A "Sensible" Pound4Pound List

By William Trillo
Photos: Bret "The Threat" Newton

It was sometime last month that everyone put out their version of a top Pound for Pound list and other than a few (very few) obvious choices, every list was filled with some very bizarre selections. Well, at least I found them bizarre if not a bit ridiculous.
 
Let's go ahead and call them stupid.
 
The one thing missing from all these lists was criteria. You know, reasons why a fighter would or would not be included on the list. Basically every list seemed to be a little self serving if not downright brown nosing, if you get my drift.
 
So with that in mind I have compiled my own Pound4Pound list, and I have criteria too.
 
Allow me to spell it out for you.
 
First, this is a Pound4Pound list not a who's who of boxing. There ain't 20 fighters on this list, if there was we could just name a champ in every division and be done with it. My view is this should be a list of the best of the best of the best, and there ain't 20,in fact there ain't 10, get over it.
 
Second, no honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS?? Again sports fans, this is the best of the best, no honorable mentions, no Miss Congeniality, just fighters at the top of their game, which leads me to the next stipulation.
 
Third, if you lost your last two fights you are immediately disqualified, I don't care who you are or what the leader of your cheering section says or how much he is shaking his Pom Poms. You lost 2 in a row and you are banned from the list until you can put together two wins, back to back, against quality fighters (not Mzonke Fana) PERIOD! Former champs or so called "legends" need not apply for a waiver, you are just like everyone else, you just lost 2 in a row and you are not that good.  To Jermain Taylor, Felix Trinidad, Marco Antonio Barrera and yes even Rafael Marquez...Adios amigos.
 
Fourth, if you have ever competed in a WWE wrestling event you receive a lifetime ban. There are no exceptions to this rule. Floyd Mayweather & Evander Holyfield will never make my P4P list...never...ever!
 
Fifth, to make this list a fighter must have gone over and above the call of duty in recent history to make every boxing fan get chills down his spine when he mentions your name. We are talking about fighters who have defied the odds and have come out on top time and time again, all the while giving boxing the much needed shot in the arm that most of the so called experts who made those stupid top 20 lists claim it has lost. 
 
With those rules as my criteria let's see what I come up with.
 
# 1: Israel Vazquez
 

Without question if there is a fighter who needs his name on the top of my list it is Vazquez. His wars with Marquez will go down in history and after losing to Marquez in his first bout the next 2 victories over his arch enemy are nothing more than spectacular and breathtaking. Cut over both eyes in their second fight and getting up off the deck to win in the third installment proved Israel is the toughest fighter at any weight, and for sheer excitement, no one can deny he has given us the best.
 
# 2: Manny Pacquiao
 

I've said it time and time again, "I ain't pickin against Manny until he loses his next bout." I'm tired of hearing about distractions outside the ring and even more tired of hearing he didn't beat Juan Manuel Marquez in his last fight. Look at the scoreboard, Manny put Marquez down and he won a close and exciting fight. Prior to that he dispatched of Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, the second time he did that to both men. Manny is a buzzsaw in the ring and watching him perform is always a treat.
 
# 3: Miguel Cotto
 

Suddenly the Puerto Rican sensation has to be taken seriously. In the 147 pound division almost all roads lead through Cotto now. Naysayers will scoff at his victory over Alfonso Gomez, but Miguel didn't make that fight, he just went out and did what he had to do. Before that he defeated Shane Mosley in a fantastic bout and it was at this point in his career that Cotto truly shined. With a great jab, quicker than most thought he would be, Cotto proved to me that as long as Uncle Bob keeps lining them up he will do his best to keep knocking them down. Cotto will have a tough task ahead of him with Antonio Margarito and the winner of that fight will surely be on this list the next time I pull it out.
 
# 4: Bernard Hopkins
 

The umteen years former undisputed middleweight champ made his sojourn up to the 170 pound bracket and as of yet he has yet to taste defeat. His dismantling of Antonio Tarver was priceless and even though many yawned while he beat Stinky Winky, that fact remains that he solved "The Turtles" puzzle and made him come out of his shell long enough to give him the beat down. Bernard's fight with Joe Calzaghe this weekend will either keep him on this list for the next time around or not. One thing is for sure, he will use everything he has learned over his many years of boxing and if Joe thinks he is in for a free ride...well stay tuned, we are less than 2 days away.
 
# 5: Kelly Pavlik
 

This kid from Youngstown, Ohio gave us everything you could ask from a fighter and more. Rising up off the deck after getting clocked by then Champion Jermain Taylor, Pavlik rose to greatness with his determined and powerful annihilation of Jermain and he took the world by surprise when he beat Taylor into submission. Follow that up with giving the extremely motivated and hungry Taylor a quick rematch, and then beat "Bad Intentions" again, and it's hard to keep this guy off my list. Let's not forget what he did to Edison Miranda prior to that. And is it just me or have I never heard Arthur Abraham utter Pavlik's name for any reason whatsoever? That's what I thought!
 
That's it!   Five.
 
Not ten, not twenty.  Get real!
 
This is the best of the best, Pound4Pound greatest, and if you can't crack the top five...GO AWAY!!
Questions Or Comments? Email Will "The Thrill" Trillo