Deucedrop's Dime List by Trever "DeuceDrop" Malagon (updated 03/08/06) 1. Floyd Mayweather Jr -- I put Mayweather at the top because of his domination as he climbs in weight. Mayweather has top-notch skills and has blown away opponents that were supposed to be a challenge for him. The only fight that Mayweather had some trouble with was the first fight with Jose Luis Castillo and he still won by Unanimous Decision. Mayweather has the potential of being one of the best fighters in history, provided he stays healthy and picks the right matches to create a legacy. Mayweather's next fight is on April 8 against Zab Judah. 2. Manny Pacquiao -- Manny just took a big jump up in my pound-for-pound list with his latest victory over Erik Morales. Pacquiao was the first person to legitimately knock down Morales and the first to ever stop him. Manny is boxing better now and isn't so left hand happy. He is actually starting to mix up his assault and making it more difficult for his opponents. Manny is now the man in charge at 126lbs. and 130lbs. There are rumors of Manny fighting his next fight in the Philippines against Oscar Larios as well as the possibility of a Morales grudge match. 3. Ronald "Winky" Wright -- He's still on top of his game even though he had a rougher-than-usual time against Sam Soliman in his last bout. Winky just keeps on winning. Winky has been undefeated since his controversial loss to Fernando Vargas back in 1999. Wright has an impressive list of names on his resume. He holds two back-to-back wins over Shane Mosley and a huge shut out win over Felix "Tito" Trinidad. Winky is a pure boxer and who has a wicked jab and a turtle shell defense. Winky is now a Middleweight moving up from the 154lb. division and looks like he will be taking on Jermain Taylor for the Undisputed Middleweight Championship in June this year. 4. Marco Antonio Barrera -- I believe Barrera has the most perseverance of any fighter today. His many accomplishments include taking a loss and becoming better from it as well as overcoming the toughest opponents in his division. Barrera beat undefeated Prince Hamed and turned his career to rubble. During three epic wars with Erik Morales, Marco managed to win two. Barrera has a long list of quality opponents and fights, and he keeps on taking tough fights. He has superb boxing skill, instinct and endurance combined with a great chin and solid punching power. His resume speaks for itself. 5. Antonio Tarver -- What can I say, Tarver is the man. He beat Roy Jones Jr. again and avenged all his losses. There aren't many fighters who can say that. His boxing skills and feared power are at their peak. There are plenty of good fights for him, which could give him a chance to climb even further. As big as Antonio is, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried making a run at heavyweight. He has a big left hand cross that could do some serious damage to anybody at any weight. He would also have better stamina then most of the heavyweights, giving him the advantage in the later rounds. It's not impossible, if Roy could do it, Antonio can. 6. Ricky Hatton -- Hatton is looking to make his United States debut this year. Hatton right now is the man to beat in the 140 pounds division and he is looking to move up to the 147 pounds division to be the man to beat there as well. Hatton's last win was over former WBA 140-pound. champ Carlos Maussa. In a tough and gritty fight, Hatton was able to knock out Maussa in the 9th round to unify the IBF and WBA belt. I'd like to see Hatton fight Mayweather and Castillo, I think that the styles of these fighters against his would make for some exciting fight action. 7. Jose Luis Castillo -- Castillo is what a true fighter is all about, getting in the ring and going to work. I've never seen Castillo slack off when it comes to boxing. Making weight is a tough task to do, but when he is on he is ON. Castillo's last win was not all that exciting but having to change your fight plan due to a change of opponent probably had a lot to do with it. Castillo is by far one of the most underrated fighters today in the general public's eye and to many he is one of the greats among Mexican boxers. He is a high-caliber fighter that takes no prisoners and he will fight anyone, anywhere, at any time. I'd like to see Castillo move up to the 140-pound division and clean house. There is a group of guys like Cotto, Hatton, Tszyu, Freitas, Lazcano (again) and Maussa who would love a shot. 8. Diego Corrales -- Diego is still the man at Lightweight. The 135-pound champ should be completely rested now, after pulling out of his last fight with a rib injury. I personally think that he should've waited longer before his rematch with Castillo. After their first fight it should've been mandatory that both fighters take off at least 8 to 9 months for full recuperation. Never the less, Corrales wanted to get right back at it with Castillo and it cost him a loss. The weigh-in fiasco turned it into a circus, so it's a null and void fight in my eyes. Corrales represents all of what redeemable in boxing. He is a true warrior in the ring and a gentlemen outside the ring. He has a good list of names on his resume that makes him a pound for pound fighter, names like Manfredy, Castillo,Gainer, Casamayor and Freitas. 9. Rafael Marquez -- Rafael is a bomber inside the ring. If you blink, you might have missed the end of the fight. The man is no joke when it comes to having KO power. He was the first to beat long time and then undefeated champ Tim Austin and he also beat former champ Mark Johnson, both by knockout. As of right now there aren't too many guys that want to step in against him. There have been talks about Rafael fighting Martin Castillo, which is a juicy fight for us fans. A match with Israel Vazquez and then maybe a move up to Featherweight would be my recommendation. 10. James Toney -- Toney is well worthy of being in the top ten. Toney hasn't had a loss since 1997 and that was at Light Heavyweight. Since then he has moved up in weight going through Cruiserweight and now he's a Heavyweight. Toney is a world-class boxer who has natural knockout power and also he has a world-class trash talking abilities. Toney is scheduled to fight Hasim Rahman for the WBC Heavyweight title this March. As of right now Rahman is a paper champ, receiving his belt after Vitali Klitschko retired and vacated his championship. This is Toney's chance of becoming Heavyweight champ. That's a long ride coming from 160 pounds where Toney started his career. Toney was Heavyweight champ for a day after he beat John Ruiz for the WBA belt, but soon after he failed his drug test and was stripped. I still think that was a load of crap, Toney didn't need any drug to beat Ruiz; he could've done that with a hangover and the flu. |