One of the easiest ways to get into a debate on boxing is to try and rank the sport’s top practitioners on a pound-for-pound basis. Everyone’s got an opinion and there’s no way to definitely determine who’s right and who’s wrong. Sure Vitali Klitschko would defeat Bernard Hopkins if they fought each other -- Klitschko outweighs the Executioner by 90 pounds! But if - and this is the big if – Klitschko and Hopkins were in the same weight class and were to match their skills against one another in the ring, which fighter would emerge victorious?

Every boxing enthusiast has seen pound-for-pound rankings in various magazines, on the Net and perhaps even on TV. Most of these lists include only ten fighters. Occasionally, you’ll see a pound-for-pound top twenty.

1. Bernard Hopkins (160)
2. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (140)
3. Manny Pacquiao (126)
4. Erik Morales (130)
5. Felix Trinidad (160)
6. Kostya Tszyu (140)
7. Oscar De La Hoya (154)
8. Ronald "Winky" Wright (154)
9. Antonio Tarver (175)
10. Shane Mosley (154)
11. Marco Antonio Barrera (126)
12. Roy Jones Jr. (175)
13. Cory Spinks (147)
14. Juan Manuel Marquez (126)
15. James Toney (heavy)
16. Rafael Marquez (118)
17. Antonio Margarito (147)
18. Diego Corrales (135)
19. Ricardo Mayorga (154)
20. Joe Calzaghe (168)
21. Jose Luis Castillo (135)
22. Vernon Forrest (154)
23. Oscar Larios (122)
24. Zab Judah (147)
25. Fernando Vargas (154)
26. Acelino Freitas (135)
27. Arturo Gatti (140)
28. Joel Casamayor (130)
29. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (112)
30. Sharmba Mitchell (140)
31. Veeraphol Sahaprom (118)
32. Rosendo Alvarez (108)
33. Jesus Chavez (130)
34. Jermain Taylor (160)
35. Alexander Munoz (115)
36. Miguel Cotto (140)
37. Vitali Klitschko (heavy)
38. Glengoffe Johnson (175)
39. Paul Spadafora (140)
40. Mark Johnson (115)
41. Dariusz Michalczewski (175)
42. Juan Lazcano (135)
43. Irene Pacheco (112)
44. Chris Byrd (heavy)
45. Joan Guzman (122)
46. Eagle Akakura (105)
47. Zsolt Erdei (175)
48. Leonard Dorin (135)
49. Wayne Braithwaite (190)
50. Lorenzo Parra (112)

Closing in on Top Fifty: Ricky Hatton (140), Francisco Bojado (140), Jeff Lacy (168), Rocky Juarez (126), Jose Navarro (115).