Jones fan! But come on, he's a great fighter bored with the competition! Hopkins is scared of Roy, he knows he can't beat him so there's #1. Next, how about Kostya Tszyu. He's just great, enough said, that's your #2. And last but not least, and don't laugh, Evander Holyfield is still the man and look for him to regain the belts soon. The 39 year old still has the heart and skill to regain the belts. What do you think?-
IronEric88
Eric88,
When I made my list, it was hard to pick between Hopkins and Jones for the top spot. While there is no doubt that Jones is the more naturally talented boxer of the two, Hopkins has not only fought the top competition, but craves it. While it is understandable that Jones has mandatories to fight, he hasn't been accepting challenges. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Just like a pro boxer who spars in front of the press against amateurs, its easy for Jones to look flashy and unbeatable against lesser competition. With convincing wins over Tarver and Hopkins, Jones will regain the number one spot. He really needs to challenge himself if he wants to go in history as one of the best.
While Holyfield still has the heart of a warrior, Holyfield has been fighting more with his head than
his fists lately. I'm starting to believe Shane Mosley's "Atlanta Head butt" theory about fighters
such as Evander where fighters use the head butt as a sort-of "third hand" to attack the opponent. That knot on Rahman's head was the most revolting thing I have ever seen in a boxing ring. Evander no longer has the skills that made him into one of the greatest boxers of the 90's. It's the sad state of heavyweight boxing and his extremely hard cranium that keeps him among the heavyweight elite, not his skills. It is very possible that Holyfield will regain the WBA crown in a rererematch against Ruiz, but the only way I see Holy becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ again is if Lewis retires, the Klitschko Bros. stay in Europe, and if Chris Byrd gets rocked by Evander's head of steel.
Pound for Pound
I think your p4p was right on point..what do u think of Kassim Ouma?
Eric Raw
Eric Raw,
Kassim Ouma is one of the best stories in boxing. Kidnaped and recruited into the Ugandan army at the age of 7, he learned to box while serving in the army until he was 18. Then, when traveling with the Ugandan amateur boxing team in the U.S, he defected and started his career vowing to become a world champ. Kassim is a promising boxer who unfortunately is in the most talent rich division in boxing- light middleweight. He has a record of 16-1-1 (the loss was a result of the common boxing mistake of taking an opponent for granted and not training), and has good power. His only setback, is that he is not an especially quick fighter. As long as he stays dedicated, and hungry, Kassim will be sure to make a lot of noise in boxing in the future.
Pound for Pound 2
Hi, I've been a boxing fan for a long time and have seen all the experts P4P lists and I consider
yours as one of the best but I think that you have Vargas too low at 11 but the fight against de la Hoya should clear that up. Henry Logan
Henry Logan,
I also had conflicts with putting Vargas, one of my personal favorite boxers, so low. Vargas has as
much heart as anyone, and he showed it in his war against Felix Trinidad. A lesser man would've quit after being dropped twice early in the fight, but Vargas, being the soldier he is, showed the world his heart, extending the fight to the 12th round, and even floored Trinidad before eventually being kayoed himself. De la Hoya has also shown a lot of heart in fights against Chavez and Quartey, but his heart doesn't seem to be as into it as much as when he was younger. Vargas seems to be taking this fight against de la Hoya extremely seriously, as he should because beating a world-class athlete like de la Hoya would propel him to super-stardom, and start a legacy. Look for Vargas to extend de la Hoya to the limit, in a close, and entertaining bout. But for the record, even though Vargas is one of my favorite fighters, I'm picking de la Hoya to win by close decision.
