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Quadzilla99
07-10-2006, 12:04 AM
For the few remaining boxing fans like me. No link because it's an Insider article.
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Who is the world's best fighter, regardless of weight class? See my top 20 below.

Click here for my division-by-division rankings, from heavyweight to strawweight.

The rankings will resume being updated on the second Thursday of each month.


Note: Results through June 15.


TOP 10

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (36-0, 24 KOs)

Welterweight titleholder
Hits: If Oscar De La Hoya decides to fight once more, he says he will only face Mayweather, meaning we could have a super fight Sept. 16 between the two stars. That is great for boxing because a De La Hoya-Mayweather fight would easily generate massive public interest and easily surpass 1 million pay-per-view buys.
Misses: If De La Hoya decides to retire, Mayweather is left out in the cold with no fight that comes even close to it in terms of money or profile. And if it does happen, what kind of person is Mayweather for wanting to fight a man that his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., trains? By the same token, what kind of man is Mayweather Sr. for his willingness to train De La Hoya to beat his son? That family needs some serious therapy.

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2. Winky Wright (50-3, 25 KOs)

Middleweight
Hits: It's one tough, significant fight after another for Wright. From two fights in a row with Shane Mosley to a huge fight with Felix Trinidad to a smaller, but still tough, fight with Sam Soliman to a showdown with Jermain Taylor for middleweight supremacy, Wright wants to face only the best opponents available.
Misses: The Taylor fight is his last one with loyal promoter Gary Shaw, whom Wright tried to stab in the back during negotiations only to be forced to honor his commitment to him. It has made Wright and Shaw an odd couple of promotion.

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3. Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs)

Light heavyweight king
Hits: The former great middleweight champion is bowing out in storybook fashion. After dominating at middleweight for a decade and making a division-record 20 title defenses, he lost a pair of disputed decisions to Taylor last year, then moved up two weight classes for his career finale. So what does he do? He kicks Antonio Tarver's butt all over the ring to claim light heavyweight supremacy in a big upset at 41. Simply amazing.
Misses: Had Hopkins fought Taylor with the same kind of fast start and overall aggressive style, he probably would have defeated Taylor in their first bout. But that's water under the bridge.

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4. Manny Pacquiao (41-3-2, 33 KOs)

Junior lightweight
Hits: If he gets past former junior featherweight champ Oscar Larios in Philippines homecoming, Pacquiao has huge fights in his future -- a fall rubber match against Erik Morales and eventually a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.
Misses: Given that Pacquiao is going to fight at home in the Philippines, where he is a national hero, it will be almost impossible for him to avoid distractions going into the fight, and that can be very dangerous.

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5. Marco Antonio Barrera (62-4, 42 KOs)

Junior lightweight champion
Hits: It was close, but Barrera showed his champion's heart by pulling out a close split decision against young and hungry Rocky Juarez. Even on an off night, Barrera showed he can still find a way to win.
Misses: After seeing how badly Barrera struggled against Juarez, it's hard not to think that all the years of grueling fights might finally have caught up with him and that the decline might be about to set in.

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6. Jose Luis Castillo (54-7-1, 47 KOs)

Junior welterweight
Hits: Putting the weight issue aside for a moment, Castillo remains one of the top fighters in the sport. He has faced all comers in recent years and has a tremendous record against them.
Misses: Where do we start? How about his utter lack of professionalism? He failed to make weight for the second time before a lightweight championship fight with rival Diego Corrales, and the damage he and his team did by concealing that he was not on weight is immeasurable. He deserves a significant suspension and a substantial fine from Nevada boxing regulators. Throw the book at him. Or maybe a pizza box.

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7. Rafael Marquez (35-3, 31 KOs)

Bantamweight champion
Hits: Seems to be putting his career back on track by signing with promoter Shaw and getting an Aug. 5 slot on Showtime. With his talent and power, he belongs on premium cable boxing telecasts.
Misses: Unfortunately, his upcoming rematch with Silence Mabuza, whom he destroyed last fall, is pointless. There is absolutely no reason for the fight. Marquez doesn't need it, and Mabuza sure as hell doesn't deserve it. Marquez ought to be going after significant opponents at this stage of his career, not fighting matches no one cares about.

