Sherdog.com’s Boxing Pound-For-Pound Top 10

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A few of boxing’s elite of participated in hand-to-hand combat in recent weeks. With said violence having taken place, and with one of the men who previously occupied a spot on this list beset by inactivity, there was a slight shakeup in our pound-for-pound rankings.

Unbeaten super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) has been kicked to the curb because he has not fought since November 2013. Injuries and various other circumstances have kept “S.O.G.” out of the ring since he pounded Edwin Rodriguez to a lopsided unanimous decision more than a year ago. With no opponent on the table, there is no telling when Ward might climb through the ropes again.

Ward’s exit opens the door for someone else: unbeaten welterweight champion Keith Thurman. The undefeated 26-year-old fought his way onto the list with a dominant win over Robert Guerrero on March 7. Meanwhile, Russian Sergey Kovalev climbs a few rungs following his sensational brawl with Jean Pascal, as he became the first man to stop the Montreal fighter and did so in Pascal’s hometown. Now 27-0-1, Kovalev has stopped 10 of his last 11 opponents inside the distance.

Boxing’s two biggest stars, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, will finally lock horns on May 2 in Las Vegas; Wladimir Klitschko will put his heavyweight crown on the line against the undefeated Bryant Jennings on April 25; and junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, who hovers just outside the pound-for-pound top 10, will have a heck of a fight on his hands when he faces Lamont Peterson on April 11.

Finally, Juan Manuel Marquez, one of the greatest fighters of this or any generation, finds himself in a position similar to Ward. The 41-year-old has not fought since he defeated Mike Alvarado in May, and with no future opponent set, it seems likely that his days on this list are numbered.

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1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs)

Mayweather will finally face the man many viewed as his biggest threat when he meets Manny Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas. “Money” has received a majority of the blame for the fight not yet having come to fruition. A win over Pacquiao would cement Mayweather’s status as the world’s best. The 38-year-old last fought in September, when he took a unanimous decision from Marcos Maidana.

2. Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs)

Pacquiao will finally get his chance at Floyd Mayweather, as he will take on the pound-for-pound king on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 36-year-old Filipino star has won three in a row since his back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao defeated Chris Algieri by unanimous decision on Nov. 23.

3. Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs)

Though he is seen as a boring fighter who painstakingly takes his time in the ring and regardless of the overriding belief that the heavyweight division has become a barren wasteland, no one can argue with the fact that Klitschko has been cleaning house for a decade. On a 21-fight winning streak, the 39-year-old Ukrainian will take on Bryant Jennings at Madison Square Garden on April 11.

4. Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9 KOs)

The Cuban defector’s coming-out party came when he dominated Nonito Donaire for 12 rounds in April 2013. Since then, “El Chacal” has electrified the boxing world with his inhuman speed and brilliant boxing. While age is not exactly on his side, Rigondeuax, 34, has dazzled the sport since he concluded one of the great amateur careers in history and turned pro in 2009.

5. Timothy Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs)

“Desert Storm” was on the verge of becoming a household name after he edged Manny Pacquiao by split decision in 2012 and then won an awesome war with Ruslan Provodnikov. However, since his victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in October 2013, Bradley has lost his rematch with Pacquiao and fought to a horrendous draw with Diego Chavez. Can he turn around his fortunes in his next outing?

6. Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 23 KOs)

The unbeaten “Krusher” put a beating on Bernard Hopkins and then stopped Jean Pascal in the eighth round on March 14. Kovalev’s stock has never been higher, and there does not seem to be anyone in his weight class who poses a legitimate threat to him.

7. Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28 KOs)

Golovkin is as exciting as they come, but unlike Russian counterpart Sergey Kovalev, “GGG” has not yet faced an elite-level opponent. The 2004 Olympic silver medalist stopped Martin Murray on an 11th-round technical knockout in February and will face Willie Monroe Jr. on May 16 in Inglewood, Calif. Hopefully Golovkin will be throwing bombs at a high-level challenger by year’s end.

8. Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs)

Marquez wants another crack at Manny Pacquiao -- they have fought four times already, with the “Pac-Man” holding a 2-1-1 advantage -- but a lopsided loss to Timothy Bradley hurt his stock. His May 17 win over Mike Alvarado was nice at the time, but the man they call “Mile High” has since melted down in his rubber match with Brandon Rios. Marquez turns 42 in August.

9. Roman Gonzalez (41-0, 35 KOs)

While not well-known outside of hardcore boxing circles, Gonzalez’s has kept Nicaragua’s boxing tradition alive and well. “Chocalito” has crushing power and has torn through every flyweight he has faced. The only knock against him is that he lacks a strong pool of well-known rivals through which to build his profile. Gonzalez will defend his WBC flyweight title against the durable and dangerous Edgar Sosa on May 16 in Inglewood, Calif., where a victory would help strength his claim as one of boxing’s best.

10. Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs)

Thurman has been circling the waters as a potential pound-for-pound entrant for some time, and his thrilling, lopsided decision win over the ultra-tough Robert Guerrero on March 7 serves as a tremendous notch on his belt. It remains to be seen who he will fight next, but Thurman has made it known that he wants to test himself against the best possible opposition from this point forward.

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