28.11.07 – By Matt Yanofsky: Boxing has its fair share of undefeated fighters most however have not been tested. Even with the southern circuit helping build up records of plenty young fighters {see JD Chapman, and David Rodriguez} there are some world class fighters who have yet to taste defeat. Here are the 15 best fighters in the world pound for pound with out a loss along with 10 more who are worth an honorable mention..
1. Floyd Mayweather 38-0 – Universally recognized as the best fighter in the world, Mayweather is easily the best undefeated fighter around. He has defeated Jose Luis Castillo {once clearly, once controversially}, Oscar De La Hoya, Zab Judah Carlos Hernandez, and the Diego Corrales among others. Mayweather has a December 8th date where he is the favorite to defeat fellow undefeated star Ricky Hatton.
2. Joe Calzaghe 44-0 – Calzaghe opened the eyes and earned respect from just about all of his critics following his dominant victory over previously undefeated and unified champion Mikkel Kessler. Calzaghe is one of the few fighters who have performed his best during his biggest fights {see his fights against Jeff Lacy and longtime champion Chris Eubank}. If Calzaghe ends up facing Bernard Hopkins next and clearly defeats him, he may arguably be the best undefeated fighter in the world.
3. Ricky Hatton 43-0 – Hatton, the world champion at 140 lbs has been dominating the division since his stoppage win of legend Kostya Tszyu. Hatton has also defeated world champions Juan Urango, Carlos Maussa Vince Phillips, Luis Collazo {although some felt he lost}, and most recently the legendary Jose Luis Castillo. Hatton is now set to tangle with Floyd Mayweather December 8th and he is a live underdog.
4. Kelly Pavlik 32-0 – The Ghost burst onto the world boxing scene following his impressive knockout victories over contender Edison Miranda and former undefeated unified middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Pavlik also stopped former world champion Bronco McKart, as well as tough guys Fulgencio Zuniga and Jose Luis Zertuche. The new “American Boy” Pavlik is scheduled for a rematch with Jermain Taylor at a catch weight of 166 lbs.
5. Miguel Cotto 31-0 – After defeating boxing legend “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Cotto showed us his versatility and a powerful jab that we had not previously seen. The best body puncher in pro boxing has defeated world champions Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi, Demarcus Corley, Randall Bailey, Ricardo Torres, and Lovemore N’dou among others. Cotto is waiting for either Oscar De La Hoya or the Floyd Mayweather Ricky Hatton winner. Beating any of those three would sky rocket him up the list!
6. Juan Diaz 33-0 – Diaz is another quickly rising American star. Diaz was very impressive in dominating IBF champion Julio Diaz. Juan also made a name for himself by forcing Acelino Freitas to quit on his stool while ceasing his WBO belt last April. Diaz has the WBA,WBO, and IBF belts and is clearly the number one fighter at 135 lbs. He is set for what should be an exciting fight against all action and fellow undefeated fighter Michael Katsidis.
7. Ivan Calderon 29-0 – This world class boxing machine made 11 defenses of his Strawweight title before moving up to 108 lbs and handing linear champion Hugo Cazares his first loss since 1999. This defensive expert has made just about all of his opponents look bad over 12 rounds {scoring only 6 knockouts along the way}. Calderon is set to face contender Juan Esquer in what expects to be UD12 for this mini-machine.
8. Joan Guzman 28-0 – Guzman just scored an impressive victory on HBO over Humberto Soto, who was arguably the most rejuvenated fighter in the world. Guzman has the world of talent and incredibly fast hands. Guzman also dominated world champion Jorge Barrios, Javier Jauregui, and the Late Agapito Sanchez. I would love to see Guzman fight Manny Pacquaio because I think Guzman can push him but the politics of boxing will probably prevent the fight from happening.
9. Chris John 40-0-1 – Although John has fought mostly in obscure Indonesia, he is easily the best featherweight in the world. John has a unanimous decision victory over top 5 pound for pound Juan Manuel Marquez. John has also defeated former champ Derrick “Smoke” Gainer. John is a very good boxer, but will have a hard time moving up the list unless he gets up to 130 lbs where there is a world of talent.
10. Edwin Valero 22-0 – Valero is currently adding to his cult following in America. Undefeated with all knockouts, Valero impressively stopped his first 18 opponents IN THE FIRST ROUND! The current WBA super featherweight king won his title after trading knock down with Vincete Mosquera before stopping him in the 10th. Valero’s biggest problem aside from weak competition so far is his United States Medical suspension. Valero was hurt in a motorcycle accident and failed a brain scan that is preventing him from fighting in America. Unless he is cleared to fight in
11. Ruslan Chagaev 23-0-1 – “The White Tyson” as he is improperly nicknamed is coming off a shocking victory over 7 foot Russian giant Nikolay Valuev {who was 46-0 and had the WBC belt}. Chagaev also defeated former world champion John Ruiz and handed highly ranked Vladimir Virchis his only loss. Chagaev may be stuck waiting for fights to fall into place as he blew unification with Sultan Ibragimov due to an illness.
12. Chad Dawson 25-0 – This supremely talented southpaw opened a lot of eyes with his dominant victory over then WBA Light Heavyweight Tomasz Adamek {who was 31-0 at the time I may add}. Dawson also defeated former world champion Carl Daniels, and long time contender Eric Harding. Dawson was denied a unification fight against Antonio Tarver but does have an April TV date. Expect it to be against 24-0 Adrian Diacnou who is his mandatory.
13. Paul Williams 33-0 – Williams was the only man willing to face Antonio Margarito and he made the most of his opportunity. Williams used his classic volume punching to hand the long time WBO Welterweight king only his second loss since 1996. Williams, who also dominated former champion Sharmba Mitchell is scheduled to face Kermit Cintron February 2nd but that fight may fall a part due to Cintron’s hand injury this Friday against Jesse Feliciano.
14. Arthur Abraham 24-0 – Abraham is coming off a knock out of the year quality stoppage of top ranked contender Khoren Gevor in August. Abraham generated some talk with his controversial victory over Edison Miranda {who was undefeated at the time}. Abraham broke his jaw in the 5th round but battled back for a decision victory and then spent over a week in the hospital from his injuries. In addition, Abraham defeated long time contenders Howard Eastman, Shannon Taylor, and Kofi Jantuah. Abraham is set to tangle with British champ Wayne Elcock on December 8th with hopes of coming to America and facing Kelly Pavlik if victorious.
15. Lucian Bute 21-0 – Canada’s top fighter is coming off an impressive stoppage of power punching monster Alejandro Berrio where he picked up the IBF Super Middleweight belt. Bute also handily defeated Contender season 3 champion/world title challenger Sakio Bika this summer on ESPN. With Calzaghe likely moving up to 175, look for Bute to pick up another belt
Honorable mention: Jorge Linares, Sultan Ibragimov, Alexander Povetkin, Marco Huck, John Duddy, Joachim Alcine, Steve Molitor, Mike Oliver, Wladimir Sidorenko, and Sergiy Dzinziruk