3. Vitali Kitschko (44-2) 40 years old The older brother of the pair who have dominated the Heavyweight division for nearly a decade, the current WBC champion Vitali should rank highly in history due to his accomplishments. Firstly, he has never been defeated either on points or by stoppage, as both his losses have been due to injuries against Lennox Lewis and Chris Byrd, in both of which Vitali was ahead on the scorecards. What is equally as impressive is his knockout rate, a staggering 40 of his wins have finished inside the distance, leaving only four who have managed to survive the allocated number of rounds. It has been great to see the comeback and regaining of the title but this year if not next it seems we will lose him again as he wishes to pursue his political career in a more full-time manner. Despite his undoubted ability and great achievements it is difficult to predict whether or not history will be nice to him and his brother, as critics have said that his success should be taken lightly due to the seemingly weak state the Heavyweight division is in. However, the extent to which he has dominated the division is like no other and for this alone he should be remembered above many of the more famous names. Not only this, but in my opinion many of the great Heavyweights of history would have struggle going the distance with Vitali, never mind defeating him.
4. Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2-2) 47 years old In winning all four major sanctioning bodies titles at Middleweight alongside the ring magazine belt, and also in defending one of titles for a record 20 times, The executioner has established himself as arguably the greatest Middleweight ever, only comparable to the likes of Marvin Hagler and Carlos Monzon. He also broke George Foreman’s record as being the oldest world champion in history, only in April losing his title to Chad Dawson. As an ex convict Hopkins was a late starter and had to go the long route to winning a title unlike those who are Olympians and have the publicity from the start. His style is admittedly not known for its excitement but B-Hop makes no apologies for that as he attempts on every fight to start slow in order to feel out his opponent and later go to work break them down and completely out-box then with his counter-punching and defensive savvy. His career is littered with wins and losses of notability. These includes a double with Roy Jones Jr. and Jermain Taylor, alongside bouts with Calzaghe, Dela Hoya, Tarver, Pavlik, Joppy, Winky Wright and Pascal. His Defining fight however would most likely be the bout with the then undefeated Felix Trinidad, a fight in Which he was underdog and climbed through the ropes to provide one of the best performances of the modern era, stopping him in the last round. This is one name which should be an inspiration to all boxers as he oozes discipline and commitment and anyone can learn that anybody can fight their way to greatness, both inside or outside the sport.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1) 38 years old An absolute gem for all true boxing fans and probably in the top three Mexican fighters of all time, Marquez despite being in the shadows of the greats Barrera and Morale for the earlier part of his career eventually broke out and surpassed them in terms of his legacy. He was considered the best fighter without a world title for many years and even lost his first attempt against Freddie Norwood. However, in recently winning the vacant WBO interim title at Light-Welterweight he has become a four weight world champion to go alongside his lengthy streak on the pound for pound list. His achievements being great are no match for how much of a treat Marquez at his best can be when he steps in the ring. His style and ability are second to none in terms of Mexican fighters due to his superb counter-punching ability with which he can use multiple precise angles and punches rarely seen and in doing so has the ability to put a guy down going backwards. Regardless of his exceptional defensive ability Marquez does not let this affect the level of excitement his fights come with as he is able to use these skills both coming forwards and backwards, at a fast and slow pace and almost under any conditions. He will be most remembered probably for his epic trilogy against Manny Pacquiao, of which he lost two controversial decisions and drew one. In the first fight many will remember that he was pit down three times in the first round, only to bring the scores back to even. Marquez will long be remembered as One of Mexico’s greatest warriors and a personal favorite of mine also.
6. Floyd Maywether Jr. (43-0) 35 years old After coming back from his retirement which lasted around 2 years, Mayweather stepped right back in the ring and continued his impressive undefeated record as if he had never been absent from the game. During his tremendous career he has won world titles in 5 separate weight classes, going from Super-Featherweight to Light-Middleweight. He currently operates at Welterweight and Super-Welterweight were he has been criticized for ducking certain fighters. However, when one looks at his record there are a string of great victories including a double against Castillo, alongside wins against Dela Hoya, Marquez, Hatton, Mosley, Cotto, Judah and Corrales. His style and ability are exceptional especially when it comes to his defense. In order to avoid punches he uses every trick in the book, shoulder rolls, elbow raises, all to perfection. In fact his defense is so impressive that it is actually surprising when the rare occasion occurs were he is caught cleanly by his opponent. He gave a great argument for himself with regards to comparison with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard when he performed the way he did against Juan Manuel Marquez. Despite Marquez’s inherent greatness Maywether’s performance against him was completely dominating. This regardless of the size difference is massively impressive and really gives an impression over how good he actually is. Surely he is not going to be around for much longer and if he retires undefeated then it is going to be difficult to determine were exactly he ranks in the all time pound for pound list. As is always the issue accurately rating undefeated fighters as their true limits are yet to be exposed. Either way whatever happens whenever the greatest ever boxer is mentioned Maywether is a name that will always be proposed by some.