The Boxing Power Rankings: 20–11
To view 40–31 click here. For 30–21 click here.
We’re closing in on the top 10. Here are 10 guys that are one good win from entering the elite of boxing. We start off in the minimumweight division.
20. Hekkie Budler
26(9)-1
26 years old
(W-Trongco, W-Joyi, W-Verchelli, W-Diaz, W-Kokietgym.)
Budler’s only loss was a controversial split decision. Take that away and you have an unblemished title holder who’s knocked out his last 3 opponents. Budler’s split decision win over Nkosinathi Joyi is his swan song to this point, but at twenty-six years old I anticipate that the Budler narrative is far from over.
Budler is the clear number 2 minimumweight in the world. No organization deserving of respect can question that. What has Budler ranked so high is that when the pressure has mounted for him and the skill level of his opponents has increased, he’s gotten better. It’s a skill that most great athletes have and while we aren’t too sure if Budler is destined for greatness, he’s certainly on that path right now.
19. Takashi Uchiyama
21(17)-0–1
34 years old
(W-Kaneko, W-Parra, W-Vasquez.)
Remember the Costa Rican guy on the Pacquiao-Bradley II undercard that made Jose Felix Jr look like just another one-dimensional brawler? He was pretty good, right? Takashi Uchiyama made easy work of him.
‘KO Dynamite’ is arguably the best super featherweight in the world. He’s a heavy-handed beast who isn’t afraid to exchange. Uchiyama is patient and calculated; often getting stronger and more dangerous when he’s been hurt or dropped.
Even though he’s been a long reigning champion we have to dock points for the moments of vulnerability he shows which we haven’t seen in some of the other top champions in the sport.
(A little bit of trivia regarding Uchiyama. Uchiyama has some sort of sponsorship deal with Nike Japan. Just like how Pacquao had the ‘Manny Knows’ shirts a while back, Uchiyama has ‘KOD Knows’ in Japan.
18. Kell Brook
33(22)-0
28 years old
(W-Porter, W-Robles, W-Senchenko, W-Jones, W-Saldivia.)
There isn’t a hotter commodity at welterweight right now than Kell Brook. Shawn Porter was supposed to beat Brook and do it in a guns blazing firefight with blood soaking the canvas. Porter was then supposed to move on and face Floyd Mayweather in an all-American extravaganza. Every salivated saying Porter had the power, the tenacity, and the roughness to make it a fight with Floyd.
Kell Brook came across the pond and did his job. He out-boxed Brook, he out-powered Brook, and he made Brook look like a one-dimensional fighter. Brook elevated himself from a guy just barely in the top 10 at welterweight to a guy that could conceivably beat any welterweight.
Brook’s poise and timing was impeccable against Porter and confirmed a lot of suspcions we’d had about Kell as he came up beating inferior competition. Was he always so calm because his opponents were so overmatched or what it that Kell possessed some special innate counterpunching ability? We’re now leaning toward the latter. Kell is still very young, and without any ties to a major American network, is free to fight who he chooses. Amir Khan makes for a lucrative domestic fight in Britain, Floyd Mayweather could also go to Wembley Stadium and face Brook in front of 80,000 fans, and Manny Pacquiao could even be in the running if he gets past Algieri. What we know about the money fighters at welterweight is that they go with whoever will earn them the biggest payday. Right now, that’s Brook.
The difference will be that his promoter, Eddie Hearn, is unlike American promoters and has a very different approach to bringing his fighters up than we’re used to.
17. Carl Frampton
19(13)-0
27 years old
(W-Martinez, W-Cazares, W-Parodi, W-Martinez.)
Carl Frampton’s progression is off the charts and the only reason he’s not number one in his division is because there exists another fighter who I’m willing to guess was engineered in a laboratory.
Frampton’s young and what he’s done in the past 2 years is extraordinary. He’s beaten Kiko Martinez twice for good measure and hardly looked like he definitively has lost a round in either fight.
What Frampton does well is time punches perfectly. You know the carnival game where you have moving targets and you have to throw the ball in the hole directly at the perfect time? If you’ve never played it, imagine someone hung a tire from a tree with a rope and they swung it back and forth. Your goal was to throw a ball through it without touching the tire. Watching Frampton place his punches is like watching a good quarterback throw the ball through the tire over and over again. His timing is unreal and his placement is precise.
Frampton is trending upward and is the only fighter in his division I would say has a remote chance at the half-cyborg.