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8. Jermain Taylor (25-0, 17 KOs)

Unified middleweight champion
Hits: Anyone who fights back-to-back fights against Bernard Hopkins (and wins), then fights Winky Wright deserves complete respect from all boxing fans.
Misses: Although it is certainly Taylor's prerogative to replace trainer Pat Burns with all-time great trainer Emanuel Steward, the way Burns was sent packing was pretty weak and lacked class.

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9. Joe Calzaghe (41-0, 31 KOs)

Unified super middleweight champion
Hits: After so many wasted years of fighting lesser fights, Welsh champion finally was making a change, first unifying titles with a terrific performance against Jeff Lacy, then agreeing to take on dangerous former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson this summer.
Misses: Before the fight with Johnson could even be announced officially, brittle Calzaghe suffered yet another injury and will be sidelined until the fall. Momentum? What momentum?

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10. Erik Morales (48-4, 34 KOs)

Junior lightweight
Hits: How much of a competitor is Morales? He backed off his insistence for his rubber match with Pacquiao to be at 132 pounds and has agreed to make 130 pounds. You can be sure Morales will be in the best shape he can be in for the third fight Nov. 18.
Misses: With the timing of the rubber match moved to its third date -- from September to October to November -- do you get the feeling it's not going to happen?

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Second 10
11. Ricky Hatton
12. Shane Mosley
13. Oscar De La Hoya
14. Diego Corrales
15. Antonio Tarver
16. Glen Johnson
17. Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon
18. Chris John
19. Juan Manuel Marquez
20. Antonio Margarito

scott
07-10-2006, 05:47 PM
Quad... since you are a boxing fan, do you know what ever happened to Felix Strum? He seemed to disappear of the face of the earth since beating the crap out of and subsequently being jobbed out of a win versus De La Hoya.

Quadzilla99
07-10-2006, 09:27 PM
He's still in the mix at middleweight. He can't really punch that great and he's from Germany so he hasn't been that in demand because fans aren't too excited about him. He's not a box office draw. That's what it boils down to a lot of times who can get you the most money if you fight them. This is the best fight site for looking up guys records although their rankings suck http://www.boxrec.com/index.php.

atxrocker
07-11-2006, 02:28 AM
Quad... since you are a boxing fan, do you know what ever happened to Felix Strum? He seemed to disappear of the face of the earth since beating the crap out of and subsequently being jobbed out of a win versus De La Hoya.


Oscar De La Hoya shouuld have been shot for not giving the public an apology after that fight and decision. One of the worst scoring I have ever seen. That fight still makes me fucking sick to my stomach. Sturm whooped that boy.

atxrocker
07-11-2006, 02:29 AM
For the few remaining boxing fans like me. No link because it's an Insider article.
__________________________________________________ ______

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (36-0, 24 KOs)

Welterweight titleholder
Hits: If Oscar De La Hoya decides to fight once more, he says he will only face Mayweather, meaning we could have a super fight Sept. 16 between the two stars. That is great for boxing because a De La Hoya-Mayweather fight would easily generate massive public interest and easily surpass 1 million pay-per-view buys.
Misses: If De La Hoya decides to retire, Mayweather is left out in the cold with no fight that comes even close to it in terms of money or profile. And if it does happen, what kind of person is Mayweather for wanting to fight a man that his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., trains? By the same token, what kind of man is Mayweather Sr. for his willingness to train De La Hoya to beat his son? That family needs some serious therapy.

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I fucking hate Mayweathers punk ass. "Pretty boy" needs to get his ass kicked. I hate De La Hoya but hope he knocks floyd out. that would be awesome if corrales could do it, too.

shane mosley does not to be ranked #12. fuck that. the dudes a has been and is gonna get whipped by vargas this weekend.

polandprzem
07-11-2006, 02:55 AM
I hate Floyd also.

