b>1. Manny Pacquiao 43-3-2 (33 KOs) – The man from General Santos City has taken over Floyd Mayweather’s number one spot this month in my ratings because of his performance against Erik Morales the past weekend. He completely demolished the Mexican ring idol with tremendous power, lightning speed and pinpoint accuracy enroute to a third round knockout victory. The Pacman moves to another level with the impressive showing of his much improved skills in the ring.
However, his much anticipated rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera may have to wait for awhile due to promotional dispute between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. But there also have been reports about Pacquiao facing WBA Champion Edwin Valero this March in Macau.
2. Floyd Mayweather Jr. 37-0-0 (24 KOs) – “Pretty Boy” dropped his number spot in my ratings due to Pacquiao’s much impressive victory. However, Mayweather is still a close second placer. He recently beat Carlos “Tata” Baldomir in a one-sided unanimous decision. He captured the World Welterweight Championship with his win over Baldomir. The Grand Rapids native is now looking for his 5th division title May of next year against the “Golden Boy” of boxing Oscar De La Hoya in mega fight.
3. Ronald “Winky” Wright 50-3-1 (25 KOs) – Winky is arguably the best technical fighter in the business. He is scheduled to fight former Welterweight champion Ike Quartey this December in a match that could set-up a rematch between him and Jermain Taylor. He has proven himself as one of the best fighters in the world by beating boxing superstars like Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad.
4. Jermain Taylor 25-0-1 (17 KOs) – “Bad Intentions” is scheduled to defend his Middleweight title against former Junior Middleweight champion Kassim “The Dream” Ouma this December. He plans to move up in weight after a few more fights in the Middleweight division. But in my opinion, he has to finish his business with Wright before moving up. This former Olympian has beaten Middleweight legend Bernard Hopkins twice and drew with Winky Wright in his last outing.
5. Marco Antonio Barrera 63-4-0 (42 KOs) – His last outing against Juarez was not the typical Barrera fight that we’re used to see. However, he was still able to erase his controversial decision win over Juarez in their first fight with this one-sided jab clinic. He was supposed to fight Manny Pacquiao March of next year but due to Pacquiao promotional problems their super fight has to wait a few more months.
6. Rafael Marquez 36-3-0 (32 KOs) – He is perhaps one of the hardest punchers in the sport. He recently disposed South African Silence Mabuza in a rematch. He has defended his IBF Batamweight title seven times. But Marquez’s Batamweight dominance may end next year as he plans to move up to Super Batamweight and challenge 122 pound ruler Israel Vazquez.
7. Joe Calzaghe 42-0-0 (31 KOs) – The Pride of Wales had a rough fight in his last fight against Sakio Bika of Australia. With his win over Bika, he has now defended his Super Middleweight title for an unprecedented 19 times since winning it over British boxing legend Chris Eubank in 1997. Calzaghe is now planning to move up in weight and currently challenging legends like Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins.
8. Israel Vazquez 41-3-0 (30 KOs) – He is coming of a dramatic comeback victory over tough WBO Batamweight Champion Jhonny Gonzalez last September. He’s now looking for bigger and better things to come next year because of the much anticipated arrival of Rafael Marquez in his division.
9. Ricky Hatton 41-0-0 (30 KOs) – “The Hitman” is scheduled to face undefeated IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Juan Urango in January in his Las Vegas debut. His fight against Urango is his comeback fight in the Junior Welterweight division. He recently vacated his WBA Welterweight Champion after he decided to go back down in weight. A win over Juan Urango may set-up a mega fight with former Lightweight ruler Jose Luis Castillo.
10. Miguel Cotto 27-0-0 (22 KOs) – He recently vacated his WBO Junior Welterweight title to move up in weight to challenge fellow Boricua Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA Welterweight title, the title Ricky Hatton vacated. Cotto owns victories over former champions like Randall Bailey and Demarcus Corley whom he both knocked out. He defeated highly regarded Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in his last outing in brutal fight.