# FOR # Rankings
Hey man, I like what you have to say, but you are nuts if you are going to put Bernard "The Cheatacutioner" Hopkins in front of Roy Jones! Are you kidding me? Tell me honestly, in spite of Roy not fighting the guys you want to see him fight (Jirov, Michalczewski, or whoever), that you honestly think if they met at even weight Bernard would stand a chance? By the way, Bernard is doing his fair share of ducking too, as his next fight is against Morrade Hakkar (who?). The public (and Tito) wanted a Trinidad rematch. Roy already beat him up once - with one hand! Hello? I can't see anyone beating Roy Jones. Nobody has ever been close. Not even Montel Griffen, who was 'victorious' (while being beaten to a pulp, I might add). I forecast that if Bernard ever grows the gumption to actually TAKE a fight with Roy Jones Jr. you will see something roughly reminiscent of the Montel Griffin rematch; Roy pounding the snot out of Hopkins for talking so much smack to him on HBO (just as Montel did previously) with three first round knockdowns. Roy is a cautious fighter by nature, but that all goes out the window when he is angry. I don't even like watching Roy's fights on pay-per-view because they bore me because the competition he can't hold a candle to him, and it's not worth the money.. But to say Bernard Hopkins is a better fighter? INSANITY. ROY ! ROY ROY ROY !
After Roy, I would give Bernard Hopkins a grudging #2 - maybe. He's the kind of fighter I REALLY do not enjoy watching, like Evander Holyfield. He hits low, he headbuts, he elbows, he holds, he shoves... Basically he does whatever he can do to beat someone. While this is commendable, and certainly the mark of a true champion, It's not exactly what I call good, entertaining boxing. He's tough, he's incredibly skilled, and he's very smart inside the ring, but apparently he is even MORE intelligent outside of the ring, because I read he REFUSED A FIGHT WITH ROY JONES JR. FOR WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LARGEST PURSE IN HIS CAREER - $10 million !!!
1. Roy Jones Jr.
2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
3. Bernard Hopkins
4. Kostya Tszyu
5. Oscar De La Hoya
6. Vernon Forrest
7. Marco Antonio Barrera
8. Erik Morales
9. Shane Mosley
10. Ricardo Lopez
11. Tim Austin
12. Acelino Freitas
13. Manny Pacquaio
14. Fernando Vargas
15. Vasilly Jirov
Please, write back if you have a convincing argument as to why Hopkins is better than Roy Jones Jr., the greatest boxer of our era! I would love to hear it! Best wishes.... Oh, and "Y'all Must've Forgot!"
Kyle Carter
Kyle Carter,
Again, talent-wise Roy Jones is the better fighter, but all that really means is that he has the potential to beat the best. We'll never really know until he fights the best. The Bernard Hopkins that Roy fought nine years ago, is not the same Hopkins today. Just like Lennox Lewis, Hopkins has gotten better with age. Also, just like Mike Tyson found out against Lewis, you can't just jump from C level competition to A level overnight. That's what Roy would find out if he chooses to fight Hopkins. It is entirely possible for Hopkins to beat Jones. He has the speed, the power, and the desire to pull it off. Plus, who knows what will happen when Jones find out that Bernard's isn't a little scrub to be toyed with? Will Jones have the heart and will power necessary to pull off a win? No one is doubting his ability to win, but his heart is in question. While he isn't the most entertaining fighter to watch, Hopkins gets the job done. And for the Griffin fight, the first fight was much closer as you make it out to be as all the scoring cards were very close at the time of the disqualification. But, Roy made sure he did things right in his rematch where he blew out the awkward and crafty Griffin. Don't get me wrong, Roy is a great fighter, but with a fighter with so much God-given talent, I'd just like to see him push himself and beat the best and be the best. While indeed Hopkins did reject the $10 million offer, Jones has been known to add many stipulations and clauses in contracts sent to dangerous opponents. The details of the offer are unclear, and according to possible opponents for Jones, they always are. Hopkins doesn't want to be dictated to by anyone, never has, never will, and he won't start now. Every story has two sides.
Now, to your list. I can't argue with your decision to put Mayweather at number 2. Many want to punish him for his close call against Castillo. Floyd Jr. fought a tough, close fight against a tough seasoned champ, and I don't believe that it shows his weakness, but rather I believe that it shows the talent of Castillo. It was hard to leave him out of my P4P list, but hey, there's only 15 spots. Jirov and Manny were good low list choices. And for all Roy fans out there, stop quoting his music lyrics, his lyrical content is really weak. If you want songs with lyrical boxing references look for "2000 B.C" by Can-I-Bus, "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J, or "Uzi (Pinkie Ring)" by Wu-Tang Clan. Hell, even the Fresh Prince joint "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" had better content.
