[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] This content is protected He may not be the whirlwind he was between 1998-2001, but 'Sugar' is still pretty sweet. One thing I've always loved about Mosley is his willingness to take on anybody at anytime, anyplace. From Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright - two fighters who were clearly avoided by others in the past - to facing Cotto on his turf, he's more boxer than businessman. And we love him for that. Earlier this year, he would clearly outpoint the difficult Luis Collazo to win a portion of the welterweight title. This content is protected He's a newcomer to my 'Bakers' and I think he's going to stay a while. This slick boxing Mexican southpaw may not have a lot of pop (just 13 stoppages in 37 bouts) but he is a master technician who makes for good fights. He burst onto the scene by thoroughly defeating Jorge Arce in April, but his two victories over the tough Kats Kawashima, in Japan no less, may have been more impressive. Mijares, who is just 25, looked sharp in dismantling Teppei Kikui in July in defense of his WBC jr. bantamweight belt. This content is protected Another new entrant here. And it's not so much from any one standout win, but his body of work (and his body work, of course). Yeah, he's been guided well by Top Rank, but last I checked, aren't most marquee fighters well managed for most of their early careers? He hasn't defeated anyone great, but he's downed a host of solid boxers. On November 10th at Madison Square Garden, he gets his litmus test against Shane Mosley. Win that one, and its Tito-hood for him. This content is protected I can already see the outrage from the UK. But he has a chance to make a Frogger-like leap in my ratings by defeating - or even making life uncomfortable for - Floyd Mayweather in December. His mauling, grapping, rasslin', style is a lot like Karl Rove. No matter what you think of it, you have to give it credit for its effectiveness. So far he's undefeated, but you get the sense that his two signature wins (Kostya Tsyzu and Jose Luis Castillo) came against fighters at the very twilight of their careers. Also, he looked very ordinary in his welterweight outing against Collazo - which just happens to be where he will be facing 'the Pretty Boy'. This content is protected If my rankings were based on jabs, this great Dane would be tops. His stick is Larry Holmes-like, but he's not a one-trick Viking, as he also possesses a strong right hand and the ability to put punches together. In addition to that, he's also a big, strong, athletic super middleweight that is very sturdy. On November 3rd he participates in one of the most anticipated fights of 2007 against longtime 168-pound ruler Joe Calzaghe. This content is protected From an offensive standpoint, Marquez is near perfection. Not only does he hit hard, but technically he's very sound - like most Nacho Beristain trained boxers - but there is one fatal flaw. His chin/jaw isn't exactly Jay Leno's or Bill Cowher's. And in his few losses, it has let him down, most recently against Israel Vazquez this last month, in what is so far the fight of the year. You wonder, was that just a bad night at the office, or at 32, has he turned the corner? This content is protected It's been an impressive run for Vazquez the past couple of years. He would win the WBC jr. featherweight title in his rubbermatch against the respected Oscar Larios. Then he would come off the canvas twice to down the hard-punching Jhonny Gonzalez, and then he has split a pair of rousing battles versus Marquez. Vazquez is one of these guys that doesn't have any one outstanding attribute: he's not a speedster, he's there to be touched and he cuts rather easily. He does have heavy hands, but beyond that, his heart and courage are top-notch. And with veteran trainer Rudy Perez in his corner, he seems to have added some subtle dimensions to his game. This content is protected Yeah, I know he lost his last fight to Bernard Hopkins, but that bout took place at 170 pounds. It says here that that bout was much closer than the scorecards indicated and it's hard to penalize someone for a loss of that nature against a future Hall-of-Famer. Other than that, there really isn't too much to say. He's not exciting, he's not compelling to watch and his outings can be as tedious as a visit to the in-laws. But, he's good at what he does. And that's Winky being Winky. This content is protected Just my opinion, I don't think he's lost a bout since 1993 and the rap on him was that he picked on a litany of mediocre middleweights. But last year he did defeat Antonio Tarver, who was then the reigning light heavyweight titleholder, and most recently, Wright. But honestly, this is kinda of an emeritus status. His best years have passed him, but you have to respect a guy who can still do what he does at age 42. You get the feeling he's the black Jack Lalane. His work ethic, fitness and guile are unmatched. This content is protected Those in Europe believe this lofty standing is a long time coming. Those in the States believe I have overrated him like Notre Dame is every year in football. Both factions may be correct to a certain degree. He's this high on my list mainly due to consistency and attrition. Calzaghe, in 14 years as a professional, has never lost, and with some recent events like Rafa Marquez's loss, he has moved up. But to his detractors, he's Rod Carew - a left-handed slap hitter. And one with brittle hands that has been protected by Frank Warren. But what will they say if he beats Kessler? Will that change their opinion? This content is protected What's funny about him being this high is that he's probably been at a higher level in past years. But he showed in March that he still is a formidable fighter by handily (and yes, I thought handily) downing Marco Antonio Barrera in March, and he now faces Rocky Juarez in September. It's just too bad that his career, for the most part, has been about as mis-managed as Cuba Gooding's after his Oscar. But as he heads towards the fourth quarter of his career, can he make up for lost time? Boxing fans - and Marquez, himself - hope to see a rematch with a certain Filipino in 2008. This content is protected Yeah, I'm sticking by my guns. My last 'BD' had 'the Pretty Boy' second, and despite his win over Oscar De La Hoya in May, he's not number one in my book. Sorry, while he's good, I don't see all-time greatness like others. But, if he can handily defeat 'the Hit Man' in December, and then face the likes of the winner of Cotto/Mosley and the like, then his soft run between 2003-2005 will be long forgotten. And then his status, current and all-time, should be re-evaluated. This content is protected This content is protected For a while it was Mayweather who was milking an HBO contract for all it's worth and Pacquiao who facing one blue-chipper after another. Now, the roles seem to be reversing just a bit because now it looks to be Pacquiao who is on a bit of a Mexican retirement tour in facing Morales and Barrera towards the tail ends of their careers. Bottom line is this, if he doesn't defeat Barrera handily and then doesn't face Marquez sometime in 2008 (should he best Juarez) then the same accusations that were thrown at Mayweather not-too-long ago can easily be cast upon Pacquiao. You also have to wonder about his focus at this present time. But when he's on his game, he has the most devastating blend of speed and power this sport has to offer. His now two-fisted attack is as dangerous as toys manufactured in China. His conditioning is also top notch, although we'll see how that has been affected with his current training camp being set up in the Philippines and without long-time conditioning coach Justin Fortune. This content is protected Here are the next twenty, in no particular order: Jorge Linares, Cory Spinks, Paul Williams, Gerry Penalosa, Antonio Margarito, Zsolt Erdei, Arthur Abraham, Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor, Glen Johnson, Oscar De La Hoya, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Barrera, Ivan Calderon, Humberto Soto, Joan Guzman, Vernon Forrest and Celestino Caballero. Source: http://www.m a x bo x i n g.com/kim/kim082407.asp :bbb [/FONT]
1. floyd mayweather jr 2. manny pacquiao 3. jermain taylor 4. bernard hopkins 5. ricky hatton 6. joe calzaghe 7. juan manuel marquez 8. israel vasquez 9. winky wright 10. miguel cotto outside looking in: shane mosley rafael marquez
maxboxing is so ****ing biased its ridiculous. Im glad they got exposed for the dumbasses they are for scoring Margo-Paul Williams like 8-4 for Margo.