There was a lot of movement in our rankings as Floyd Mayweather Jr, Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley were all in action since our last update. Was Floyd’s impressive win over Shane Mosley enough to surpass Manny Pacquiao for the top pound-for-pound spot? Read on to find out.
Inside Fights Pound-for-Pound Rankings
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr
Last Month: 2
“Dominating the number one welterweight in the world is more impressive than dominating the #5 or #6 welterweight, so Mayweather moves ahead of Pacquiao to reclaim his spot as the best fighter in boxing.” – Corey Willinger
2. Manny Pacquiao
Last Month: 1
“If Pacquiao’s political platform is that he’s the number one fighter in the world, he might have more trouble arguing that point in light of Mayweather’s performance against Mosley.” – CW
3. Paul Williams
Last Month: 4
“Paul has come as far as he can since no one is pushing Floyd and Manny out of the top two spots. He will do his best to hold strong here when he faces Kermit Cintron on May 8.” – Trent Pusey
4. Juan Manuel Marquez
Last Month: 5
“His loss to Floyd isn’t as bad now. He looks forward to July when he rematches Juan Diaz. Their first fight was the ’09 Fight of the Year.” – TP
5. Bernard Hopkins
Last Month: 3
“Bernard is still hanging around but perhaps not for long. He’ll need to beat someone impressive next time out (such as Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute, David Haye or Tomasz Adamek) or risk dropping out of the picture altogether.” – CW
6. Shane Mosley
Last Month: 6
“Shane was primed and ready to jump Hopkins in the rankings with a good showing against Mayweather, and he nearly got it after hurting Floyd worse than anyone ever had early in their fight. But he was painfully picked apart over the rest of the bout, doing no worse than Marquez but finding himself outclassed nevertheless.” – CW
7. Chad Dawson
Last Month: 7
“Dawson is entering his prime and hungry for bigger fights. The problem is finding them. Dawson will next face Jean Pascal in August.” – TP
8. Wladimir Klitschko
Last Month: 9
“Both Klitschkos are dominating forces in the heavyweight division and their sternest challenges may come from cruiserweights. Wladimir handled Eddie Chambers in March and will probably see action again this Winter.” – TP
9. Andre Ward
Last Month: 8
“Ward hasn’t fought his second Super Six bout yet and currently sits in a four-way tie for second place behind Arthur Abraham. He looks like the man to beat at this point in time.” – CW
10. Timothy Bradley
Last Month: 10
“Bradley was set to face welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu but rescinded when he realized he could face Marcos Maidana instead. It’s a tougher challenge for Bradley. This is how reputations are built.” – TP
