Boxing pound-for-pound: January 2010

While admittedly unofficial, the data pulled every month for this article represents the average of the five top boxing pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings. While this report will never be used for historical purposes, January 2010 is the first time that the legitimate bookends of the list are fighters from the Philippines.
According to the self-labeled boxing gurus from around the world, here are the P4P best fighters for January 2010:

Number 10. Nonito Donaire

Donaire cracked the top 10 in November by way of a three-way tie with Ivan Calderon and Rafael Marquez for the number 10 spot. What's interesting, however, is the publication responsible for Nonito's rise in the rankings, The Ring magazine, has him as the number six P4P fighter and the number seven junior bantamweight. Vic Darchinyan has no interest in getting knocked out again; therefore, the Filipino Flash should move up to bantamweight where he will find Hozumi Hasegawa, Yonnhy Perez, Joseph Agbeko, Abner Mares, and Fernando Montiel.

Number 9. Israel Vazquez

If BoxRec is correct, Vazquez will meet Rafael Marquez in May 2010 for the fourth time. The first three fights were all time classics and Vazquez won two of them. Should Marquez prevail in May, look to see a fifth and final installment (assuming the Red Cross has enough inventory).

Number 8. Miguel Cotto

Cotto dropped a position this month given his unsuccessful shot at number 1 below. A year ago, you would have been hard pressed to find a welterweight who could defeat Miguel. Now the exact opposite is true. Cotto has perhaps one more shot at relevancy and such probably begins with a 2010 rematch against a licensed and plaster-free Antonio Margarito.

Number 7. Chad Dawson

Dawson is a fantastic fighter who is more good than "bad." This author's 2010 wish list includes Dawson dropping down to super middleweight. If that doesn't happen, then it's time for Tavoris Cloud, Jean Pascal, and Adrian Diaconu. What about Bernard Hopkins? Yeah, right.

Number 6. Paul Williams

The once self-proclaimed "most avoided man in boxing" got slapped around last month by Sergio Martinez. Yes, Williams won the fight; however, it was Martinez who won over the fans. Paul doesn't need Kelly Pavlik right now. Give us another fight against Martinez first and let Pavlik keep his promise of middleweight unification by fighting Felix Sturm.

Number 5. Juan Manuel Marquez

There is a lot of speculation surrounding who Marquez will fight in May. According to James Slater of EastSideBoxing.com, the two names coming up the most are Michael Katsidis and Ricky Hatton. Move up, fight Hatton, and then seek out some Roach revenge against Amir Khan.

Number 4. Bernard Hopkins

Is he a future hall of famer? Yes. Is he a top P4P fighter today? No.

Number 3. Shane Mosley

Mosley will face Andre Berto later this month and he will need a convincing win if he is going to remain in contention to fight the winner of numbers 1 and 2 below.

Number 2. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

We may have lost "The King of Pop" in 2009, but we still have the drama queen of talk. The Ring magazine recently declared Money May to be one of the greatest welterweights of all time. Floyd, now it's your turn to prove it.

Number 1. Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao is not only the unanimous number 1 P4P fighter in the world, but he also leads by example. He fights multiple times per year and he faces the best. Manny had every reason not to fight Miguel Cotto in November. He could have stayed at 140lbs and faced Paulie Malignaggi or Juan Diaz--something Mayweather would have done. Instead, he faced the most dangerous guy out there and dominated him. That is the DNA of a number one P4P fighter in a nutshell.

It doesn't matter what Floyd wants as a pre-fight test: blood; urine (keep Marquez away); field sobriety; SAT; vision; hearing; or the whole "feats of strength" battery that George Constanza's dad required to be performed on Festivus. The results will all be conclusive and show nothing more than--100% Grade A Filipino bad arse.

Happy New Year everyone.

Source: Eric Sloan  | eXaminer.com

Mosley Is The Only Way Floyd May-Weather The Pacquiao Storm

As brilliant as he is in the boxing ring, and he is brilliant, Floyd Mayweather's decision to retire from boxing before the De La Hoya rematch and the subsequent decisions he made that cost him his life savings during the 18 months he spent off, make it resoundingly clear to everyone that Floyd Mayweather Jr, is not the brightest light bulb in the chandelier.

