Lou’s Top Ten: Floyd Mayweather, JR., Manny Pacquiao and Andre Ward Top the List

By Lou Eisen

Miguel Cotto Number #10

Miguel Cotto, 39-4, 32 KO’s cracks the top ten on the basis of his comprehensive and savage knockout over the now former undisputed world middleweight champion, Sergio Martinez. To say that Cotto issued Martinez a beat down is an understatement. Cotto essentially won the fight in the first round when he dropped Martinez to the canvas on three separate occasions. Martinez never recovered from the first knockdown. The difference was Freddie Roach, Cotto’s new trainer. Roach has revived many boxing careers and Cotto is his latest reclamation project and perhaps his best.

The new Cotto was revealed after he beat Delvin Rodriguez by a third round knockout in what was supposed to be his warm-up bout for Martinez. Actually, the fight was really to gauge precisely what Cotto needed to improve upon in order to get back to the top of the junior middleweight or middleweight divisions. After the Rodriguez fight, it looked like Cotto was ready for anyone, especially Martinez. Cotto’s hand speed proved to be a much more effective weapon for him as a middleweight than it was when he was a junior middleweight. His confidence was sky high, he looked like a younger friskier version of himself in the ring and he was highly motivated to win the world middleweight title by his Hall of Fame trainer, Roach.

Instead of being referred to as a “worn out pug,” Cotto is now commonly referred to as a savvy veteran with ring experience. Cotto looks and acts like he used to during the beginning of his prime. It now looks like the proposed super fight between Cotto and Canelo will be very competitive after all.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Number #9

No top ten-list would be complete without Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 44-1-1, 31 KO’s. Alvarez’s entry here at number nine is not in any way a negative comment on him or his skills. In only a very short span of time, he will soon be the number one rated fighter in the world. When will that happen? When Floyd Mayweather, JR. and Manny Pacquiao retire, which should happen in the next two years. It is mind-boggling to consider how much he has already accomplished even at such a young age. We sometimes tend to forget that Canelo is only 24 years old. Fighters mature at different ages. With some notable exceptions, the rule of thumb is that fighters in heavier weight classes take longer to mature. Not so with Alvarez who matured as a fighter by 20 years of age. He is now maybe a year or so away from entering his prime. It is scary to consider just how great Alvarez is now and, then consider just how much better he will be in a year or two from now.

The list of fighters he has already defeated is astonishing. Alvarez has beaten Shane Mosley, Austin Trout, Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara. Alvarez failed to beat Mayweather but he went the distance with him and was still in there punching at the very end of the bout. Alvarez gets better with each fight and is adding new weapons and tactics to his already vaunted arsenal. If he can develop more ring strategies for different kinds of opponents, he will then become that much more formidable inside the squared circle. He will also be a much more complete fighter. Alvarez is not too far off from one day being the top guy in the sport. At age 24, he is well ahead of schedule.

Adonis Stevenson Number #8

Adonis Stevenson who is now 24-1, 20 KO’S was not considered an elite fighter at the start of his ring career. He was looked at as somebody with incredible potential. What he sorely lacked was a skilled and vastly experienced trainer to turn his potential into reality. Enter Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward who was able to, with patience, motivation and a keen eye, turn Stevenson’s potential into ring greatness.

Steward told Stevenson every day that he was the best light-heavyweight in the world. Stevenson started to believe Steward and, even more importantly, in himself. Now brimming with confidence, Stevenson’s ability to dominate his opponents became evident with each ring performance. He was disciplined, focused and improving by leaps and bounds. Stevenson possesses blistering hand speed and one punch KO power in both hands and when those weapons are combined with his swift and educated feet he then becomes a truly formidable ring opponent.

It was Steward who turned Stevenson into an elite fighter and world champion. Steward improved Stevenson’s balance by making him stand flat-footed when he threw his power shots rather than just winging looping arm punches, which he had been doing before he met Steward. All great fighters need to be properly motivated for a fight in order to do well. Stevenson was rumored to be, several months ago, close to signing a contract to face Bernard Hopkins. The negotiations fell through and instead, an unmotivated Stevenson faced Andrzej Fonfara from Poland, who was ranked number ten in the light-heavyweight division by Ring Magazine.

