411 Boxing’s Pound for Pound Ratings 12.01.09: For Month Ending November

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 12.01.2009

November is a wrap and that gives us the opportunity to get another look at our monthly pound for pound ratings. Has Mayweather unseated Pacquiao or does the Pacman’s win over Cotto solidify him at the top? What about Kelly Pavlik’s recent woes? Do they affect his standings? Come inside to take a look!



It's been a few months…we know, we know(!) that we've had an updated list of our pound for pound ratings. Since our last one, we've seen the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr. who re-enters our list, Vitali Klitschko pound on Chris Arreola, Kelly Pavlik postpone another fight, Pacquiao dominate Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley remain on the sidelines among other happenings inside the ring.

You'll obviously see some changes this month as some fighters have been bumped off the list for various reasons such as Pavlik's abysmal 2009, Cotto's unbalanced performances, Ivan Calderon's bad performances and a brother simply showing up his younger sibling.

Bernard Hopkins remains on the list and you may say, "but 411…you just said Pavlik had an abysmal 2009 but Hopkins hasn't even fought this year; so why's he still rated?" It's simple…he crushed Kelly Pavlik and although he has not fought yet, is scheduled to fight this week. We previously stated that if he was inactive for the rest of the year, his position would be affected but alas, he's ready to go. He's also tentatively scheduled to take on Roy Jones early next year if they're both victorious before week's end.

But enough talking, let's get right into this month's ratings!

10. Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) - Alter toiling around just on the brink of something bigger, Arthur Abraham finally had his coming out party when he nearly decapitated former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor in October. The two met as part of the first round of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic and after a hard fought battle in which Abraham led on the cards, a brutal right hand ended matters in the 12th and final round. He's had a pretty solid 2009 with wins over Mahir Oral and Lajuan Simon but to do what he did to Taylor on the world stage that is the tournament literally put his face on the map. He was one of the favorites coming in and he's easily now one of the two top guys in the tourney. Abraham possesses lights-out power and a peek-a-boo defense that can be tough to figure out. He's going to be a tall mountain to climb at 168 and he's just getting started 29 years old.

Next Up: A tentative January 23 date with Andre Dirrell in Round 2.


9. Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KOs) - Questions lingered about Dawson after his disputed decision win over Glen Johnson in 2008 but after months of chasing him around the sport, Johnson finally got his rematch. Unfortunately for him, Dawson came out and dominated the fight as he used his youth to his advantage by being too fast, too slick and too technical for Johnson to have a shot. For the first time, someone made "The Road Warrior" look old and having dispatched both Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson twice, Dawson looks for new fish to fry. It was one of his better performances and we expect nothing less from "Bad" Chad from here on out. He had been close to making our top-10 list over the last year and a half but with an impressive victory that left no doubts about his talent, Dawson finally breaks through.

Next Up: Possibly a 2010 meeting with against WBC titlist Jean Pascal.


8. Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 37 KOs) - Vitali has leaped right over his brother Wladimir who previously occupied the 10th spot on this list. Simply put, Vitali has had a better year and against better opposition; not to mention he's looked more impressive. After dethroning Samuel Peter last year, Vitali has won two straight in ‘09, knocking out former cruiserweight titlist Juan Carlos Gomez and then highly touted Chris Arreola in September. In that fight, he outclassed Arreola in such a manner that you have to wonder if there's anyone that can stop him. Maybe his brother? Well we'll never know as neither seem to keen on fighting one another but if they were to lock horns, you can bet Vitali would be the odds on favorite. He says he doesn't have much time left in the game as he wants to go out on top and has proven his point about being one of, if not the best in the division – even after a four year layoff.

Next Up: A Dec. 12 date with American Kevin Johnson in Switzerland.


7. Nonito Donaire (22-1, 14 KOs) - The "Filipino Flash" moved up to junior bantamweight in August to take on Rafael Concepcion. It was a fight in which Concepcion failed to make weight, giving him quite a size advantage. Despite some rocky moments, Donaire took the fight to the bigger titleholder en route to a decisive decision win in Las Vegas. Donaire has quietly continued to build himself into the next Filipino star and should he keep up with his winning ways, it's only a matter of time before he goes on to bigger and better things. A short stint on a Filipino reality show also helped show off his personality which will only benefit him in the long run.

Next Up: He'll take on Gerson Guerrero on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas for Pinoy Power 3.


6. Paul Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) - After making it look easy against Winky Wright in April, Williams truly proved that he had the right stuff at middleweight. Kelly Pavlik was going to be the ultimate test but their fight was unfortunately postponed during the summer. Pavlik had a staph infection and needed some time to recover but then the fight was rescheduled for December 5th. All was good and well until Pavlik disappeared once again and pulled out of the fight, leaving Williams both confused and irate. Luckily for him, Sergio Martinez, the 154-pound titlist stepped in to take the challenge. Though the majority of the boxing community seems pretty upset about how things went down, a Williams-Martinez fight is still a bit tantalizing. Martinez is speedy, busy and fun to watch, while Williams as we know is a hard hitter, rangy and a workhorse. Should Williams make Martinez look like a tune-up, his stock will take another bump upwards.

