Not surprisingly, Manny Pacquiao remains at #1 on our Top 25 P4P list / Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

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By Lee Payton

Over 3 months have past since we did our last P4P update, and plenty has happened since then.  As mentioned last time, our criteria is a little different from most P4P lists, as we consider where a fighter is right now in terms of ability to be as important as their past accomplishments.

Our criteria:

1.Current level of ability

2.Accomplishments over the past 3 years.

The rankings are based on a combined voting effort by The Boxing Bulletin writers, and not just my opinion, and you'll notice I don't agree with the consensus on a few occasions.  I'm sure you won't either as these lists are made for arguing, so feel free to disagree in the comments.

Let's get to it...

1. Manny Pacquiao... Joshua Clottey had lost before, but he'd never been outclassed in such a manner. Manny made the tough welter look like he didn't belong in the same ring, just as he'd already done to Cotto, Hatton and De La Hoya.  Unfortunately for boxing fans, it sounds like more politics than pugilism coming up for the brilliant southpaw.
2. Floyd Mayweather... Money defends this spot against Sugar Shane on May 1.  If he stands still long enough, we might finally get to see just how good his chin really is.  There's also the chance a dominant win could move Floyd up to #1.
   
3. Shane Mosley... The hard old man from California will have the same tough time everyone else has when they try to find Floyd Mayweather with the finisher, but you know he'll be coming hard for 12 rounds.  I actually had Mosley ranked a little lower than the rest of our writers.  I have my doubts how much he's got left at this stage, and the inactivity can't have helped.
   
4. Chad Dawson... The best fighter at 175lbs is this swift southpaw.  It's his time. The only thing missing at the moment is some star power. That's why he's defending the belt in Montreal when he takes on Pascal in August.
5. Timothy Bradley... Tim has the look of a fighter from a 90's video game. He's in great shape and clearly takes care of himself, which should serve him well in the long term.  The man can fight too and given the quality of fighters in the 140lb class, it looks like he'll have many opportunities to prove just that. Truthfully, I think it's a bit of a stretch to put him this high, but I support a top 5 placing finish because of the way he goes about business.
6. Paul Williams... It's hard not to like The Punisher. He wants to fight everyone and gives it everything he has in the ring. When it comes to taking clean bombs on the button, no one does it better. We've seen legit tough guys get freaked out by blood, but to Williams it's nirvana.  As far as his ranking, I had him lower down than the rest of the Bulletin writers, but I love to watch Williams brawl it out, so if anyone deserves to be a rated a little too high, it's this man.
   
7. Juan Manuel Marquez... The Mexican maestro is going to the Hall. He's one of my very favourite guys to watch and I'll miss him when he decides to hang 'em up. I gotta be honest though... I think he is ranked too high, and had him quite a bit lower on my list. It comes down to age and mileage. I agree that he shouldn't be punished too hard for losing to Floyd. It was a tough situation and I understand that, but the beating he received probably means he's significantly worse off than he was a year or so ago. Most of the guys on here are in their primes and I think it's safe to say JMM is not, which hurts him in the "current ability" part of the equation.
8. Lucian Bute... He may have been left out of the Super-Six, and likely won't be facing the same level of opposition as the fighters in the tournament, but there's no denying Bute's fantastic overall skills. The Montreal super-middle is the complete package.  Just ask Librado Andrade.  Edison Miranda should be merely a brisk workout for the guy many feel is the #1 fighter at 168lbs.
9. Sergio Martinez... We knew this lefty could fight some, but he showed the world what he has inside when he slugged it out with Williams.  Up next on April 17 is Kelly Pavlik... a fighter that just missed the cut on our list.  Are we right or wrong about these guys?
10. David Haye... This man is the only guy out there with a chance at either Klitschko. That's enough for me to get behind him. But there's more!  He comes in shape and you usually don't feel like you've wasted an hour after watching him work. I NEED Wlad vs Haye.
11. Carl Froch... The Cobra might be less talented in terms of pure skills than everyone around him on this list, but this is boxing, and Carl is proof of how important factors like conditioning, determination and toughness are. He's obsessed with winning and being a champion and that can go a long way. Next up is Mikkel Kessler, and the hard man from Nottingham will need everything he's got to return from Denmark a happy man.
12. Nonito Donaire... The bad news: Nonito has kept a very low profile since knocking out Vic Darchinyan. The good news: He might get to do it again. They're supposedly working on a deal as we speak.
    
13. Hozumi Hasegawa... Those who follow the Asian scene closely "ooh" and "ahh" over this Japanese lefty. He's a very sharp fighter, enjoying his prime, but so far hasn't had a chance to prove his class against a truly elite opponent. A showdown with Fernando Montiel is coming though, which should get him plenty more attention on this side of the world. I recommend a YouTube search if you're not familiar with his recent work.
14. Juan Manuel Lopez... We finally got to see some weakness in JuanMa against Mtagwa, who was able to take the incoming and keep plugging away. I don't know if that means anything going into a potential fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa, the man he's supposed to be fighting at some point. That's an athletic showcase if there ever was one.
    
