ranking the best fighters in the world

Welterweight/Junior Middleweight 35 2 (28) Last Year s Ranking: 7 Status Report: There s a reason most fighters don t want to face the best guys out there all the time

WBC Heavyweight Titleholder 40 2 (38) Last Year s Ranking: 22 Status Report: Two heavyweights in the top 20? Have we gone mad? Maybe. But you just can t deny anymore that the elder Klitschko, as ungainly, awkward, and stiff legged as he seems, is one of the best in the world at what he does

Bantamweight 28 3 (12 KOs) Last Year s Ranking: 12 Status Report: Hasegawa remains a world class performer, but drops several rungs based on his surprisingly poor showing against Fernando Montiel (KO by 4). Sure Montiel can crack, but we expected more from this guy. In his only other appearances of the period, Hasegawa beat Alvara Perez (KO 4) and outpointed Juan Carlos Burgos for a featherweight strap. Future: We re doubtful Hasegawa can be as effective at 126 as he was at 118. That s a lot of weight, relatively speaking, for a guy the size of a one of Nicolai Valuev s skin tags.

World Light Heavyweight Champion 27 1 1 (16) Last Year s Ranking: 61 Status Report: Another big jump here, but Pascal earned it, beating Adrian Diaconu (W12) in their rematch, upsetting Chad Dawson (Tech Dec 11) to claim the world light heavyweight title, and barely scraping by an oddly resurgent Bernard Hopkins (D 12). You can say Dawson fought the wrong fight against Pascal or that Pascal got a gift against Hopkins, but it s nitpicking. Pascal does what he has to do. That counts for something. In fact, it counts for a lot. Future: What we d like: a rematch against Hopkins. What we ll get: a rematch against Dawson. We ll take it.

Light Heavyweight 51 5 2 (32) Last Year s Ranking: 4 Status Report: If you gave the old man no shot against Pascal, you don t know Bernard Hopkins. When will you learn? Okay, so he looked awful and dispirited against Roy Jones (W 12). He was better against Enrique Ornelas (W 10) but downright nasty against Pascal (D 12), chasing the Canadian all over the ring over the fight s second half and almost breaking him in half with body punches. This guy is the baddest 45 year old on the planet. Future: Forget about a rematch with Pascal; he ll never get it. Who does that leave? How about IBF belt holder Tavoris Cloud? Wouldn t that be fun?

Middleweight/Junior Middleweight 39 2 (27) Last Year s Ranking: 11 Status Report: Williams takes a big tumble after going to sleep against Sergio Martinez in their rematch (KO by 2). He had an interesting 2010 even before that disaster; an all out punch a thon with Martinez in the first match (W 12) that said both good and bad about The Punisher, and then a curious and not altogether inspired win over Kermit Cintron (Tech Dec 4). Future: Here s what 2011 will not include for Williams: a match with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Andre Berto or any other fighter who practices at or around 147 pounds, or a rubber match against Martinez. Can you say rebuilding year?

Welterweight 46 6 1 (39) Last Year s Ranking: 3 Status Report: It s not entirely the Floyd Mayweather fight (L 12) that results in Mosley s demotion here. After all, there s no shame in dropping 10 of 12 rounds to Little Floyd. It is Mosley s mostly ineffectual performance against Sergio Mora (D 12), too. Sugar Shane will still beat a lot of guys, which is why he s ranked where he is. Give him a pressure guy and he ll look like he s 25 again. Movers and counter punchers? Not so much. Future: Manny Pacquiao, whom he deserves like we deserve a Pulitzer. It just isn t right.

IBF Super Middleweight Titleholder 23 0 (18) Last Year s Ranking: 58 Status Report: It s hard to have a better year than Bute had. His wins over Librado Andrade in their rematch (KO 4), Edison Miranda (KO 3), and Jesse Brinkley (KO 9) were as good as anything anyone did in the Super Six tourney, which is why he jumps 41 spots. Future: A match against Ireland s Brian Magee in March.

WBA Featherweight Titleholder 44 0 2 (22) Last Year s Ranking: 17 Status Report: You can make a case for demoting John more than we did; he was inactive for 14 months before beating Fernando Saucedo in Indonesia in December (W 12). This inspired the WBA to hand out featherweight title belts of varying color and significance to every upright walking primate on the eastern seaboard, but that s not John s fault, and until someone beats him he stays on this list. Future: There are lots of good featherweights out there for an ambitious guy like John. Keep your fingers crossed that he meets a couple of them.

Light Heavyweight 29 1 (17) Last Year s Ranking: 16 Status Report: It must have been fun being Dawson when he finally gave in to the media s insistence that he fight Glen Johnson again and promptly beat him clearly and without controversy (W 12). We imagine it was less fun when Jean Pascal upset him in Montreal to receive recognition as the world light heavyweight champ ( L Tech Dec 11). But that s just a guess. Future: A rematch with Pascal, apparently. And if he wins that one? We ll put it this way: Ali Frazier these two are not.