Next Up: Sergio Martinez on Dec. 5 on HBO.


5. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) - The lightweight champ took a little bit of a dive this month after being #2 for quite some time. His decisive loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September made it quite apparent that "Dinamita" has no business competing at welterweight. He looked chubby, lethargic and without any type of power so this should be his only venture into the 147-pound division. He wasn't given much of a chance to win anyway and most figured that if he could be competitive or at least not get knocked out, his stock wouldn't drop too much. That's more or less how we look at Marquez. He was out of his element but back at lightweight, he's the king. He's certainly aging but he may have another 2-3 good fights left in him if he stays around his natural weight.

Next Up: Golden Boy Promotions is pushing for a Marquez-Hatton fight next year in the U.K.


4. Bernard Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs) - 2009 has been awfully quiet for B-Hop who has yet to step into the ring. He had massive amounts of momentum coming off of his October 2008 shellacking of Kelly Pavlik but due to his inability to fight opponents, or ones who would fight for chump change, Hopkins was relegated to spectator which was unfortunate. Hopkins is still one of the game's master technicians and it was a shame to see him sit out most of the year even though he keeps spitting in Father Time's face. This week however, Hopkins will take a tune-up fight to prepare for a 2010 rematch with Roy Jones Jr. Jones of course has to get by Danny Green at cruiserweight as well but at least Hopkins has a sudden pair of fights. He'll be 45 in January and is already talking about fighting at heavyweight should the opportunity present itself but for now, let's just be happy "The Executioner" is back in the ring.

Next Up: A fight with Enrique Ornelas on Dec. 2. Then a March 2010 date with Roy Jones Jr. if all goes according to plan.


3. Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) - Here's another guy who sadly remained on the sidelines for most of the year. He destroyed Antonio Margarito in January to essentially resurrect his career but unable to get either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. into the ring forced him to stay busy with the promotional side of things with GBP. Mosley looked fantastic in dispatching Margarito but he too is aging and if he wants to stay in the game for another 3-4 years as he's told 411mania, then he'll want to stay active to remain focused, sharp and effective. He does however have a fight coming up in January against fellow welterweight titleholder and speedster Andre Berto in Las Vegas. This should prove to be a dazzling display of combination punching from both men though the power advantage easily lies with Mosley. A year is a long time to be off, so let's see if it has any effect on Shane.

Next Up: A welterweight showdown with Andre Berto on Jan. 30 at Mandalay Bay.

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) - He was the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world when he suddenly retired although Manny Pacquiao had been nipping at his heels. He took a long rest as he dabbled in other areas such as the WWE but boxing kept calling and in September, Mayweather finally returned. The thought however is that as any champion who relinquishes his belt to retire, he cannot come back and simply be handed that same belt over. He has to fight for it and that's exactly how most of us feel. Mayweather gave the previously #2 ranked Juan Manuel Marquez a schooling and as such, takes his spot here this month. In that fight, he demonstrated his elusiveness, coupled with his lightning quick hands and ring smarts as he had done in previous fights before stepping away from boxing. Now Mayweather must once again prove that he's the best in the world and the welterweight division has plenty of guys in which he can do so. Shane Mosley called him out but Mayweather hasn't taken the bait. Now with Pacquiao's big win over Cotto, the only fight that most fans want to see is Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. It's a fight that must be made for the sake of the sport. If that's what people want, we must give it to them. Negotiations have already begun but there have been some snags so we'll continue to sit on our hands and wait to see what develops.

Next Up: A possible May 2010 mega-bout with Manny Pacquiao.

1. Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) - Pacquiao hasn't lost a fight since 2005 when he lost a decision to Erik Morales. He subsequently improved his game ten fold, knocking Morales out twice in the process and has become boxing's best fighter in the world. If his recent victories haven't been enough then his November pounding of former welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto should be a reminder that we are in the presence of greatness. Pacquiao moved up in weight and won his seventh world title in a seventh weight class becoming the first fighter to ever do so. He looked as quick and as strong as we've ever seen him and there are no signs of slowing down yet. It's hard to imagine him losing at this point unless he loses desire to fight but that doesn't seem to be the case. He does have some political aspirations however in 2010 so that could possibly hinder his career but there's already talk about a possible May clash with Mayweather or a March date with Yuri Foreman as a back up. Should he face Foreman, he would be going for a title in a record setting eighth weight division. Pacman is on a roll – who will stop him?

Next Up: Floyd Mayweather is on the horizon in 2010 if the fight can be made.


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Honorable Mentions - Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto, Ivan Calderon, Wladimir Klitschko