Boxing P4P List on TnS Podcast #52 – In this latest TalknShoot podcast we look at the list of boxing’s Pound for Pound list of the best fighters out there. The year started with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in the #1 spot but the Nicaraguan warrior has gone 0-2 in 2017 and is no longer a factor. Gonzalez’ first loss in March of 2017 cost him the numer one spot and on most of these subjective lists the new #1 P4P fighter was light heavyweight kingpin Andre Ward. Now Ward has officially announced his retirement from the game and another discussion about who is #1 is taking place as we speak.
Current 140 pound top gun Terence Crawford may have the best case. Crawford moved to 32-0 this past August when he waxed previously unbeaten WBA and IBF world champion Julius Indongo with a third round body punch. Prior to that, he stopped former Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz in the tenth round of their May bout, giving Crawford wins over two former Olympic gold medalists. Back in June of 2014 Crawford stopped Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa to defend his WBO world title at lightweight.
Crawford has won world titles in two weight classes and he has not really been challenged or hurt in any of his bouts. In terms of pure technique, Crawford has shown he can do it all. On top of all that boxing prowess, Crawford delivers it all with a bit of a mean streak that doesn’t let his opponents off the hook.
The hot choice right now may be WBO world super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1). The Ukrainian phenom has just ten pro fights, but he as a life-long “career amateur” whose career spanned 400 fights and saw him come away with two Olympic gold medalists. The argument against Lomachenko involves the low number of fights he has thusfar, but he meets all the other criteria in spades. His hyper-technical style has won rave reviews at almost every stop. The lone blemish in his career came in his second fight, when he fought Mexico’s Orlando Salido, a veteran of over 50 pro fights. Even with all his experience and savvy, Salido escaped with a split decision and he has avoided a rematch at all costs.
Lomachenko will meet Guillermo Rigondeaux next and that is a fight that pits two of the top five P4P fighters on the list today. Rigondeaux versus Lomachenko will be the firsttime two-time Olympic gold medalists have met in the pro ranks.
Also making a case for inclusion this September was WBA world lightweight champion Jorge Linares of Venezuela. Linares successfully defended his title against Luke Campbell on HBO to move his record to a sterling 43-3. Linares took a pair f back to back losses back in 2011-2012 but he has gone 11-0 since, securing several world titles at 135 pounds. Perhaps more impressively, the Venezuelan known as “The Golden Child” has done his best work in hostile territory, fighting three times in England and three times in Japan. Linares is likely to face an undefeated champion in his next outing as WBO titlist Terry Flanagan (33-0) and WBC champ Mikey Garcia (37-0) have been talked about.
Check out more of the pound for pound talk here at TnS #52…
Boxing P4P List on TnS Podcast #52 / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science, where the best boxing writers write.
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