Rankings: Klitschko still can't catch break
Wladimir Klitschko is 5-0 with three knockouts in his last five fights. He's fought two men who were holding world titles, two former champions and a man who entered the bout against him with a 31-1 record.
Yet, all Klitschko did in winning those bouts was to capture 184 of the 192 scored rounds, a remarkable 95.8 winning percentage.
None of that, though, was good enough for Klitschko to find his way into the Yahoo! Sports Top 10. He finished with 25 points in the June voting among the 24 boxing experts polled, ending with the 12th most points.
That was the highest he has finished in the nearly two years the poll has existed. That he isn't in the Top 10 isn't an indictment of him as much as it is of his competition.
He's not only beating the men he's facing – the best of an admittedly sad lot – he's dominating them. Klitschko's opponents are barely able to land a punch, let alone win a round.
Yet, fewer than half of the voters in the Y! Sports poll chose to include him on their ballots. He was tabbed by 10 voters, who are asked to choose, 1 through 10, their selections as the world's finest pound-for-pound fighters.
Klitschko received a fifth-place vote, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth and five 10ths. Save for knocking out his older brother, Vitali, there is little more that he could do to impress voters.
He fights without visible passion, however, and seems content to take a decision. He never tries to force an issue and won't go for the knockout even when he's well ahead. Perhaps even more remarkable is that Vitali Klitschko, who is 37-2 with 36 knockouts and who himself has been equally dominant since his comeback last year, hasn't received a single top 10 vote.
If ever there were more proof about the pitiful state of the heavyweight division, the Klitschko Brothers' standing, or lack thereof, in the pound-for-pound derby, is Exhibit A. And with that, let's get on to this month's ratings. There were a few changes and Juan Manuel Lopez dropped out when Rafael Marquez became eligible again.
Fighters who don't compete for a year are ineligible, so Rafael Marquez was dropped from the poll beginning in April. But he stopped Jose Francisco Mendoza on May 23 in Mexico and found his way past Lopez into 10th spot.
Voting in this month's poll: Raul Alzaga, Primera Hora; Carlos Arias, Orange County Register; Ron Borges, Boston Herald; Steve Cofield, Yahoo! Sports; Dave Cokin, ESPN Radio 1100, Las Vegas; Brian Doogan, London Sunday Times; Andrew Eisele, About.com; Scott Fyfe, Sunday Post, Scotland; Thomas Gerbasi, MaxBoxing.com; Lee Groves, MaxBoxing.com; Thomas Hauser, Seconds Out.com; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Michael Katz, Gaming Today; Scott Mallon, Asian Boxing News.com; Franklin McNeil, Newark Star Ledger; Gunnar Meinhardt, Die Welt; Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News; Santos Perez, Miami Herald; Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports Michael Rosenthal, Ringtv.com; Tim Smith, New York Daily News; T.K. Stewart, Boxingscene.com; John Whisler, San Antonio Express News; George Willis, New York Post.
Pacquiao
1. Manny Pacquiao
Points: 240 (24 of 24 first-place votes)
Record: 49-3-2 (37 KOs)
Title: Ring Magazine super lightweight champion
Last outing:: TKO2 over Ricky Hatton on May 2
Previous ranking:: 1
Up next: Likely vs. No. 6 Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14
Analysis: Deserves credit for willingness to take on all comers
J. M. Marquez
2. Juan Manuel Marquez
Points: 212
Record: 50-4-1 (37 KOs)
Title: WBA, WBO, Ring lightweight champion
Last outing:: TKO9 over Juan Diaz on Feb. 28
Previous ranking:: 2
Up next: Vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sept. 19.
Analysis: Brilliant all-around fighter remains mired in shadows
Williams
3. Paul Williams
Points: 160
Record: 37-1 (27 KOs)
Title: Interim WBO junior middleweight champion
Last outing:: W12 over Winky Wright on April 11
Previous ranking:: 4
Up next: TBA
Analysis: Joshua Clottey says he'll take on Williams – at welterweight
Mosley
4. Shane Mosley
Points: 147
Record: 46-5 (39 KOs)
Title: WBA welterweight champion
Last outing:: TKO9 over Antonio Margarito on Jan. 24
Previous ranking:: 5
Up next: TBA
Analysis: Pleading for bout with Pacquiao
Hopkins
5. Bernard Hopkins
Points: 127
Record: 49-5-1 (32 KOs)
Title: None
Last outing:: W12 over Kelly Pavlik on Oct. 18
Previous ranking:: 3
Up next: TBA
Analysis: Crafty veteran has few big-fight options
Cotto
6. Miguel Cotto
Points: 110
Record: 34-1 (27 KOs)
Title: WBO welterweight champion
Last outing:: W12 over Joshua Clottey on June 13
Previous ranking:: 6
Up next: Likely versus No. 1 Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas
Analysis: Showed much moxie fighting for 10 rounds with deep gash above eye
Darchinyan
7. Vic Darchinyan
Points: 68
Record: 32-1-1 (26 KOs)
Title: WBA, WBC, IBF super flyweight champion
Last outing:: TKO11 over Jorge Arce on Feb. 7
Previous ranking:: 8
Up next: July 11 vs. Joseph Agbeko for IBF bantamweight title
Analysis: Powerful southpaw hoping to hold titles in three weight classes in 2009
Dawson
8. Chad Dawson
Points: 51
Record: 28-0 (17 KOs)
Title: IBF light heavyweight champion
Last outing:: W12 over Antonio Tarver on May 9
Previous ranking:: 9
Up next: Will meet Glen Johnson, date and site TBA
Analysis: Lost a lot of supporters with lackluster performance against Tarver
Calderon
9. Ivan Calderon
Points: 44
Record: 32-0-1 (6 KOs)
Title: WBO light flyweight champion
Last outing:: Technical draw 7 with Rodel Mayol on June 13
Previous ranking:: 7
Up next: Nothing scheduled
Analysis: Starting to look a wee bit vulnerable
R. Marquez
10. Rafael Marquez
Points: 40 1/2
Record: 38-5 (34 KOs)
Title: None
Last outing:: TKO3 over Jose Francisco Mendoza on May 23
Previous ranking:: NR
Up next: Nothing scheduled
Analysis: Looking at a fourth fight with Israel Vazquez later this year
Others receiving votes: Juan Manuel Lopez, 30; Wladimir Klitschko, 25; Chris John, 19 1/2; Arthur Abraham, 15; Nonito Donaire, 13; Mikkel Kessler, 9; Kelly Pavlik, 4; Timothy Bradley, 2; Celestino Caballero, 2; Fernando Montiel, 2.