Stevenson was dropped to the mat in round one and the boxing media roundly criticized his performance. What many so-called boxing experts missed is the fact that Stevenson rose from the knockdown to successfully defend his WBC/Ring Magazine light-heavyweight world crown. Stevenson is now in his fighting prime and is really only interested in fighting two men. The first one of course is Bernard Hopkins and the second man he wants to face is the Russian knockout specialist Sergey Kovalev. Kovalev is so much more than just a slugger who walks in blindly and lets his hands go. It would be a great fight for Stevenson. His hand and foot speed and ring generalship gives him a good chance to win. Beating an all-time great and future Hall of Famer like Hopkins would add luster to Stevenson’s stature in the sport.

Bernard Hopkins #7

Bernard Hopkins deserves to be on everyone’s top ten lists. He is the best- conditioned and best-trained fighter in boxing today. There isn’t a move in the ring that he didn’t invent or improve upon during his now historic career, which continues to this day. Hopkins, whose career record currently stands at 55-6-2, 32 KO’s, is about to turn 50 and yet, surprisingly, even at that age, he is still a fighter that is in great demand as well as greatly feared. Hopkins is only one of three fighters ever to have defeated Father Time, with the other two being Archie Moore and George Foreman. Hopkins career record is a bit deceiving and in a sense, rather unfair. There are many boxing scribes and experts who believe, and justifiably so, that Hopkins won both fights with Jermain Taylor by a rather wide margin.

Although Hopkins clearly agrees that he beat Taylor twice, he rarely if ever brings it up in conversation and if someone else brings it up, he just says that those fights were in the past, and that he is only interested in the future. This highlights perhaps Hopkins greatest quality of all, namely the ability to focus solely on the task at hand, to the omission of any and all past discrepancies. The same thing can be said about his first fight with Jean Pascal. There were many in attendance that believed Hopkins won the bout by a considerable margin. At the news conference in Toronto to promote the second Hopkins-Pascal match, I asked him if he feared that the Canadian judges would rob him again of another apparent victory. Hopkins replied, “Not at all. I love Canada and I have always been treated very well here and in Quebec. I can only focus on the job at hand. I cannot change the past.”

Hopkins ring accomplishments are nothing short of miraculous. He has fought many elite fighters that were much younger than him and except for a few occasions has come out on top just about every time. Next up for him Sergey Kovalev. Many people over the years have lost fortunes betting against Hopkins. Don’t be surprised if he surprises the world again.

Guillermo Rigondeaux Number #6

Cuban ex-pat Guillermo Rigondeaux, 14-0, 9 KO’s, is as close to being a fighter without a flaw that we have seen since the halcyon boxing eras that produced Sugar Ray Robinson and Willie Pep. It is simply amazing to think, that after three consecutive comprehensive victories over elite level fighters Nonito Donaire, Joseph Agbeko and, most recently, Sod Kokietgym, that Cuban superstar and WBA super world super bantamweight world champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux still has yet to receive the proper respect and attention his incredible boxing talents warrant. He is obviously a brilliant technical boxer and his one round knockout of Sod Kokietgym shows that Rigondeaux does indeed have some real pop in his mitts. Rigondeaux also holds the WBO World super bantamweight title. Guillermo takes control of every fight he is in almost immediately after the opening bell has sounded, regardless of who ever his unlucky opponent may be. He is a classic counter puncher with power although he much prefers winning his bouts on points rather than by scoring spectacular knockout wins, of which he has nine.

Rigondeaux decisively defeated both Nonito Donaire and Joseph Agbeko on points by rather wide margins, as the scorecards showed. Donaire is an all-time great former multiple division world champion and Rigondeaux made him look like a rank novice in the ring. Donaire blindly walked into every fistic trap that Rigondeaux had set up for him. Donaire was impatient against Rigondeaux and it showed. Donaire was constantly looking to load up and take Rigondeaux out with one good shot to the head and that cost him the fight. Donaire did manage to drop Rigondeaux in the tenth round with a short counter left hand on the inside, infusing Team Donaire with a brief moment of hope that was rather short-lived as Rigondeaux calmly arose from the canvas and immediately got back on his bicycle, never allowing Donaire the chance to follow up on his momentary ring advantage. The unanimous decision in favor of Rigondeaux after round 12 was never really in doubt.

It wasn’t that Donaire had an off night as much as it was that Rigondeaux had a career night and, in the process of dismantling Donaire, made him look like a rather ordinary pug, which no one suspected any fighter could do to Donaire. Donaire’s strategy of looking to end matters with one shot shows how little he understood or knew about Rigondeaux’s ring style. Rigondeaux is next to impossible to tag with a solid shot. Any elite fighter that chooses to challenge Rigondeaux, would be smart to concede the knockout and try to score a points win using hand speed, educated feet and a variety of different angles.

