School Is In: Professor “Warhammer” Shows How Pound for Pound Lists Should Be!

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By BJ “Warhammer” Proctor

For the better part of 10 years, Floyd Mayweather, JR. was the unquestioned best fighter in the sport. Sitting atop every worthwhile pound for pound list, and most importantly the Ring Magazine. Having a fighter dominate the top of the pound for pound list for years at a time is nothing unusual, as it’s happened many times over the course of boxing history. Whether you’re speaking of the great Roberto Duran during the 70’s, or you look at the 90’s, and you have Roy Jones, JR. and Pernell Whitaker who jockeyed for the top spot for the better part of the decade. What becomes very interesting is the debate that rages after a fighter like Floyd loses his spot, or in his case, steps away from the sport.

In today’s social media age, where information is at your fingertips literally, and there are a million websites that cover the sport. Everyone, and I mean everyone has a boxing website, and each has what they believe is a worthy pound for pound list. The biggest issue with most of these claims, is that each pound for pound list has a different set of criteria for how they compile that list. Even worse is the true history and reasoning for why the pound for pound list was created seems to have been lost and or forgotten.

Since Floyd Mayweather, JR.’s last fight against Andre Berto and he officially retired from the sport. The debate for who should become the pound for pound number 1 fighter in the sport has been a fun, yet heated debate. Ring Magazine immediately removed Floyd, and the fighter that made the ascension was a relative unknown to many boxing fans, but a fighter who was more than worthy of the spot. Roman Gonzalez has been dominating the lower divisions for years now, and as per the usual, those fighters go relatively unnoticed, and thus the boxing community dismisses them without the slightest regard. There are a ton of boxing fans that refuse to watch any weight class below 140. There are boxing fans that are only entertained if they are watching the higher divisions, usually 160 and above, if not limiting their scope to only heavyweight.

To fully grasp how to go about creating the pound for pound list, you at least should understand its history, and what the pure definition and reasoning for the list is. Most associate the origin of the pound for pound creation with Sugar Ray Robinson in the 1940’s. Although some boxing historians trace the idea of a pound for pound best back to the teens and 20’s, where Benny Leonard dominated. The lore is that the newspaper guys needed a way to distinguish Robinson as the best fighter in the sport, as Joe Louis was a national icon and the king of the sport. The issue they had was that the popularity of the heavyweights overshadowed the more skilled fighters below them. So one of the most important factors of the pound for pound list, that’s been forgotten over the years, is that a heavyweight, no matter how popular was never and could never be considered the best in the sport.

Heavyweights are never recognized as the pound for pound best for 2 reasons.

1. The very designation is a means to separate heavyweight champions, from the smaller, harder-working, under-rewarded fighters from the lower weight classes.

2. Even the best heavyweights are not as skilled, as fast, or as good as the smaller fighters. No heavyweight could ever compare to a Willie Pep, even or Pep’s worst day.

No heavyweight champion in any era, was considered by anyone to be the best fighter in the business pound for pound during his reign. While Ali was grabbing headlines in the 60’s, it was two smaller fighters, Carlos Ortiz and Eder Jofre, who fought for pound for pound supremacy.
The 1970’s were no better for Ali, as even with him growing into the sport’s biggest star, long reigning lightweight champion, Roberto Duran was viewed as the best. Duran ruled lightweight for a solid six straight years, and went 53-1 in the decade. To top it off, Duran was named the 70’s fighter of the decade.

So in essence, the true reasoning for why the pound for pound was created in the first place has been lost on the boxing public. The most important distinction to conclude who is the best is skill, and that seems to be the least considered variable in the equation for most pound for pound list these days. The boxing public can become enamored with a heavy hitting fighter like Gennady Golovkin despite his lack of resume, then turn around and ignore a fighter like Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon, or Roman Gonzalez, despite their dominance and far better skill set.

Most fighters at the top of the pound for pound list are more boxer than puncher. Fighters who’ve spent the most time at the top have been efficient boxer punchers or pure defensive geniuses. The likes of Roy Jones, JR., Sugar Ray Leonard, Carlos Monzon, Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya, and Shane Mosley all fit this criterion.

No pound for pound list will ever be concrete evidence of a fighters superiority in the sport, as is almost every aspect of the sport of boxing, pound for pound list are subjective, and thus inconclusive. But for any pound for pound list to be taken seriously, the criteria should first and foremost start with skill level. All weight classes must be considered, and viewed on equal standing, outside of the heavyweight division.

So the next time you pull up a pound for pound list, and you see a fighter you’ve never heard of, sitting at the top of the list. Your first priority should be to research the fighter and try and grasp why he’s touted so highly. Watch some fight footage, and maybe even find out the publications criteria for how their pound for pound list is created. Knowing the history of the pound for pound can help eliminate some of the more absurd list out there. List that actually propose popularity, or financial standing as part of their criteria, or would chose a heavyweight over the likes of an Andre Ward or Terrence Crawford despite their massive advantage in skill.

The debate over Roman Gonzalez being the pound for pound best has not subsided since he reached the lofty position. Nearly 2 years later and no fighter has come close to knocking him off his perch, as he’s continued to dominate, and beat the best near his division. Gonzalez finally got his chance to shine under the bright lights of HBO sports, being paired with “GGG” to help raise his stock. As the boxing public has become more familiar with him as a fighter, the questions about his place at the top have reduced slightly. His skill on display in each outing, as well as his willingness to fight the best as he recently acquired his latest championship in a 4th different weight class. Hopefully the next time a fighter is viewed as being worthy of the pound for pound title, his skills, his credentials, will be compared against his peers, to grasp whether they truly deserve that spot. Also whether the main reason and history of the pound for pound is being used and or considered when choosing such a fighter.

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