(Fall 2015 Edition)
Once again I would like to say thank you to all of you, the growing fan base that loyally supports dmboxing.com. Without you the success of this website isn’t possible!
It’s a blessing to have a group of people that help with their best efforts to make this site what it is, and will continue to be. They are: John Boitnott (Web Master); Bob Quackenbush (Proof Reader and Photo Editing); Tom Donelson (Member Boxing Writers Association of America); Jim Amato (Senior Boxing Writer); Harold Lederman (HBO / Hey Harold!); Steve Corbo (Guest Post Writer); Adam Pollock (Book Reviews); Kathy Kraft (Proof Reader), and in memory of a man that is truly missed resting peacefully in heaven with the Lord, Rusty Rubin. My dear friend Rusty was my first writer to come in at the start of this website in July 2007, volunteering his award winning column, “In Rusty’s Corner.”
I appreciate the many comments and fan mail that I receive concerning boxing and the features that I offer, and I certainly respect all opinions. My main goal is to provide my wealth of knowledge from over fifty years of boxing in a fair and honest manner to all. I strive to make credibility my highest priority.
My favorite decade in boxing is the eighties, mainly because of five boxers: Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Aaron Pryor, although Duran was “pound for pound” the best of this group; his height, peak, and pinnacle was a decade earlier in the seventies when he was a lightweight at 135 pounds.
The eighties was the greatest decade in the past six decades in my involvement in boxing, from 1961 to present day. The greatest fight of that decade was Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, April 15, 1985, for the “undisputed” middleweight championship.
Back in the early sixties there was only one champion in each weight division and championship fights were 15 rounds. Things have changed since, but make no mistake about it, the “Fight of The Century” was Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, March 8, 1971, when two undefeated champions met in their primes for the “undisputed” heavyweight championship of the world. It was the biggest spectacle in boxing I have ever witnessed.
I want to say once again, that I fully endorse the publication of my friend Gene Aguilera’s book, “Mexican American Boxing in Los Angeles.” Gene’s writing is a wonderful blend of the historical perspective of boxing and the fighters in Los Angeles. He masterfully displays photos, 128 pages, chronologically in a black and white format with each chapter nicely segregated into the different eras of boxing. Gene’s book is truly a collector’s item and with Christmas coming it is the perfect gift for yourself or a friend. For information and purchasing, please contact Gene by email: gaguilera@ccombank.com
I would also encourage you to visit my friend Edgar Gonzalez at his fine boxing website, as he does an outstanding job: myboxingfans.com
Now that Floyd Mayweather has officially retired, I have gotten many inquiries for my opinion on who is “pound for pound” the best in boxing today.
So here’s my ranking of the top dozen “pound for pound” fighters currently in boxing – as of October 15, 2015:
1) Roman Gonzalez (43-0 / 37 by KO)
2) Wladimir Klitschko (64-3 / 53 by KO)
3) Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0 / 10 by KO)
4) Gennady Golovkin (33-0 / 30 by KO)
5) Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1 / 25 by KO)
6) Andre Ward (28-0 / 15 by KO)
7) Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2 / 38 by KO)
8) Terence Crawford (26-0 / 18 by KO)
9) Miguel Cotto (40-4 / 33 by KO)
10 ) Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1 / 40 by KO)
11) Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1 / 32 by KO)
12) Timothy Bradley (31-1-1 / 12 by KO)
*** Honorable Mention (in order) are:
Juan Francisco Estrada (33-2 / 24 by KO)
Leo Santa Cruz (31-0-1 / 17 by KO)
Danny Garcia (31-0 / 18 by KO)
Shinsuke Yamanaka (24-0-2 / 17 by KO)
Nicholas Walters (26-0 / 21 by KO)
I know you have many choices in boxing … and I want to thank you for making this website one of them.