Although Agbeko deserves credit for even taking the fight, he really had no business being in the same ring with Rigondeaux. Their fight was an epic mismatch. Agbeko had a once promising career years ago but those days are long behind him now. There was no doubt Agbeko knew what he had to accomplish in order to defeat Rigondeaux but he was simply not up to the task. He was simply too old and washed up to pull off the upset. Rigondeaux won every single round of their fight on the scorecards of all three judges.

Rigondeaux is often unfairly criticized for being a “boring” fighter to watch. He is only boring for those fans that have no understanding of the sweet science. The wide disparity in talent between Rigondeaux and his unlucky ring rivals, makes it seem as if he is barely putting any ring effort forth whatsoever. In fact, to always win by such decisively wide margins clearly indicates just how truly talented Rigondeaux really is and that he is now entering his prime. That is a scary notion to contemplate. As dominant s Rigondeaux is now, he is only going to that much better over time. that Rigondeaux was able to beat former great fighter fighters like Donaire and Agbeko with such grace and ease. others is an uncannily accurate puncher and rarely misses more than a few shots per fight. Donaire manage to drop him in the tenth round of their exciting battle but it was all to no avail. Rigondeaux is so superlatively skilled, that he was easily able to make three universally recognized elite fighters look rather ordinary. You have to have an abundance of ring talent to do that to any fighter, much less three elite fighters in quick succession.

Leo Santo Cruz Number #5

Leo Santa Cruz is, in this humble scribe’s estimation, is one of THE most exciting, all-action fighters in pro boxing today. He is always in demand and thus, he is always busy. With a record of 28-0-1, 16 KO’s, his appearance on any boxing card, whether it is for Showtime or HBO, guarantees without fail, a sold out boxing venue and through the roof PPV sales. Santa Cruz is the WBC world super bantamweight titlist. It is truly a privilege to watch him ply his fistic wares in the ring. He does everything well and he fights his heart out in each round. He throws and lands more punches in a single round than most other fighters do in six rounds.

Cruz possesses a tremendous and punishing boxing skill set, augmented by very quick hands, educated feet, startling power in both fists and is understandably loaded with self-confidence. He is practically indomitable in the ring once he gets going on all cylinders. He throws hard, crackling punches at his opponents from all angles with each punch loaded for bear. Cruz tries to take out his ring rivals with every shot he throws. He is a very formidable puncher/boxer from anywhere and everywhere in the ring. All of Cruz’s punches have the power and potential to knock out every man he faces in the squared circle. On Sept. 13 of this year at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas, Cruz flattened his former sparring partner Manuel Roman in the second round with a short, picture perfect counter right hand that traveled maybe four inches and landed on the point of the chin. Roman fell helplessly to the mat, in obvious pain. The fight was over.

Cruz is so successful in the ring because of something he doesn’t do. That seems like an odd comment to make but it is true. It is precisely what he doesn’t do that makes him such a very difficult guy to face in the squared circle. What precisely doesn’t he do that makes him such a formidable opponent? He never takes time off in any round in any of his fights. So many fighters like to take rounds off to slow the pace of the fight down or to catch their breath or to disrupt their rival’s momentum. Sometimes it becomes a mutually tacit agreement between both fighters in the bout. Both men sometimes will take a round off to recalibrate their respective ring strategies. You will NEVER see Santa Cruz do that in any of his fights. In fact, he doesn’t even do that while in the midst of sparring. This kid is there to fight three minutes of every round to the very best of his ring abilities. Cruz will surely knock out any opponent that enters the ring against him unprepared to go full out in every round. After absorbing the brutal effects of his savage attacks to the body and head, most of his opponents are almost relieved to be knocked out at that point because their agony is over.

Cruz has a monster of a body attack, ferociously crippling his opponents with savage left hooks to their livers, burying each potent left hook deep into their respective right flanks, right up to his elbow. He is a devastating finisher and maintains his power in every round of the fight. He is dangerous at all times and has yet to taste defeat in the squared circle. He fights an average of four times a year. He also apologizes to his fans publicly after each fight if he was unable to knock out his opponent.

