| 01 January 2012
With another year of in-ring action in the books, it was once again time for the Boxing Watchers to put their heads together to formulate some kind of consensus on the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers on the planet. The key word is "once," since we only do this at the end of each calendar year.
The thinking behind doing it annually is that we don't want to overreact to each big victory or loss by a top pugilist. If we updated monthly, or heaven forbid, even more frequently than that, we'd run the risk of having guys slide around on the list so much that it would start to lose its meaning.
Or would it? It occurred to me while compiling this list that there hasn't been that much movement even though it's been 12 months since we last did it. Pac-Man, Money and Maravilla are still up near the top. Wladimir Klitschko and Timothy Bradley remain in the bottom half. A few boxers who dropped off the list since last January (like Juan Manuel Lopez and Fernando Montiel) deserve it since they were forcefully removed.
Anyway, those were just a few musings I had while adding up the votes from the BW brain trust. Whether you agree or disagree with our rankings, feel free to let us know.
BoxingWatchers.com Top 10 Pound for Pound Boxers: End of 2011
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Last Year: 2)
2. Manny Pacquiao (LY: 1)
3. Andre Ward (LY: 7)
4. Sergio Martinez (LY: 3)
5. Nonito Donaire (LY: NR)
6. Wladimir Klitschko (LY: 6)
7. Vitali Klitschko (LY: NR)
8. Juan Manuel Marquez (LY: 4)
9. Lucian Bute (LY: NR)
10. Timothy Bradley (LY: 8)
Also receiving votes: Chad Dawson
Dropped out: Juan Manuel Lopez, Fernando Montiel, Carl Froch
