A top ten opinion.

Countless threads on this subject have been done to death before, but I really wanted to do this just to see how far out my own P4P list was, I've never really shared one on East Side Boxing before and just wanted some opinions on how far out/close, you think I am. So here goes:

#1.) Manny 'Pac-Man' Pacquiao - 52-3-2 (38KO)

He's #1 on most peoples lists, and even with all the catch-weight business that has been some-what synonymous with a Manny Pacquiao fight, it really is hard to deny this man's greatness. With a string of wins that includes Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Oscar Larios, its hard to say he doesn't deserve the number one spot.

#2.) Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jr. - 41-0 (25KO)

Floyd and Manny seem to come hand in hand on most peoples lists as the top two, with more debate being placed on who deserves the top spot. My reasoning behind placing Floyd number 2 is purely due to inactivity, and the fact that in his last two fights he fought Juan Manuel Marquez, who lets be honest was punching far above his weight in a weight division he had no business in, and then a very old and some-what shot Shane Mosley. His Skills are unrivalled, his technique unparallelled, but as has been mentioned many times before, his legacy would be sealed with a win over Pacquiao.

#3.) Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez - 46-2-2 (25KO)

Martinez record wears thin before the Kermit Cintron fight in 2009, but since then hes become a phenom. In my opinion he beat both Cintron in there disputed draw, and he beat Paul Williams the first time they met in there thriller that ended in a MD win for Williams. Then how do you describe moving up a weight to take on the true middleweight champion of the world in Kelly Pavlik and beating him the way he did, and absolutely destroying Paul Williams in there hotly anticipated rematch in the 2nd round. Based on current form this guy gets the number 3 spot hands down, I'd love to see him fight Floyd at 154.

#4.) Wladimir 'Dr. Steelhammer' Klitschko 55-3 (49KO)

Klitschko is the King of the heavyweight division, his style has been adapted because of the three knockout defeats he has suffered in his career to be practically impenetrable due to that probing jab and the way he times his opponents and has an immaculate gauge of distance. He seems to show no signs of stopping his domination and with the fight between David Haye looking ever more likely now that Haye's promise of retiring before hes 31 coming ever closer, it seems like he really could clear out the heavyweight division sooner rather than later.

#5.) Juan Manuel 'Dinamita' Marquez - 51-5-1 (37KO)

Marquez is a fighter that optimizes what a counter-puncher is all about, and in my opinion that style led him to two victories over Manny Pacquiao. He's been fighting (& beating) top level fighters for a good few years now, and although it seems he is inevitably on the slide, he is still managing to win big fights against good opposition. His upcoming fight with the warrior Michael Katsidis will be a make or break for Marquez in my eyes and I can see him calling it time on a fantastic career should he lose, but all the same, based on what hes done over the last few years outside of the Floyd Mayweather circus, he deserves the number 5 spot.

#6.) Juan Manuel 'Juanma' Lopez - 30-0 (27KO)

Lopez has power in both hands, and this has allowed him to score stoppage victories over good names time and time again. There are so many fights out there for Lopez right now and whichever way he goes i'll be excited to see how he progresses (or falters). His resume is starting to come together now and with his latest victory over Rafael Marquez, I feel that he's starting to hit the top of his game and I only hope those big fights with the likes of Caballero or Gamboa can be made ASAP. he'll go higher than #6 should he beat Gamboa, no doubt.

#7.) Timothy 'Desert Storm' Bradley - 26-0 (11KO)

With his lack of power, Tim has had to utilize his athleticism and fantastic boxing ability to beat the likes of Kendall Holt, Junior Witter, Lamont Peterson, Carlos Abregu & while it ended up a NC, clearly beating Nate Campbell. His fight with Devon Alexander will clear up a lot of speculation as to who is the top man in the 140 division which is stacked from top to bottom. I feel Alexander and Bradley are the top two guys in that division and that fight will determine who is number 1.

#8.) Andre 'S.O.G.' Ward - 22-0 (13KO)

Andre is the clear favourite in the Super Six Classic and rightly so, with impressive performances against Mikkel Kessler & Allan Green, as well as a good win over Edison Miranda, he's on the road to being the undisputed top man at 168 theres no doubt of that. His fight with Sakio Bika is a risky one, as the Cameroonian turned Australian wild-man is a spoiler for any-one. I hope he comes out unscathed so that he can continue to build on the success he has had in the super six.

#9.) Lucian 'Le Tombeur' Bute 27-0 (22KO)

Hot on Andre Wards heels at 168 I have Lucian Bute at number 9. He looks more impressive every time he fights and is taking care of business while the rest of the top guys at 168 scrap it out with each other in the super six. I have no doubt in my mind Bute will fight any of the super six fighters after they are released from there contracts etc. so that we truly can determine whos top dog at 168. The thought of Bute matching up against the likes of Arthur Abraham or Andre Ward or Carl Froch is mouth watering for any boxing fan.

#10.) Jean Pascal - 26-1 (16KO)

Jean Pascal came off the back of a loss to Carl Froch at 168 by moving up to light heavyweight and capturing the crown at that weight by beating Adrian Diaconu (twice) and Silvio Branco. Then he gained true 175 bragging rights by beating Chad Dawson who was the man at that weight. He's got a big fight with the evergreen Bernard Hopkins coming up soon (which I expect to be boring, but it will look fantastic despite Hopkins age on Pascals record should he win.) He should take on the likes of Tavoris Cloud afterwards to further boost his record and credentials.

 

I was going to include Montiel at number 10, but thought better of it. While a great win over Hasegawa has done his career wonders, i dont think it tops a win over Dawson from pascal, so i left him out.

 

It does always baffle me as to why people put Donaire so highly. Don't get me wrong hes a top fighter at his weight and the win over Darchinyan is fantastic on his record but aside from that, as you say, its paper thin...