16. Mikey Garcia
34(28)-0
26 years old
(W-Burgos, W-Martinez.)
Garcia is in danger of falling off the list like Andre Ward is. A lawsuit against his promoter Bob Arum has put Garcia’s career on the backburner for the time being. Garcia does plan to fight before the year ends, but I remain skeptical.
His last 2 wins were impressive. He struggled with Juan Carlos Burgos’s height and reach, but was still very clearly dominant. His body shot finish of Roman Martinez was brutal and impressive even if he was dropped in the second round.
Mikey is one of the most talented fighters in all of boxing who would enter the top 10 if not for problems outside the ring.
15. Manny Pacquiao
35 years old
56(38)-5–2
(W-Bradley, W-Rios, L-Marquez.)
Manny Pacquiao has accomplished just about everything in his career, but the last 2 years have not been so kind to him. He was knocked out brutally by Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight he was likely on his way to winning. He came back strong and looked good against Brandon Rios. He faced Timothy Bradley in what was a strange sort of redemption fight. It was close early, but Manny pulled away after his mother placed a Professor Quirrell like hex after Bradley allegedly suffered a calf injury and (stupidly) altered his gameplan.
The knockout and the big shots Bradley caught Pacquiao with bump him down a few notches and beating Brandon Rios is nothing to boast about. The way he battered Marquez and Bradley for half of their fight keep him at a comfortable spot on the list, but his hold isn’t a tight grip.
14. Adonis Stevenson
24(20)-1
37 years old
(W-Fonfara, W-Bellew, W-Cloud, W-Dawson, W-Boone, W-George.)
The criticism of the reigning lineal light heavyweight champion is that only 1 of his opponents in the past couple of years was coming off 2 straight wins. Only 3 had actually been coming off a win in their most recent fight. Either way Stevenson stopped all but one of them.
Stevenson is 37 years old and while that may be old and taxing for a guy whose been knocked out previously, his relatively short time as a professional gives him some buffer. Stevenson didn’t look spectacular in his last fight, but you’d be a fool to say it was anything but an obvious victory. Whether he chose to not take Andrzej Fonfara as seriously as he should have or he was seriously challenged will be answered in his next fight. Whenever that is.
13. Bernard Hopkins
55(32)-6–2
49 years old
(W-Shumenov, W-Murat, W-Cloud.)
Hopkins’ stock has never been this high and it may get even higher in a couple of months. Over the last 2 years Bernard Hopkins has taken out 2 title holders and a mandatory. He easily beaten both titleholders and he managed to knockdown a very determined fighter in Beibut Shumenov.
Hopkins’ gets the nod above Stevenson because Hopkins has clearly dominated his last 3 opponents. He exposed Cloud for being a smoke and mirrors champion while he made Beibut Shumenov look like someone who’d taught himself how to fight.
12. Naoya Inoue
7(6)-0
21 years old
(W-Kokietgym, W-Hernandez, W-Mancio, W-Taguchi, W-Sano, W-Chuwatana, W-Omayao.)
There are two paths prospects can take. One is to go through the traditional round of opponents and slowly make their way to a title fight after twenty or more fights. The other option is to try for a title as soon as possible. Inoue took the latter option. Inoue fought for his first title in his sixth professional fight after quickly capturing regional titles.
Inoue looks like he’s the best young fighter in the sport. He mixes punches beautifully and fights with a maturity that some fighters never attain. He’s devastating to the body and his stock is skyrocketing. Inoue fights in a division where already he’s the king. It looks like his next step will be entering the dangerous waters of flyweight where Inoue will have fighters closer to his talent level to play with.
11. Francisco Rodriguez Jr
16(11)-2
21 years old
(W-Takayama, W-Sabillo, W-Guerrero, W-Calleros, L-Gonzalez, W-Ruiz, W-Vargas, W-Hernandez.)
Rodriguez is getting better and more dominant after losing to Roman Gonzalez a year ago. He’s taken out 2 world level minimumweights and now stands alone as the best minimumweight in the world.
The scary part is that he’s only 21. This is only the beginning of what could be a very long reign at the top of his division. There are contenders out there that pose a threat including Hekkie Budler and the winner of Carlos Buitrago and Knockout CP Freshmart, but Rodriguez has proven he’s willing to walk through a hail storm of leather to win. (I also don’t see another minimumweight out there with the power to do what Gonzalez did to him.)
Check back later for the top 10