Cruz does so many things well in the ring. He throws punches in bunches; he puts his shots together in pulverizing combinations, and throws all of his shots off of his ramrod jab. He is astoundingly accurate with all of his punches and has the stamina to keep bombing his foes for 36 consecutive minutes if necessary. The question arises, “how do you beat a guy this talented?” The honest answer is, “You don’t!”

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin Number #4

Gennady Golovkin is 31-0, 28 KO’s. He is undoubtedly the best middleweight in the world today. He is an unstoppable force of nature in the ring. What’s not to like about him? He has yet to lose a round as a pro boxer. The mere mention of his name and his reputation strikes fear into the hearts of all of his challengers. He throws the best and most effective left hook to the liver in all of pro boxing today. He has fight-ending power in both hands. His footwork is superb and his balance is absolutely perfect.

Pacquiao’s defense is also brilliant as well. He slips punches adeptly and is always moving his head, thereby never giving his opponents a stationery target to aim for. He is almost a perfect fighting machine. He is equally comfortable and effective forcing the attack as he is as a deadly accurate counter-puncher. In either style he is nothing short of formidable. He takes his time in the ring, never rushes himself and does not waste any punches whatsoever during a bout. So many fighters throw long, looping punches hat often miss the target while leaving themselves wide open for crippling counter shots. Not so with Golovkin. His punches are short, on target, and utterly savage in both their singular and cumulative effects. Golovkin wisely gives himself enough room to punch, which allows him to achieve such phenomenal leverage on his power shots. Actually, he is able to get lethal leverage on all of his shots, including his jolting, violently head-snapping jabs. Leverage plus balance equals devastating power. Golovkin follows that equation to perfection.

As usual, his detractors, of which there are very few, criticize his list of opponents. This is an old, common ruse used by critics who have virtually no knowledge of boxing whatsoever. Matthew Macklin was a world-ranked fighter and Golovkin stopped him with a vicious left hook to the liver. Daniel Geale was a former world middleweight champion and Golovkin destroyed him. Golovkin walked right through and over up and coming middleweight talent Curtis Stevens. Marco Antonio Rubio was not without talent but once he tasted Golovkin’s terrifying power, he went into survival mode.

On Feb 21 in Monte Carlo, Golovkin will be defending his WBA Super world middleweight title along with his interim WBC world middleweight title and his IBO world middleweight title against the very talented British fighter Martin Murray. As in his previous bouts, this fight will be competitive for three or four rounds. Look at it this way. For Murray to last even that long against Golovkin, he will need to have his best night ever in the ring. Even so Murray will only last until that moment when Golovkin decides to end matters with a devastatingly quick and savage flurry of brutal shots to the body and head.

Murray will crumple, concussed and unconscious, to the canvas, just one more outstanding middleweight contender biting the dust, courtesy of the destructive fists of Triple G, an unstoppable tsunami of leather named Golovkin. In fact, the weather bureau should redo their chart of natural disasters, adding the “Golovkin” right before tsunami. It should read like this, Golovkin: a Golovkin is a powerful force of nature that absolutely demolishes every young man it comes into contact with. It is virtually unstoppable.”

Manny Pacquiao Number #3

Manny Pacquiao has proven recently to both his loyal fans and perennial detractors that even at the ripe old age of 36, and with all of the ring wars he has endured, he still retains enough of his enormous skill set to still be considered a dominant and much feared fighter in the welterweight division. Pacquiao’s pro record is superb, 56-5-2, 38 KO’s. Mentally, Pacquiao is as strong and tough as he has ever been. He had no problem scoring a very wide unanimous decision victory over fellow elite fighter Brandon Rios in Macao, China on Nov. 24 of 2013, to win the vacant WBO international world welterweight title. Against Rios, Pacquiao showed that he is still able to completely dominate a top-flight boxer with his incredibly quick hands, educated feet and concussive punching power. Pacquiao used the entire ring to his advantage, constantly circling Rios throughout the bout, never allowing the stronger Rios to stand flat-footed long enough to tag Pacquiao with any meaningful shots. Speed never slumps and speed is the primary reason why Pacquiao is still a major force to be reckoned with in the welterweight division.

