The New P4P List in Boxing – You will be SHOCKED Who Ranks as Number #1

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By “Big” Bill Bradshaw

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder and one man’s meat is another man’s poison. With the exception of physics and mathematics, the element of personal opinion is usually the final factor in the decision making process and even in the world of Wall Street, a commodity is only as valuable as the worth we put on it. But, of course, in order to get the best results, our opinions must be informed and they must be based on an honest evaluation of the facts regardless of our own bias. The sweet science of boxing is no different. To give a balanced assessment of today’s P4P list we must strip away everything that is surplus to the sport and focus only on what the fighter has brought to the ring in recent times. There is nothing to be gained in recounting past glories as all boxers age and many fall a very long way before the final bell rings. The pound for pound rankings are a current evaluation of today’s fighters and if, through bias or mere stubbornness, we insist upon installing the same names regardless of their decline, then the conversation should move on to the all time P4P list where era’s can be debated on a like for like basis.

With these tenets in mind, I look upon the current P4P lists with a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. I suspect Floyd Mayweather, JR. will be installed as Number 1 yet again and this is simply wrong on so many levels. Be mindful that the list is compiled in relation to the best fighters at the current time and, in Floyd, we are looking at a man who spent 2014 playing the victim over 24 rounds with Marcos Maidana. In the first fight, he humiliated himself by openly crying to Tony Meeks that Maidana actually came to win and it was another corrupt Las Vegas decision that kept the Mayweather train on track. That fight was a draw at worst and, had the bout taken place in South America, Floyd’s record would reflect another defeat to go with the Castillo and De La Hoya losses. Floyd was flat footed, loose in his defense, slow to move and his punches carried absolutely nothing. The amount of crying and complaining to the referee was embarrassing for the sport. The rematch was an exercise in staying away from the opponent and good ole Kenny Bayless ensured that the opponent stayed away from Floyd.

We are all very familiar with Mayweather’s genuinely tragic condition, Filipiphobia: an irrational fear of boxers named Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao and, more recently we have seen TMT refuse to engage with Amir Khan but let’s not forget that GGG, Gennady Golovkin has offered, on numerous occasions, to make the 154lb limit and challenge for Mayweather’s WBC Light Middleweight title. “Outrageous” the fanatics will flap hysterically “he’s too big for Mayweather and you’re an asshole for even thinking it” but they seem to forget that GGG has fought at 154lb, he’s willing to make the weight without difficulty and he holds a belt in the same division as Cotto holds a world title so save the bullshit for Facebook.

Pacquaio had a great year in comparison with a revenge win over P4P regular Tim Bradley, inflicting Desert Storm’s first acknowledged loss and going on to destroy another unbeaten world champion, Chris Algieri, knocking the Huntington man down over half a dozen times in the process.

So where does that see Mayweather in the current crop of elite fighters?. Well, he could redeem last year’s debacle with a meaningful test in May but that’s unlikely to happen. A bout with Cotto, whose claim to modern fame is that he battered a semi disabled 39yr old Martinez, would not appease the wider audience and Floyd’s contract runs out with a yawn in September.

Under the basic principles of the P4P list, Floyd drops many places. Should anyone believe that the best fighter on the planet refuses $120 million to face another boxer, given the dire performances Floyd threw up in 2014, then that individual is deeply troubled. These are life’s losers…the kinds of internet troll who threaten and abuse others on Facebook for no other reason than the cyber world provides hiding places for online tough guys, much in the same way as Mayweather trash talks Pacquaio safe in the knowledge he will never have to face him.

Hey, if you’re still living in your mom’s basement and want to look up to Floyd who wants to be seen as a thug, by all means, have it while the rest of society looks down on that type of behavior. Our emails at RSR have been swamped by these illiterate gutter snipes and the only comment I’d make about that is that there is a worrying amount of scum out there pushing the limits of their vocabulary with complex expressions like “Jack off” and “Ass wipe”. Charles Darwin would be so proud.

I am a fan of Andre Ward. Although I’ve always leaned toward a fighter more than a boxer, Ward had that wonderful mix of both that made his fight nights a much anticipated event. He was always the consummate professional inside and outside the ring and, even during his feud with his promoter, the late Dan Goossen, Ward was always courteous about the man when the media sought its pound of flesh. He was and possibly still is a very fine fighter but Andre Ward has had two bouts since 2011 and only one since 2012.

To suggest that he is currently in the top three P4P fighters in the world is pure speculation. Guys have retired and made comebacks in less time than that. Floyd retired for a year and a day to avoid the 12 month rematch clause in his contract with De La Hoya but, Floyd has a history of avoiding tough bouts.

Ward on the other hand is a fighter who actually has balls and, between 2009 and 2012, he easily beat the best of the rest with convincing wins over Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Chad Dawson so, unlike Floyd, Ward was the real deal. Is he still a brilliant boxer/fighter? Only time will tell but, until he knows what’s left in the tank, it would be ridiculous to install a man who hasn’t fought a meaningful bout in almost 3yrs on the top ten fighters competing today. I suspect he will return in fine style and I wish him only the best. Boxing needs fearless fighters.

Therefore, with all things considered, an accurate P4P list based on performances within the last year is as follows:

1. Manny Pacquiao
2. Gennady Golovkin
3. Wladimir Klitschko
4. Roman Gonzales
5. Guillermo Rigondeaux
6. Floyd Mayweather, JR.
7. Amir Khan
8. Canelo Alvarez
9. Timothy Bradley
10. Sergey Kovalev