15. Ivan Calderon... Iron Boy may not be in his prime anymore, but he's still not easy to touch in there so we could be waiting a good while for someone to finally snatch his "0".
16. Andre Ward... I'm a little surprised that Ward didn't finish higher. I had in my top 10, but I guess some people were unhappy with his rough tactics against Kessler, or just don't feel he's done enough yet. That's fair.  I'm not really a fan of his style, but he just looks really hard to beat and I definitely don't see Green pulling the trick. The third round showdown with Andre Dirrell should be very interesting and will give us a lot more to go on.
17. Arthur Abraham... As frustrating as the Dirrell fight had to be for Abraham backers, I think they are within their rights to point out that he could have ended matters in the remaining time.  That he didn't get the opportunity though is his fault, and his alone.  He'll have a chance to move back up against Froch in round 3, and that's the great thing about the Super-Six, for all the issues the tournament has faced, the best keep fighting the best.
18. Chris John... The Indonesian champion is good at more than a few things inside the ring, but nothing jumps out at you at first. Perhaps his greatest weapon is controlling the pace of a fight. He's a clever fighter, and it's probably going to take someone special to beat him at 126.
19. Wladimir Klitschko... As much as I don't like watching him fight, I admit that he probably belongs on the list. If you include heavyweights, and we do, Wlad is the one who deserves the most consideration. Domination is domination, I guess... no matter how boring.
20. Tomasz Adamek... He's taking a true P4P fight when he tangles with Cris Arreola, who could have 40+ lbs on him. No doubt that he'll land on the wide open bigger man, but can he handle what comes back at him?
21. Jean Pascal... Given his current accomplishments, I'm not sure he belongs on our list, and wouldn't argue if you think he has to do more (such as run Chad Dawson close) but I admit to placing him in my top 25.  He's a fighter that I was never overly high on when he was coming up. Watching him was frustrating because it looked like he would rather toy with guys than put them away. I doubted his killer instinct and fighting heart. Then he stood up to Carl Froch for 12 rounds and I realized I had been wrong. Some fighters shy away when pressed, but Pascal will fight with everything he's got when the chips are down and that bodes well for his future.
22. Andre Dirrell... I have a problem with Dirrell being ranked so low.  Let me start by saying I'm not a fan of his style of boxing. It's not my thing.  But I have no idea why he's below Abraham, as he was beating Arthur pretty handily before the DQ.  When you throw in the 50/50 fight with Froch, I think Dirrell has established he belongs higher.
23. Vic Darchinyan... The Raging Bull keeps bouncing back.  After losing to Donaire, he got right back down to business and quickly re-built his P4P credentials.  He's already fought twice since losing to Agbeko, and now appears ready to battle Donaire again.  The man's a fighter.
    
24. Celestino Caballero... The lanky Panamanian makes his 126lb debut tonight on HBO against Daud Yordan.  He reportedly was having a very hard time making weight, so the jump might do him some good.  He's my favourite call-out artist in the game. His YouTube videos are gold.  He deserves a big fight, which looks like it will be against Yuriorkis Gamboa, provided he wins tonight.
    
25. Devon Alexander... This fabulous talent has huge P4P potential, and fighting in a loaded division should give him chances to prove his class.  He has to do a little more for me though, but the way he handled Urango, without the clutching and grabbing Berto and Hatton relied on, was a great start.

Just missing the cut (in alphabetical order):

• Joseph Agbeko... I think he belongs in the top 25, and had him on my list along with the man he lost to, Yohnny Perez.
  
• Nate Campbell... The pounding of Juan Diaz and gutsy win over Ali Funeka aren't quite enough, but a win over Victor Ortiz on May 15 could see The Galaxy Warrior jump into the top 25.
  
• Yuriorkis Gamboa... The lightning fast Cuban will be ranked soon.  Just not yet.
  
• Bernard Hopkins... We had him at #3 last time out, mainly out of respect for his past accomplishments, but given his lack of quality opposition since the Pavlik win, and the way he looked against Jones, it's a hard sell to say the ageing master still belongs.
  
• Mikkel Kessler... A loss to Ward dropped the Dane all the way out of our list.  Given a similar upset didn't cost Arthur Abraham his place, perhaps we were a little harsh on Kessler?  We'll find out on April 24 when he meets the tough as nails Carl Froch.
  
• Vitali Klitschko... You can't argue with the man's domination, but has he faced anyone of real quality since he's returned?  Plus given his size advantage over his opposition, I find it tough to consider Vitali when it comes to P4P debates.
  
• Rafael Marquez... Does he have anything left?  He made it onto two of our lists, so there are still a couple of believers.  It might take more than a win over Israel Vasquez on May 12 to convince me though, as Vasquez looked completely done in his return bout.
  
• Kelly Pavlik... As with Kessler, the reigning middleweight champion is another fighter who's lone defeat may be given too much weight.  I think he'll lose to Martinez on April 17... but should be win, he'll jump back on, and probably grab a pretty high ranking.
  
• Yohnny Perez... As I mentioned with Agbeko, I had Perez on my list.  He probably still needs to do more though, and he'll get a chance for another big win on May 22 against Abner Mares.
  
• Edwin Valero... Another fighter that didn't catch the eye of the other Boxing Bulletin writers, but made it onto my list.  I actually had Valero ranked at #13.  I think he's that good and if he can get his life straightened out, will prove it.

What do you think?  Where did we go wrong?  Let us know your choices.

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