Ever the flickering bulb, the Mayweather (not Golden Boy, so Arum owes me all of the money in the world) decision, to go public via their publicist prepared statement, takes the cake.

Other than himself, Mayweather has nobody to blame for the current position he finds himself in, but the person who authorized that statement to go public. That decision wound up costing him a career high payday against Manny Pacquiao, and placed him in the middle of a defamation lawsuit that might cost him future funds he can't afford to lose.

Since it's quite clear that the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr mega-fight is no longer happening on March 13, with Pacquiao running for congress, September or even later in the fall would seem the like the logical destination for any rescheduling.

It's also quite clear that Floyd Mayweather's BIG money options, are few and far between.

The only other name that comes to mind is future hall of famer Sugar Shane Mosley, who first has to defeat undefeated WBC champion Andre Berto on January 30.

Mosley is favored to take care of business against Berto. If he does, Mayweather will have found his only way to save face following his ruining of the Pacquiao fight, a move that has many boxing fans demanding that Floyd undergo random blood testing for estrogen poisoning.

You see, Mosley wants to fight Mayweather more than Mayweather wanted to ruin the Pacquiao event. And Moley has made it perfectly clear to Boxingtalk.com that he's ready, willing and able to take any test Mayweather might request.

Of course, Pacquiao never being affiliated with Victor Conte or Balco, could have something to do with he and Shane winding up on opposite sides of the spectrum as it relates to undergoing additional testing not required by the NSAC, just because Floyd says so.

In either event, on January 30, Mayweather should be seated ringside with his Sugar Shane pom-pom's on and hope Sugarman isn't suffering from another sweet-tooth because Mosley is THE ONLY other mega-fight out there for Floyd .

Although Floyd will do much better than the 50-50 split he and Pacquiao agreed to, many believe Mosley is a tougher fight for Mayweather than Pacquiao.

Mayweather's current position in the public eye has hit an all-time low, and that's saying something for someone capable of coming off so obnoxious he makes the angry version of my friend (and I don't mean that sarcastically) Jeff Wald appear courteous.


Mosley undergoing the additional tests that Pacquiao has refused would give Mayweather stronger position in the court of public appeal moving forward againt Pacquiao somewhere down the line.

In the meantime if Mayweather desires to issue another publicist prepared statement, perhaps he can fill us in on his open cases with JP Morgan Chase and the Ashley Realty Group in the court of Clark County. Those cases are viewable here.

Simply enter Mayweather's name while searchig the district civil records by party to retrieve the case info.

Source: G. Leon  BoxingTalk

KO of the Year: Pacquiao-Hatton

While the boxing world and even the sports world as a whole wait to see whether Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. can overcome their stalemate over the drug-testing protocol for their tentative March 13 fight, we can at least revel in one of the greatest moments of Pacquiao's storied career.

Already a five-division champion when he met Ricky Hatton, Pacquiao -- the Filipino idol coming off his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya -- was gunning for a title in a record-tying sixth division when he met "The Hitman" on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Hatton was the junior welterweight champion and unbeaten at 140 pounds, having lost only to Mayweather in a 2007 welterweight title fight.

The excitement was palpable in Vegas. Some 25,000 British Hatton fans had crossed the pond to party like it was 1999, and a sold-out arena of 16,262 -- mostly Hatton supporters -- rocked the house, including verse after verse of their "There's Only One Ricky Hatton" song.

They didn't celebrate for long.

The much faster Pacquiao dropped Hatton hard twice in the opening round and finished him in ruthless fashion in the second round with one of the greatest knockouts in recent memory. It was the obvious choice for the 2009 ESPN.com Knockout of the Year.

Just as the 10-second warning sounded to signal the end of the round was coming, Pacquiao unleashed a full-leverage perfect left hand that crashed into Hatton's chin and knocked him stiff. Hatton fell sideways, going down hard and hitting his head on the canvas. He came to rest flat on his back in the center of the ring, his arms at his sides and his body perfectly aligned on the Rockstar Energy Drink logo.

"Boom! Oh, my gosh! What a straight left hand," HBO's Jim Lampley exclaimed. "And will Hatton make it up from this, or is that it? No way. That is that. What an amazing knockout shot. That is the most spectacular one-punch shot of Manny Pacquiao's incredible career!"

