THE BEST BOXERS TODAY, 2010

By Joe Harrison

Although the year started off slowly, huge boxing events are quickly on their way. These events include Pacquiao vs. Clottey in March, Hopkins vs. Jones II in April, and Mayweather vs. Mosley in May among many other great fights.

Out of all these great match-ups, who are the best boxers? Below, I give you today’s best boxers in every weight division beginning with the best heavyweight all the way down to the best strawweight. Plus, our list is concluded with today’s pound-for-pound king.

HEAVYWEIGHT (UNLIMITED)

Wladimir Klitschko -

IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Champion:

Dr. Steelhammer is the best heavyweight in the world, but he has not been the busiest. He fought once last year defeating Ruslan Chagaev, but was sidelined with a shoulder injury for the remainder of the year. He will return in March to face top American heavyweight Eddie Chambers. Chambers is a good boxer, but few believe that he will pose any real challenge for Klitschko.

CRUISERWEIGHT (200 POUNDS)

Steve Cunningham -

(none):

Now that Tomasz Adamek has officially become a heavyweight, “USS” can return to his position as the best in the cruiserweight division. Other than his loss to Adamek, Cunningham has beaten top names such as Marco Huck and Wayne Braithwaite. Next, Cunningham will face Matt Godfrey for the vacant IBF title in March. 

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (175 POUNDS)

Chad Dawson -

WBC “interim” Champion:

With wins over Antonio Tarver (twice) and Glen Johnson (twice), Dawson has proven to be the best in the light heavyweight division. Even if boxing fans wish to see how Dawson would fare against Bernard Hopkins, this can not happen any time soon since Hopkins is facing Roy Jones Jr. and Dawson will most likely face Jean Pascal in June for the full WBC crown.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (168 POUNDS)

Andre Ward -

WBA Champion:

To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. That is what Ward did by defeating Mikkel Kessler in the opening round of the Super Six tournament late last year. Plus, Ward made it look somewhat easy. Remaining king of the division will be a tough task as he will inevitably face other names such as Arthur Abraham, Andre Dirrell, and eventually Lucian Bute, the best name outside of the tournament. First, Ward must get past Allan Green in April.

MIDDLEWEIGHT (160 POUNDS)

Kelly Pavlik -

WBC, WBO and The Ring Magazine Champion:

Despite losing to Bernard Hopkins at 170 Ibs, Pavlik remains the world's best middleweight. Other than Paul Williams and Felix Sturm, no one appears to pose a real challenge for Pavlik’s throne. On the other hand, after giving Williams a true battle, top super welterweight Sergio Martinez will be Pavlik’s next opponent in April.

JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT (154 POUNDS)

Sergio Martinez -

WBC Champion:

In his last bout, Martinez dropped a majority decision to middleweight Paul Williams, a controversial decision that could have gone his way. With his outstanding performance, Martinez showed that he is one of the best fighters in the world. Because he looked so impressive, Matinez will now get a shot at middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik in April.

WELTERWEIGHT (147 POUNDS)

Manny Pacquiao -

WBO Champion:

After dominant wins over David Diaz at lightweight, Ricky Hatton at jr. welterweight and Oscar De La Hoya plus Miguel Cotto at welterweight, Pacquiao has proven to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world arguably only outside Floyd Mayweather Jr. In his fight with Joshua Clottey on March 13^th, Pacquiao will show why he could be at least the best welterweight in the world. Until he faces Mayweather, a gap will remain in Pacquiao’s legacy.

JR. WELTERWEIGHT (140 POUNDS)

Timothy Bradley -

WBO Champion:

While Ricky Hatton is absent from the picture, Timothy Bradley has proven to be the best jr. welterweight in the world. He has wins over Junior Witter, Kendall Holt, a dominant performance against Nate Campbell, and a win over Lamont Peterson. At the moment, no one is willing to face Bradley, although there are whispers of lightweight champ Edwin Valero moving up to face him.