Did I saw wrong or there are no heavyweight boxers in top20?

Where is Adamek? :cuss

Quadzilla99
07-11-2006, 03:49 AM
I fucking hate Mayweathers punk ass. "Pretty boy" needs to get his ass kicked.
Ditto.

SlovenianGuy
07-11-2006, 05:11 AM
Click here for my division-by-division rankings, from heavyweight to strawweight.

Could someone post his welterweight rankings, please.

Thank you!

Quadzilla99
07-11-2006, 05:25 AM
Could someone post his welterweight rankings, please.

Thank you!
His welterweight rankings give credit to the linear champ Baldomir. Which makes no sense as he ranks Mayweather ahead of him overall. If you ignore that farce they're pretty solid.
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WELTERWEIGHTS (147 POUNDS)



1. Carlos Baldomir (42-9-6)

If you thought the Boardwalk was jumping and filled with excitement before Tarver-Hopkins, just wait until the week Baldomir faces Arturo Gatti. It will be a terrific scene, and we expect a very good fight, too.
Next: July 22 vs. Gatti.



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2. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (36-0)
"Pretty Boy" is used to being in control of his own destiny, but just like everyone else, he has to sit back and wait to see if Oscar De La Hoya will fight him or retire. It must be an agonizing wait.
Next: TBA.

3. Antonio Margarito (33-4)
Since he and Top Rank can't seem to agree on money, it appears unlikely that he will fight on the Aug. 12 HBO PPV undercard of the show headlined by the Hasim Rahman-Oleg Maskaev heavyweight title fight. Margarito is in limbo but could potentially get Mayweather if De La Hoya leaves him at the altar.
Next: TBA.

4. Ricky Hatton (41-0)
The British superstar moved up from junior welterweight to win a welterweight belt against Luis Collazo in Boston on May 13, in Hatton's first fight as a headliner in the United States and his HBO debut. His difficulties showed that he might be better served going back to 140 pounds even though the biggest fights are probably at welterweight.
Next: TBA.

5. Luis Collazo (26-2)
Losing to Hatton in such a close fight raised his stock more than any of his victories. Now there is talk that he will be invited back to HBO to appear on a Sept. 9 card headlined by heavyweight titlist Nicolay Valuev. A potential Margarito-Collazo fight quickly fizzled because the money just wasn't there.
Next: TBA.

6. Zab Judah (34-4)
With his boxing license revoked for a year and his entire purse gone to the IRS and fines stemming from the ugly incident during his April 8 fight with Mayweather, Judah is in such sorry financial shape that the word is that he is in the process of selling his home to help him take care of a mountain of debt.
Next: TBA.

7. Arturo "Thunder" Gatti (40-7)
Everyone's favorite action star has won titles at junior lightweight and junior welterweight, but he has never been considered "the man" in either division. At this late stage of his career, a victory against Baldomir will give him that recognition at welterweight. It's a tough, but winnable fight.
Next: July 22 vs. Baldomir.

8. Kermit Cintron (26-1)
Coming off a 10th-round TKO of David Estrada in a candidate for fight of the year on April 19, Cintron will be back in the spotlight when he faces untested Richard Gutierrez (18-0) in an HBO "Boxing After Dark" undercard bout.
Next: July 29 vs. Gutierrez

9. Oktay Urkal (37-3)
He's the mandatory challenger for Hatton's new title, meaning that if Hatton decides to stay at 147 pounds, his next fight would be in the fall against Urkal. It's a solid fight and one that HBO will approve. Urkal stayed busy by winning an eight-round decision over Andrei Rimer on June 3.
Next: TBA.

10. Paul Williams (30-0)
What's not to like about Williams? In his May 27 HBO debut, Williams stopped previously undefeated Walter Matthysse in the 10th round in an impressive performance. Williams showed speed, power and a terrific chin in absorbing some bombs. As a 6-foot-1 southpaw with all of those attributes, expect the top fighters to steer clear of him until they have to face him.
Next: TBA.