Pacquiao followed up his victory over Rios by gaining a large measure of revenge with an even more dominating unanimous decision triumph over former foe, Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao decisively beat Bradley the first time they met on June ninth of 2012 at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Of the 125 or so media members in attendance, 123 of them voted for Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s revenge was sweet because it lasted for the full 12 rounds of the match and there was never any doubt from the first round on that Bradley was well on his way to defeat. Fans have been craving for years to see a super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao take place. Until that happens (and I don’t believe it will) Pacquaio has continued to remain busy by continuing to face dangerous fighters such as Chris Algieri in China on Nov. 22. Algieri has a tremendous height and reach advantage. That has never bothered Pacquiao in the past and it shouldn’t bother him this time around either. It is not the size of the dog in the fight that matters but rather the size of the fight in the dog. Pacquiao will demolish Algieri. Algieri will quickly learn, much to his own chagrin that Provodnikov was indeed tough, but Pacquiao is in a league of his own making.

Andre Ward Number #2

Andre Ward won a gold medal for the USA at the 2004 summer Olympic Games, in Athens, Greece, and has not slowed down a single step since entering the pro ranks in 2004. He is ten years into his ultra successful pro career, boasting a sterling record of 27-0, 14 KO’s. Unfortunately for Ward and fight fans worldwide, he has been inactive for the previous 12 months. This is due to a contractual dispute between Ward and his recently deceased promoter, Dan Goosen. Ward now works as an on-air boxing analyst at times for HBO. Ward is a great and well-respected boxing analyst. He is very articulate and is able to explain what is going on in the ring in a manner that is easily accessible and enjoyable to all HBO viewers.

Suffice to say, most boxing fans would prefer to see Ward in the ring throwing and avoiding punches than outside the squared circle describing the actions and movements of other boxers. Ward is trained by Virgil Hunter and Joe Goossen and has always been in terrific shape in each of his 27 pro fights, which is why he still remains unbeaten to this very day. Ward and Mayweather are very similar in one respect. They have both beaten the very best fighters in their respective weight divisions with very potent mixtures tremendous skill, grace, brains and, when necessary, brawn.

Ward’s fistic wares are truly a wonder to behold and his ability to think on his feet and change his ring strategy is unmatched by any other fighter in the world today. Ward has beaten every elite super middleweight in the world as well as some top-flight light-heavyweights as well. Boxing fans, media and insiders are fervently hoping that Ward can soon untangle his managerial problems and get back in the ring where he belongs. Ward attended Goossen’s funeral and expressed his profound condolences to his family. As Ward said, “The differences between Dan and I were never personal but rather professional.”

Ward is in the prime of his career right now and he should be spending his prime defending his WBA/WBC super middleweight world titles rather than broadcasting other champions fights. That being said, even after remaining outside of the ring for an entire year, next to Mayweather, Ward still is, skill-wise, the best fighter on the planet. The list of men he has defeated in the ring tells you all you need to know about the incredible skill set of Ward.

Ward has soundly defeated such outstanding pugilists such as Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson and Edison Rodriguez. Hopefully Goossen-Tutor Promotions will come to their senses and settle their differences with Ward outside of court. It is time that this marvelous world champion returns to the ring to defend his super middleweight world titles.

Floyd Mayweather, JR. Number #1

A mere 18 years into his astounding Hall of Fame career and Floyd Mayweather, JR. is, without even a scintilla of doubt, still the single best prizefighter in the world today. He sports an impressive record of 47-0, 26 KO’s. His skill set still remains leagues above the skill sets of all the other elite fighters in pro boxing today. Mayweather, JR. has yet to lose a fight during his pro career, and, perhaps even more unbelievable than not losing a fight is the fact that he has glorious career. If you were to choose just one word to describe Mayweather’s ring career up to this point in time, that word would be “perfect.”

His mastery of the shoulder roll defense is certainly a big reason why he has yet to taste defeat in the pro ranks. Every time the public claims a guy can beat Mayweather, he fights them and vanquishes them with ease. He is, hands down, the best fighter of his generation and many other generations as well. Yes, Mayweather is getting hit more often now with shots that never would have touched him when he was a younger man. Overall, he is not getting hit a lot, just more than he once did, which often is the case with an aging pugilist.

Mayweather has always possessed a great chin, mind-boggling hand speed and near perfect balance. Such physical advantages and ring gifts allow him (even while approaching 38 years of age) to still weather the hardest shots his opponents occasionally manage to land on him. What is perhaps even more remarkable about Mayweather’s undefeated string, now in the latter stages of his career, is that with each successive and convincing victory he achieves these days in the squared circle in front of millions of excited and delighted PPV fans, he continues to add more luster to his already amazing ring legacy. He may in fact turn out to be precisely what he is now claiming to be, the best ever!

RSR Is NOW Hiring Boxing Writers