While a joyous Pacquiao celebrated with his team, Hatton was visibly gasping for air as referee Kenny Bayless kneeled beside him. He immediately called off the fight with one second left in the round and attempted to extricate Hatton's mouthpiece as his family looked on in horror from ringside.

"I really didn't see the punch coming, but it was a great shot," Hatton said after being examined by ringside medical personnel and regaining his senses.

The following afternoon, Pacquiao watched a DVD of the fight for the first time with about 15 people in his hotel suite at Mandalay Bay. When the knockout punch landed, Pacquiao turned to a reporter sitting next to him and said unprompted: "Yeah, it's a good shot. I felt it on my knuckles."

Then the reporter asked Pacquiao whether he thought it would hold up as the knockout of the year.

"Yeah, I think so," Pacquiao answered.

Now he knows it.

Brian Viloria KO11 Ulises Solis (April 19 at Manila, Philippines)

Viloria sure lived up to his nickname -- "The Hawaiian Punch" -- as he obliterated Solis with a single right hand to the chin to win a junior flyweight title with four seconds left in the round. Viloria got awesome leverage on the shot, turning into it with all his might. Solis went down to all fours and put his forehead on the canvas. Then he rolled over on his back, struggled to a sitting position and eventually went back to the mat, where medical personnel rushed to his side and gave him oxygen.

Juan Manuel Marquez KO9 Juan Diaz (Feb. 28 at Houston)

This was one of the year's best fights. It also featured several candidates for best round, and it ended with one of the year's best knockouts. Marquez, the lightweight champ, came to Diaz's hometown to defend against the former titleholder, and they waged a tremendous battle that ended with the exclamation point of a big Marquez knockout blow.

Marquez had found a home for his effective uppercut early in the highly competitive fight. With Diaz bleeding from a cut in the eighth, Marquez began to take over and, in the ninth, finished off Diaz. Marquez initially dropped Diaz face-first into the ropes with an uppercut. Moments later, he splattered Diaz in the middle of the ring with a series of blows capped by -- what else? -- a murderous right uppercut as referee Rafael Ramos immediately waved off the fight.

"What you just saw was a really good young fighter knocked out by a great old fighter," HBO's Max Kellerman said, describing the scene at ringside.

Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito (Jan. 24 at Los Angeles)

Mosley, who had been hammering Margarito (sans illegal padding that had been discovered in Margarito's mitts in the dressing room before the fight) all night, had finally dropped him at the very end of the eighth round. As the ninth round began, Mosley continued his assault.

"This fight could be stopped any second now," HBO's Jim Lampley blared. "Margarito is getting hit flush with every right hand!" After eating a few more shots, Margarito crumpled again in a corner as referee Raul Caiz moved in to stop the fight.

"Shane Mosley has annihilated Antonio Margarito," Lampley exclaimed. Given the reputation Margarito had for an indestructible chin, it was a stunning scene. Mosley, who won the welterweight title again in an upset, had closed the show in style, outlanding Margarito 21-0 in the ninth round.

Source: ESPN Go

KO of the Year: Pacquiao-Hatton

While the boxing world and even the sports world as a whole wait to see whether Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. can overcome their stalemate over the drug-testing protocol for their tentative March 13 fight, we can at least revel in one of the greatest moments of Pacquiao's storied career.

Already a five-division champion when he met Ricky Hatton, Pacquiao -- the Filipino idol coming off his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya -- was gunning for a title in a record-tying sixth division when he met "The Hitman" on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Hatton was the junior welterweight champion and unbeaten at 140 pounds, having lost only to Mayweather in a 2007 welterweight title fight.

The excitement was palpable in Vegas. Some 25,000 British Hatton fans had crossed the pond to party like it was 1999, and a sold-out arena of 16,262 -- mostly Hatton supporters -- rocked the house, including verse after verse of their "There's Only One Ricky Hatton" song.

They didn't celebrate for long.

The much faster Pacquiao dropped Hatton hard twice in the opening round and finished him in ruthless fashion in the second round with one of the greatest knockouts in recent memory. It was the obvious choice for the 2009 ESPN.com Knockout of the Year.

