Setanta P4P List

I have to say I was shocked......




Manny Pacquiao remains on top of the pound-for-pound rankings and probably will stay there regardless of the result of his bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
We must admit to being premature in taking Bernard Hopkins out of the top ten, so he returns and Kelly Pavlik, due to the manner of his defeat to The Executioner, leaves the list.
1. Manny Pacquiao: Lightweight 47-3-2 (36 KOS)
No one can have expected Pac-Man to perform quite as impressively as he did against David Diaz. His fortunate win against Juan Manuel Marquez suggested that at the age of 29, continuing to move up in weight and with over 50 fights to his name, his star could soon be on the wane. Instead he put in a performance that will be mentioned within the first few sentences when he gets inducted into the boxing hall of fame. Next for him will be the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya if they can sort out the right purse split before facing Ricky Hatton. After that we would hope he return to 9st 9 and face either Marquez, Nate Campbell, Juan Diaz or whoever else is standing on top of the lightweight tree.
2. Joe Calzaghe: Light-heavyweight 45-0 (32 KOS)
In the last update we said if he chose to fight Kelly Pavlik instead of Roy Jones he could legitimately have a claim to being the best fighter in the world. If he does retire after dismantling Jones, he will bow out with the names of two future hall-of-famers on his record, in Jones and Bernard Hopkins. In both of those wins, The Pride of Wales showed a champion's heart in recovering from early knockdowns and on top of his previous victories over Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler, his ability to maintain his unbeaten record means he still deserves to be considered one of the very best fighters in the world. Will he come back for Chad Dawson, though? That is the question....
3. Juan Manuel Marquez: Super-featherweight 48-4-1(35 KOs)
For many neutrals, Marquez won both of his meetings with Pacquiao but was given a draw in the first and then lost a split decision on March 15. Wisely, he decided against leaving it in the hands of the judges when he stopped Joel Casamayor in his first outing at lightweight, underlining his status as one of the finest fighters of our times. That fight left nobody in any doubt that the 35-year-old deserves a third crack at Pacquiao. Will be get it, though? We certainly hope so.
4. Israel Vazquez: Super-bantamweight 43-4 (31 KOs)
Israel Vazquez is fast becoming as big a legend in the boxing world as his Mexican predecessors, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. He first came to prominence when he claimed the vacant IBF super-bantamweight title by knocking out Jose Luis Valbuena but it was only after his incredible third-round knockout of WBC champ Oscar Larios in 2006 that people really began to sit up and take notice. After wins over Ivan Hernandez and Jhonny Gonzalez, Vazquez was paired with the other great Mexican fighter in the 122lb division, Rafael Marquez. The latter triumphed, forcing Vazquez to retire at the end of the seventh but their quickly-arranged rematch, ‘Magnifico’ reclaimed his title by stopping Marquez in the sixth round of an epic contest which deservedly won Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year award for 2007. Unsurprisingly, a rubber match was quickly arranged. Again, it was a classic and again Vazquez triumphed. However, it was via a controversial split decision and a fourth meeting is now in the offing. They deserve a lengthy break first, though!
5. Rafael Marquez: Super-bantamweight 37-5 (33 KOs)
If there is a way to lose fights and increase your reputation, then Marquez has done this in his two recent defeats to the aforementioned Vazquez. Already a two-weight champion, Marquez will now take time to mull over his options before, hopefully, at some point down the line signing up for a fourth war with Vazquez.
6. Bernard Hopkins: Light-heavyweight 49-5 (32 KOs)
His demolition of Kelly Pavlik proved that The Executioner just cannot be written off. He might be approaching his 44th birthday but when it comes to discipline, ring craft and defensive brilliance, there are few on the same level as the former undisputed middleweight champion. Roy Jones and Joe Calzaghe both seem utterly disinterested in a rematch with Hopkins but it's hard not to feel that he deserves another crack at one or the other.
7. Antonio Margarito: Welterweight 37-5-0-1 (27 KOs)
His superb victory over Miguel Cotto deservedly puts him in the top ten but he needs to go on from this and perhaps avenge his defeat against Paul Williams to get him further up the top ten. No one in this list has a better chin than him and maybe none hit harder. He has no chance of getting the reward he deserves for the Cotto win in the shape of De La Hoya, but will be handsomely paid for a rematch with Puerto Rico's finest.
8. Miguel Cotto: Welterweight 32-1 (26 KOs)
We are all wondering what will happen when Cotto returns to the ring. He was so impressive in his 12 world title victories, 10 of which coming by way of knockout, that many pundits believed that he would have stood a good chance of even beating Floyd Mayweather. But the iron chin and unrelenting pressure of Margarito ultimately proved too much for him. A rematch seems certain for 2009 if Cotto can prove he is not a broken fighter before then.
9. Chris John: Featherweight: 41-0 (22 KOs)
Perhaps the most under-rated world champion around today. The Indonesian has defended his WBA title eight times, including a relatively comfortably points decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, but he remains anything but a marquee name. Matches with IBF champion Robert Guerrero, WBO titleholder Steven Luevano and unbeaten Venezuelan sensation and WBC champ Jorge Linares could change this, but this doesn't look like happening in the near future. John defended his belt impressively in Tokyo against home fighter Hiroyuki Enoki but few noticed, which says it all.
10. David Haye: Heavyweight: 22-1 (21 KOs)
Admittedly, Haye has yet to prove himself at heavyweight and his chin remains suspect - but the man is exciting. One has to respect how he responded to his shock fifth-round defeat by Carl Thompson four years ago, too. The Hayemaker regrouped superbly after that lost and, after getting himself back on track, ended up unifying the cruiserweight division with successive knockout victories over Jean Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli. He announced himself as a major player on the heavyweight scene with a thrilling - if flawed - stoppage defeat of Monte Barrett. Haye still has much work to do but he has breathed new life into the heavyweight division and warrants inclusion in our top ten for that feat alone. Bring on the Klitschkos!





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