Pacquiao vs. Zahir Raheem

[Von!-x]

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Unless the prize is right, pacquiao should not fight Raheem.

[inyourface]

raheEm <- High Risk Low Reward . . i don't think manny will move to 135 to face raheem . . 135 is too much for the pacman . . see what happen to EM when he move to lightweight . .

[oninrocks]

TOP POUND 4 POUND


1. Floyd Mayweather, JR. - "Pretty Boy" Floyd is the boxing marvel of this generation. He would be a heavy favorite over any boxer who was at or around his weight division. Mayweather has taken some criticism lately because his opposition over the last three years has not consisted of another pound for pound entrant. For that reason, Mayweather is just barely hanging onto the number one spot. However, with wins over Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Jesus Chavez, Sharmba Mitchell, and Arturo Gatti, I have trouble taking him down. People bash Floyd's recent opponents, but it has not been horrible. Take a look at Sven Ottke's resume and you will see horrible opposition. Mayweather's list of opponents has been merely good, opposed to brilliant like we expect from the best fighter in the world.

2. Winky Wright - Prior to 2004, Wright was defending his IBF Junior Middleweight belt in relative obscurity. His defensive style and lack of power meant that fans did not immediately warm up to the clever southpaw. But Wright kept winning even when he stepped up the level of his competition so he can no longer be denied as one of the best boxers in the world. His last four fights have consisted of two wins over Shane Mosley, a win over Felix Trinidad, and a win over the underrated Sam Soliman. His dominance over hall of fame opponents has firmly secured him the #2 spot on my list.

3. Manny Pacquiao - Pacquiao recorded an astonishing win over Erik Morales earlier this month to move him up several spots and into the third position on my list. The power punching sensation from the Philippines holds knockout wins over both Mexican legends Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera within the last two years. The competitive draw against Juan Manuel Marquez helped his cause as well, proving that he can hang with anyone at or around his weight class. At just 27 years old, the best could still be yet to come for Manny.

4. Marco Antonio Barrera - Barrera was already cemented as a great fighter and was high atop the P4P lists before meeting Pacquiao in 2003. Pacquiao won by knockout, but Barrera has made a very respectable comeback since then. Wins over Paulie Ayala, Erik Morales, and Robbie Peden have reestablished the Mexico City native to his former stature. Barrera is also a unified champion in the 130 pound division.

5. Jose Luis Castillo - The best way to explain how good Castillo is, is by telling you that Castillo is the only fighter that has been competitive with Floyd Mayweather. Jose Luis arguably won their first meeting and was very competitive in defeat during the rematch. Since then, he ran through a tough stretch of opponents, Juan Lazcano, Joel Casamayor, and Julio Diaz, all of whom were top 5 Lightweights at the time. After that came the famous fights with Diego Corrales in which they traded knockouts. Castillo won the last fight against Corrales fairly easily, avenging his loss and landing him in the top 5 of my p4 list.

6. Ricky Hatton - Hatton had an excellent year in 2005, winning the universally recognize Junior Welterweight Championship by knocking out Kostya Tszyu, then following it up with an easy win over Carlos Maussa. Prior to 2005, Hatton has not beating a fellow top 10 contender, so he really had to impress in order to be this high on my list. Not only the victories over Tszyu and Maussa get him here, but the manner in which he won. Ricky dominated using his busy aggressive style. If 2006 is as good of a year for Hatton as 2005 was he will rise up even further.

7. Jermain Taylor - Like Hatton, Taylor had never beaten a top 10 contender prior to 2005, but makes my list because he had an excellent year. Taylor twice beat the former p4p king Bernard Hopkins to win the undisputed Middleweight Championship. Beating the #1 person on the list usually will raise you up higher than #7, but some circumstances have to be taken into consideration. Both of the wins over Hopkins were extremely close and could have gone either way. Hopkins was 40 years old and age may have played a role in Jermain's victories. Still, Taylor is the champion and he holds two wins over the great Bernard Hopkins so firmly holds onto the #7 spot on my list.

8. Diego Corrales - Corrales had an awesome three fight stretch, beating Joel Casamayor, Acelino Frietas, and climaxing with the spectacular come from behind win over Jose Luis Castillo. Corrales is an action packed slugger with the deadliest left hook in boxing, but a shaky chin. That combination leads to excitement measured by the ton. Corrales lost his last fight by knock out to Castillo in a rematch, but remains in the top 10 because Castillo failed to make weight and was fighting at a weight advantage. Corrales kept his Lightweight Championship because of the weight controversy.

9. Rafael Marquez - This little bantamweight slugger has surpassed his big brother Juan Manuel on the p4p list. Marquez is possibly the hardest puncher on this list, cracking his punches with freakish power for a person his size. Rafael does not rely on his power, often boxing effectively under the tutelage of Nacho Beristain. Knockouts over Mark Johnson, Tim Austin, and Silence Mabuza as well as wins over a slew of other title challengers have earned the younger Marquez brother his spot.

10. Martin Castillo - His last fight against Alexander Munoz was not his most impressive. I did, however, like the way that Castillo dealt with adversity and was able to gut out the win in an unexpectedly challenging fight. That is the stuff that champions are made of. On a normal night, Castillo is one of the best pure boxers in boxing today. His defense is excellent and can stand and trade when he needs to, as we saw in the rematch with Munoz. The first match with Munoz saw Martin dominate and drop his challenger twice. The most impressive victory for Castillo so far was the twelve round shut out against Eric Morel in which he made the former Flyweight Champion look foolish

[K|D]

No Miguel Cotto??

[inyourface]

Miguel Cotto is good but i think he needs to fight top quality opponents . . the likes ofÂ* Judah/Mayweather/Hatton is a good matchup for him . .

[lestat1116]

if wala jud pildi c mayol mo abot jud dha na rank na pud

[jimi_b]

nindot MP vs. Tyson

[thadzonline]

what is Raheems weight division ba? since MP is moving up in weight man

[macro_shot]

Pac can definitely fight Raheem. When Morales and Raheem fought it was at Lightweight Division(135lbs). So there's no problem really, much more now that Pac plans to move a step higher at 135lbs weight limit.
It would be an interesting match coz Raheem also uses the whole 4 corners of the ring efficiently. His hand speed is respectable too but Pac's is faster. Raheem has no punching power and has susceptible chin, unlike Pac. My bet, Pac wins by KO. Nothing new in here.

[thadzonline]

Raheem cant draw a crowd like a JMM would fighting Pacquiao, just my 2 cents