LIGHTWEIGHT (135 POUNDS)

Edwin Valero -

WBC Champion:

Apparently Juan Manuel Marquez is done at lightweight, leaving the #1 spot for Edwin Valero. On the other hand, now that Valero has dominated respectable names in Antonio Pitalua and Antonio DeMarco, it looks like Valero is leaving the lightweight division. This may leave the #1 spot open for a name such as Ali Funeka, Joan Guzman, Michael Katsidis, Kevin Mitchell, or Humberto Soto. 

JR. LIGHTWEIGHT (130 POUNDS)

Robert Guerrero -

IBF Champion:

Since Humberto Soto is moving up to lightweight, Guerrero claims the #1 spot at jr. lightweight after the former featherweight champ defeated Malcolm Klassen to become a 2-division world champion. Typically, Guerrero intends on moving up to the lightweight division, leaving the door open for anyone to grab the #1 spot. Some of theses names include Roman Martinez, Mzonke Fana and Juan Carlos Salgado.

FEATHERWEIGHT (126 POUNDS)

Chris John -

WBA Champion:

Even with names like Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez attempting to become the best featherweight in the world, Chris John is the man to beat. Undefeated in 43 bouts, John has been full champion since 2004 and has defeated everyone he has ever faced including Rocky Juarez and even Juan Manuel Marquez.

JR. FEATHERWEIGHT (122 POUNDS)

Celestino Caballero -

WBA Champion:

Without names such as Israel Vazquez or Rafael Marquez in the jr. featherweight division, Caballero is placed amongst the top. A full champion since 2006, Caballero has wins over names such as Daniel Ponce De Leon, Somsak Sithchatchawal and Steve Molitor. Of course, Caballero is probably going to the featherweight division, leaving the #1 spot to be taken by someone like Toshiaki Nishioka, Poonsawat Kratingaenggym, or Steve Molitor.

BANTAMWEIGHT (118 POUNDS)

Hozumi Hasegawa -

WBC Champion:

Since 2005, Hasegawa has steamrolled through his opponents. Only a few names such as Yonnhy Perez, Joseph Agbeko, Anselmo Moreno and Fernando Montiel look to pose a real challenge. It appears that Montiel may be the next opponent on Hasegawa’s hit list this April.

JR. BANTAMWEIGHT (115 POUNDS)

Vic Darchinyan -

WBC and WBA Champion:

After a failed attempt at bantamweight, Darchinyan continues to be the best super flyweight in the world. Apparently, a rematch with Nonito Donaire is just around the corner. Will Darchinyan avenge the loss he suffered against Donaire at flyweight three years ago, or will he find himself losing his titles to the same man?

FLYWEIGHT (112 POUNDS)

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam -

WBC “interim” Champion:

WBC Champion from 2001 till 2007, Wonjongkam grabbed the “interim” version of the title last year. In March, Wonjongkam will have the opportunity to regain the full version if he can defeat Koki Kameda in March. Otherwise, Komeda will undeniably be recognized as the top flyweight in the world, even if he already is by other sources including The Ring Magazine.

JR. FLYWEIGHT (108 POUNDS)

Ivan Calderon -

WBO Champion:

This former strawweight champion is still standing atop the 108-pound division. Fans are hoping to see Calderon face Rodel Mayol when he becomes available. Giovanni Segura could make for a decent match-up as well.

STRAWWEIGHTS (105 POUNDS)

Roman Gonzalez -

WBA Champion:

As the leader in one of boxing’s least popular divisions, Gonzalez has defended his title successfully three times. As he continues to defend his title, he should keep an eye out for dangerous names such as Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Raul Garcia and Donnie Nietes.

POUND-4-POUND

Floyd Mayweather Jr. -

(none):

“Money” is back and is already making headlines everywhere. In his return bout against Juan Manuel Marquez last September, Mayweather dominated all twelve rounds. It was a far worse beating than Manny Pacquiao had ever given to Marquez in either of their two contests. While Pacquiao is going after another tough welterweight in Joshua Clottey, Mayweather has opted to face arguably the best welterweight in Shane Mosley. If Mayweather and Pacquiao win, perhaps they will face each other after all, even though they prior negotiations were a complete disaster. Assuming that they do face each other by the year’s end, it will be one of the biggest events in boxing history, and Mayweather will solidify his legacy by achieving victory. 

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