Just as the 10-second warning sounded to signal the end of the round was coming, Pacquiao unleashed a full-leverage perfect left hand that crashed into Hatton's chin and knocked him stiff. Hatton fell sideways, going down hard and hitting his head on the canvas. He came to rest flat on his back in the center of the ring, his arms at his sides and his body perfectly aligned on the Rockstar Energy Drink logo.

"Boom! Oh, my gosh! What a straight left hand," HBO's Jim Lampley exclaimed. "And will Hatton make it up from this, or is that it? No way. That is that. What an amazing knockout shot. That is the most spectacular one-punch shot of Manny Pacquiao's incredible career!"

While a joyous Pacquiao celebrated with his team, Hatton was visibly gasping for air as referee Kenny Bayless kneeled beside him. He immediately called off the fight with one second left in the round and attempted to extricate Hatton's mouthpiece as his family looked on in horror from ringside.

"I really didn't see the punch coming, but it was a great shot," Hatton said after being examined by ringside medical personnel and regaining his senses.

The following afternoon, Pacquiao watched a DVD of the fight for the first time with about 15 people in his hotel suite at Mandalay Bay. When the knockout punch landed, Pacquiao turned to a reporter sitting next to him and said unprompted: "Yeah, it's a good shot. I felt it on my knuckles."

Then the reporter asked Pacquiao whether he thought it would hold up as the knockout of the year.

"Yeah, I think so," Pacquiao answered.

Now he knows it.

Brian Viloria KO11 Ulises Solis (April 19 at Manila, Philippines)

Viloria sure lived up to his nickname -- "The Hawaiian Punch" -- as he obliterated Solis with a single right hand to the chin to win a junior flyweight title with four seconds left in the round. Viloria got awesome leverage on the shot, turning into it with all his might. Solis went down to all fours and put his forehead on the canvas. Then he rolled over on his back, struggled to a sitting position and eventually went back to the mat, where medical personnel rushed to his side and gave him oxygen.

Juan Manuel Marquez KO9 Juan Diaz (Feb. 28 at Houston)

This was one of the year's best fights. It also featured several candidates for best round, and it ended with one of the year's best knockouts. Marquez, the lightweight champ, came to Diaz's hometown to defend against the former titleholder, and they waged a tremendous battle that ended with the exclamation point of a big Marquez knockout blow.

Marquez had found a home for his effective uppercut early in the highly competitive fight. With Diaz bleeding from a cut in the eighth, Marquez began to take over and, in the ninth, finished off Diaz. Marquez initially dropped Diaz face-first into the ropes with an uppercut. Moments later, he splattered Diaz in the middle of the ring with a series of blows capped by -- what else? -- a murderous right uppercut as referee Rafael Ramos immediately waved off the fight.

"What you just saw was a really good young fighter knocked out by a great old fighter," HBO's Max Kellerman said, describing the scene at ringside.

Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito (Jan. 24 at Los Angeles)

Mosley, who had been hammering Margarito (sans illegal padding that had been discovered in Margarito's mitts in the dressing room before the fight) all night, had finally dropped him at the very end of the eighth round. As the ninth round began, Mosley continued his assault.

"This fight could be stopped any second now," HBO's Jim Lampley blared. "Margarito is getting hit flush with every right hand!" After eating a few more shots, Margarito crumpled again in a corner as referee Raul Caiz moved in to stop the fight.

"Shane Mosley has annihilated Antonio Margarito," Lampley exclaimed. Given the reputation Margarito had for an indestructible chin, it was a stunning scene. Mosley, who won the welterweight title again in an upset, had closed the show in style, outlanding Margarito 21-0 in the ninth round.

Source: ESPN Go

Mosley says he's never taken steroids, but Pacquiao is questionable?

In a recent interview, Shane Mosley shared his thoughts on the controversy regarding Floyd Mayweather’s demands for Olympic-style random drug testing leading up to his highly-anticipated clash with Manny Pacquiao.

“They could test me anyday they want to. I’m so clean. I’ve always been clean, till I was tricked, but it’s all good though. They could test me any day of the week. They’ve already tested me for the CBC blood test; okay whatever, let’s do it,” he stated when asked whether or not he would submit to the same type of testing if Mayweather requested it.

