MATT YANOFSKY’S UPDATED P4P LIST
Posted on | July 23, 2007 | 1 Comment
Pound for Pound List {As Of 7/23/07}
By Matt Yanofsky
1. Floyd Mayweather {Junior Middleweight}
Floyd Mayweather’s once again becomes the clear number one pound for pound fighter after defeating the legendary Oscar De La Hoya. All of the Mayweather critics must give him respect for not only taking the fight at too high of a weight, but also using Oscar’s gloves and winning in Vegas where De La Hoya is a favorite. I was surprised to see it be a split decision as I felt Floyd clearly won the contest. De La Hoya has stated there will be no rematch. If Floyd elects to fight again, it would most likely come against Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton in what would be another mega fight.
2. Manny Pacquiao {Junior Lightweight}
Although he got off to a slow start and needed 8 rounds to dispose the tall awkward and undefeated Jorge Solis, Pacman got the job done. He also had an excellent 2006 where he twice knocked out Erik Morales and battered former champion Oscar Larios. Pacquaio is now scheduled for a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera October 6th on pay per view. This is good news as promotional differences were settled between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions. If Pacquaio is victorious as expected, this can lead to another rematch with a Golden Boy fighter, Juan Manuel Marquez.
3. Rafael Marquez {Super Bantamweight}
Marquez successfully moved up from Bantamweight to stop WBC and Ring Magazine Champion Israel Vazquez in a thriller. Marquez’ used his incredible punching power to break down Vazquez. Vazquez retired on his stool after the 7th round claiming he couldn’t breathe due to a nose injury. Marquez also showed the heart of a champion when he recovering from a third round knockdown to ultimately come back to stop the fight. Lucky for us boxing fans, we will get to see a rematch August 4th in what will probably be another candidate for fight of the year.
4. Bernard Hopkins {Light Heavyweight}
After retaining his Light Heavyweight World Title by defeating Winky Wright in a 12 round snooze fest, Hopkins showed that he is still a top pound for pound fighter. Hopkins said he wants to fight Joe Calzaghe in Yankee Stadium. Hopkins will have to wait until after Calzaghe fights Mikkel Kessler in November. If Calzaghe is not victorious, Hopkins will most likely attempt to face Kessler.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez {Junior Lightweight}
Just like his brother Rafael, Juan Manuel successfully moved up in weight to win the WBC championship. Marquez out pointed the legendary Macro Antonio Barrera. Ironically, one year ago Marquez was thought of as being in no man’s land after taking $30,000 in losing to Chris John instead of a potential rematch with Pacquaio, which at the time Marquez priced himself out of. Marquez will be fighting the always entertaining Jorge Barrios on a September 16th pay per view card.
6. Ricky Hatton {Junior Welterweight}
Hatton retained his Junior Welterweight World Title when he surprisingly dominated legendary warrior Jose Luis Castillo en route to a 4th round KO. Hatton floored Castillo for the first time in his career with a picture perfect body shot ala Roy Jones/Virgil Hill. Hatton now has many options for his next fight which potentially include Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, and Paulie Malignaggi.
7. Joe Calzaghe {Super Middleweight}
Calzaghe had a controversial stoppage win over Manfredo but regardless of the controversy, Calzaghe was dominating as expected and it would have not lasted much longer than it did. Joe had a tougher time than expected in his prior fight. Calzaghe recovered from the first cut of his career against Sakio Bika to earn a unanimous decision. Calzaghe is successful, and he will have some options. To the delight of the entire boxing world, Calzaghe appears to be heading over to Denmark to face undefeated WBA/WBC Champion Mikkel Kessler in November in what may be the biggest fight in Super Middleweight History.
8. Jermain Taylor {Middleweight}
Taylor earned an extremely lackluster and what some felt controversial decision over sprinter/Junior Middleweight Cory Spinks. This was the third straight Junior Middleweight titlist {Kassim Ouma and Winky Wright} that he had faced. Taylor is now set to challenge undefeated #1 Middleweight contender Kelly Pavlik September 29th on HBO. Taylor has announced this will be his last fight at 160 lbs. If Taylor wins, he is also a candidate to face the winner of Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler. If Pavlik wins, Taylor has a rematch clause but the rematch must take place above 160 lbs.
9. Winky Wright {Middleweight}
Wright fell just short against legend Bernard Hopkins for the Light Heavyweight world title. I scored the fight a draw {as did Harold Lederman of HBO} but the three judges came up with the ludicrous scores of 116-112 and 117-111 twice for Hopkins. Wright said he will move back down to 160 but he may be out of luck as Middleweight stars Edison Miranda, Jermain Taylor, and Kelly Pavlik will all be at 168 in the near future. If Winky is not willing to move up to 168 or attempt to make 154 where he was at his best, Wright may be with out a fight!
10. Marco Antonio Barrera {Super Featherweight}
Barrera dropped a decision to the great Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight some saw as a robbery. I disagree that the fight was a robbery but I do belive Barrera is still a top 10 lb for lb fighter and can rebound as he has in the past from his prior losses. Barerra being the true warrior that he is will be taking on Manny Pacquaio and attempting to avenge his 2003 knockout loss to the Pilipino bomber who was virtually unknown at the time.
Honorable Mention: Chris John, Ivan Calderon, Joel Casamayor, Wladimir Klitschko, Shane Mosley, Juan Diaz, Mikkel Kessler, Jean Marc Mormeck, Miguel Cotto, Joan Guzman