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With Floyd “Money” Mayweather set to retire in September this year, Boxing will lose not only one of the best ever but it will also have the biggest title it has to offer, the “pound for pound king”, vacant. Mayweather has been sitting at the very top of the rankings for over a decade and he has never looked like being dethroned in anyway but with his retirement imminent, it is only right that we take a look at the fighters who are most likely to take up the throne in future.
5.Gennady Golovkin
32-0 with 29 knockouts which is the highest knockout percentage in middleweight history, has almost cleaned up the middleweight division and is the current WBA and IBO middleweight champion. It’s quite amazing indeed. Golovkin is doing what most others dream of doing which is fighting almost 4 fights a year and knocking out opponents in style which is earning him a big reputation and an even bigger fan base. Currently, Golovkin stands 7th as per the rankings given by the ring magazine and he falls somewhere in that area in every boxing fanatic’s mind. The reason why he is only 5th even though he has sparkling credentials is that he hasn’t fought any big superstar yet and he is 33. The fighters that he wants to fight are either ducking him or are having other commitments. Somehow I feel that in order to be truly recognised in the pound for pound elite section he would have to fight at super middleweight or cut down his weight to fight in divisions below middleweight with the former looking more likely.
4.Andre Ward:
Andre “S.O.G” Ward would have been 1st or 2nd in the list if it hadn’t been for his inactive Boxing career for over 16 months due to issues with his promoter. Ward who was at the time the WBA, WBC and ring Super middleweight champion had his WBC and Ring titles stripped off him by both the governing bodies but “ S.O.G” is back and is he facing Paul Smith on June 20th . Ward came into prominence in the Super Six World Boxing classic tournament when he dismantled world champion Mikkel Kessler in 11 rounds to take his belt. Wins over top 10 middleweights Sakio Bika and Arthur Abraham followed but his career defining performance came against Pound for Pound elite Carl Froch in a match where Froch got schooled by Ward. Ward got a knockout victory over the bigger Chad Dawson and dominated Edwin Rodriguez in his fight before the hiatus. Ward when on song is truly unbeatable. He is versatile, quick, aggressive... to cut the long story short he is the complete package and has a decent fan base too .
3.Saul”Canelo”Alvarez:
Saul Alvarez is touted to be the next big superstar in the making and he is taking every step in the right direction . From fighting in sell-out stadiums to getting multimillion dollar paydays and at 24 it seems the boxing world is at his feet at the moment. Canelo started his pro boxing career at the age of 15 and has not looked back since. He has victories against good fighters such as Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Alfredo Angulo and Sugar Shane Mosely. His only setback was against the current Pound for Pound number one Floyd Mayweather but even Mayweather has admitted that Canelo is the future of boxing. Canelo has the fighting style which pleases the fans, he likes the “Mexican Style” of fighting where the fighter is aggressive, stands toe-to-toe with the opponent and trades punches and he has refined it with his improved defence as well. He thrilled fans once again with a vicious knockout victory over James Kirkland in his last match. All of this together has made the fans happy and he has a huge fan following as well. Canelo is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and is currently their Golden Boy and they will make sure he gets the right opponents so that he reaches the top of the ladder.
2.Guillermo Rigondeaux:
Boxing Training great Freddie Roach once described Rigondeaux as one of the best talents he’s ever seen. Rigondeaux a two-time Olympic gold medallist is considered as one of the greatest amateur boxers ever and today he is considered as one of the best pro-boxers too. He is 15-0 in his professional career and the current WBA,WBO and The Ring Super Bantamweight title holder. Rigondeaux has a strong technique which he has got from his Cuban amateur roots, a good counter puncher with excellent footwork and speed. He is a genius while in the ring as it was evident from his domination of Nonito Donaire .Rigondeaux is 34 and he has to utilize his time to the maximum in order to get to the top of the ladder.
1.Roman Gonzalez:
Some call him the best boxer in the world today and with a record of 42-0 with 36 Knockouts, it’s hard to imagine otherwise. The 27 yr old is the current WBA and the Ring Flweight champion and has also held titles at Straw-weight and Junior Flyweight. Sadly for the Nicaraguan he is relatively unknown to the casual fan. His skills are extra-ordinary. He is very aggressive, has good knockout power and is very precise in his punches too. He likes to stand and trade as well and as I mentioned before, the lack of casual fan following for the lower weight classes has not given Gonzalez his due credit. Gonzalez will look to strengthen his argument for the top spot in the pound for pound rankings when he takes on Edgar Sosa on May 16th as an undercard for the Golovkin–Monroe premier.