“When they talk about steroids, they could test me right now. Matter fact they could test me when I retire. I’ve never taken steroids ever, ever. I would never knowingly take steroids ever. I don’t do that.”

Despite admitting in 2007 that he inadvertently took two designer steroids before his rematch with De La Hoya, Mosley insists that he’s never taken any steroid and would be more than willing to submit to blood testing 30 days before a bout. To paraphrase what Mosley would say in an interview with Boxinqtalk, he basically believes that the fact that Pacquiao is unwilling to do random blood tests leading up to the fight makes him look “questionable.”

That being said, he did admit that he would prefer to take a test 30 days out as opposed to taking one the week of the fight. Perhaps to avoid also being named in a lawsuit, Mosley also made it clear that he was not accusing Pacquiao of using anything.

According to Mosley, guys like himself, Fernando Vargas and, James Toney have fallen victim to the unknown techniques implemented by strength & conditioning coaches. He maintains that he had no knowledge or details of all the supplements that he was taking and maintains the responsibility lies with the conditioning coaches.

In fact, Mosley even goes so far as to blame Oscar De La Hoya’s own loss to Pacquiao, stating the “blood diet” that his conditioning coach had him on affected his ability to put on more weight. Why Mosley, again, an admitted user of BALCO steroids, would even bother to touch this issue remains a mystery. One can only assume that, as a partner with Golden Boy Promotions, he’s simply doing the bidding of the company that he works for.

If that’s the case, then shame on Shane Mosley for helping Mayweather, who himself has repeatedly called Mosley a steroid user on numerous occassions. You have to wonder exactly how Mosley would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and it was his integrity that was brought into question. Then again, seeing as how Mosley already admitted to “unknowingly” using steroids, perhaps we already know everything there is to know about his integrity.

Mosley says he's never taken steroids, but Pacquiao is questionable?

In a recent interview, Shane Mosley shared his thoughts on the controversy regarding Floyd Mayweather’s demands for Olympic-style random drug testing leading up to his highly-anticipated clash with Manny Pacquiao.

“They could test me anyday they want to. I’m so clean. I’ve always been clean, till I was tricked, but it’s all good though. They could test me any day of the week. They’ve already tested me for the CBC blood test; okay whatever, let’s do it,” he stated when asked whether or not he would submit to the same type of testing if Mayweather requested it.

“When they talk about steroids, they could test me right now. Matter fact they could test me when I retire. I’ve never taken steroids ever, ever. I would never knowingly take steroids ever. I don’t do that.”

Despite admitting in 2007 that he inadvertently took two designer steroids before his rematch with De La Hoya, Mosley insists that he’s never taken any steroid and would be more than willing to submit to blood testing 30 days before a bout. To paraphrase what Mosley would say in an interview with Boxinqtalk, he basically believes that the fact that Pacquiao is unwilling to do random blood tests leading up to the fight makes him look “questionable.”

That being said, he did admit that he would prefer to take a test 30 days out as opposed to taking one the week of the fight. Perhaps to avoid also being named in a lawsuit, Mosley also made it clear that he was not accusing Pacquiao of using anything.

According to Mosley, guys like himself, Fernando Vargas and, James Toney have fallen victim to the unknown techniques implemented by strength & conditioning coaches. He maintains that he had no knowledge or details of all the supplements that he was taking and maintains the responsibility lies with the conditioning coaches.

In fact, Mosley even goes so far as to blame Oscar De La Hoya’s own loss to Pacquiao, stating the “blood diet” that his conditioning coach had him on affected his ability to put on more weight. Why Mosley, again, an admitted user of BALCO steroids, would even bother to touch this issue remains a mystery. One can only assume that, as a partner with Golden Boy Promotions, he’s simply doing the bidding of the company that he works for.

If that’s the case, then shame on Shane Mosley for helping Mayweather, who himself has repeatedly called Mosley a steroid user on numerous occassions. You have to wonder exactly how Mosley would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and it was his integrity that was brought into question. Then again, seeing as how Mosley already admitted to “unknowingly” using steroids, perhaps we already know everything there is to know about his integrity.