Best Wins of the Decade: 00s

These are not my lists, they were posted by 'Popkins' at Eastside Boxing:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233818

Thought you might find them interesting/there may be some debate:

RATIONALE

I've always believed that you can compare/contrast the values of any win achieved by any fighter, irrespective of era or weight class. For example, Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1971, and I can quite confidently say that it is a better win than, say, Ricardo Lopez beating Saman Sorjatorung for the minimumweight world title in 1993. These fights were in different weight classes and different eras, so they are in every way very different fights. However, you can always evaluate a win by considering the quality of the opponent, the quality of the winning performance, and all of the relevant circumstances. Frazier convincingly defeating Ali was more valuable and impressive in every way for a heavyweight than Lopez stopping Sorjatorung was for a minimumweight, so it is a better win.

If you disagree with what I've said so far, you should probably turn back now as this thread is founded on this premise.


CRITERIA

Quality of Win = Quality of Opponent + Quality of Performance (taking relevant circumstances into account)

It's quite a simple formula, and I believe I stick to this throughout. Here are some examples to elucidate my criteria:

I have not included Manny Pacquiao's win over Oscar De La Hoya in my top 50. Going by my Quality of Win formula, Pacquiao scores high on quality of performance, but Oscar scores too low on quality of opponent, because of the relevant circumstances. Oscar weighed in light, did not rehydrate properly, and was a severely weakened force on fightnight. Therefore, despite the quality of the performance, the high-profile nature of the fight, the big name opponent, and the fact that Pacquiao was the underdog, overall this fight does not quite make the cut (although I still think it is a very good and somewhat underrated win).

I have included Joe Calzaghe's win over Jeff Lacy in my top 50. Going by my Quality of Win formula, Lacy scores very low on quality of opponent, because if you compare him to the general standard of the other beaten fighters on this list, he is probably the weakest of them all. This is a guy who, in his prime, struggled horribly with Omar Sheika (arguably lost to him), hadn't really beaten any top fighters before getting in with Joe, and saw his career nosedive after this defeat. However, Calzaghe scores highly on Quality of Performance, and the relevant circumstances are important here too. Calzaghe posted a shut-out, fought brilliantly, and had been the underdog before the fight. Therefore, after weighing up both factors, this fight makes it in.

I have included Floyd Mayweather's second win over Jose Luis Castillo. To me, this is an example of a win where the Quality of Opponent is what merits inclusion, not the Quality of Performance. Basically, I was not impressed at all by Floyd's performance. I think he felt that he could not convincingly beat JLC by engaging him, because he failed to convincingly beat him by engaging him first time out, so he chose to run the clock down in the rematch. Floyd ran, flicked out punches, ran some more, stunk the place out, had the crowd booing, had the HBO commentary team very disappointed, and kept running until the time ran out. It was not a great all-round performance by any standard, PBF essentially used only one main attribute, speed, to get the win. He did not use his whole skillset, he did not impose himself on Castillo and emphatically beat him, he just ran the clock down. However, this win still deserves to be included because (a) Castillo was the best lightweight of the era and Floyd deserved the win this time (I scored it to Floyd by 4 points), and (b) because JLC beat him 1st time on my card, and was expected to be Floyd's biggest test, but Floyd chose a strategy that resulted in a comfortable win.

I have included Vernon Forrest's first win over Shane Mosley. This is an example of a fight which scores highly on both Quality of Opponent and Quality of Performance, and the relevant circumstances are also in Forrest's favour (he was the underdog and facing the p4p#1). I don't think I need to go into any more detail on that one.


COMMENT

This thread is MY opinion on the top 50 wins of the decade, I am not trying to present any of this as FACT. Therefore, the decisions I have made regarding the construction of this list are completely subjective.

For example, I have not included any fight in the top 50 in which I genuinely believe the wrong man had his arm raised. To me, it is nonsensical that anyone would think you should include fights in a list where you don't agree with the official verdict. How can I say I think a win was a great win, if I don't even think that it was a win?

Thus, the following wins have not been included on this basis:

- Manny Pacquiao SD12 Juan Manuel Marquez / Super-Featherweight / 2008
(I scored this 114-114, a draw)

- Floyd Mayweather Jr UD12 Jose Luis Castillo / Lightweight / 2002 (1st fight)
(I scored this 115-113 Castillo)

- Shane Mosley UD12 Oscar De La Hoya / Light-Middleweight / 2003
(I scored this to Oscar by 5 points)

- Joe Calzaghe SD12 Bernard Hopkins / Light-Heavyweight / 2008
(I scored this to Hopkins by 1 point)

- Paul Williams MD12 Sergio Martinez / Middleweight / 2009
(I scored this to Martinez by 1 point)

- Marco Antonio Barrera UD12 Erik Morales / Featherweight / 2002
(can't remember my exact scoring, but I remember thinking Morales edged it)

- Jermain Taylor SD12 Bernard Hopkins / Middleweight / 2005 (1st fight)
(I scored this 115-115, a draw)

- Jermain Taylor UD12 Bernard Hopkins / Middleweight / 2005 (rematch)
(I scored this to Hopkins by 2 points)


- Chris John UD12 Juan Manuel Marquez / Featherweight / 2006
(I don't have a card for this one because I don't own the fight, but I remember from when I watched it that I felt Marquez won)

- Diego Corrales SD12 Joel Casamayor / Super-Featherweight / 2004
(same answer - I don't have a card for this one because I don't own the fight, but I remember from when I watched it that I felt Casamayor won)


Now as I have included the details of wins that were achieved by (in my view) the wrong decision, I will also include details of fights that I feel should have been included and I wanted to include, but could not because the winning fighter was robbed of a winning verdict:

- Manny Pacquiao D12 Juan Manuel Marquez / Featherweight / 2004
(I had Pac winning by 3 points)

- Samuel Peter SD12 James Toney / Heavyweight / 2006
(This win does not even deserve a mention as a win for Peter, but if it had been scored a win for Toney then it would merit inclusion, because Toney was a fat shot ex-middleweight who had no right to go toe-to-toe with a big heavyweight puncher and win, but I believe he did by a couple of points)

- Jermain Taylor D12 Winky Wright / Middleweight / 2006
(I had this as a win for Winky by a couple)


Another personal preference that I should note is that I have not included any fight which was won on the basis of an injury to the losing fighter. I am aware that again many would disagree with this point of view, because the winning fighter does cause the injury, but I can't go along with this myself. A win on the basis of injury stoppage can still be a good win, but I can't call it a great win, I just don't think it is adequate proof of superiority on the night. On that basis, these big wins were not considered:

- Lennox Lewis TKO6 Vitali Klitschko / Heavyweight / 2003
- Chris Byrd RTD9 Vitali Klitschko / Heavyweight / 2000
- Rafael Marquez RTD7 Israel Vazquez / Super-Bantamweight / 2007
- Joel Casamayor TKO6 Diego Corrales / Super-Featherweight / 2003


Another factor with regard to my criteria that I should mention is that I value a win against a fighter you have already beaten less than the initial win. For example, I view Forrest's 1st win over Mosley and Winky's 1st win over Mosley as far more valuable than their 2nd wins over Shane, as all they really did in the 2nd fight was do something they had already done. Also, I view a win over a fighter who beat you more convincingly in a rematch less. An example of that is Quintana's win over Paul Williams. It was a great win, but rightly or wrongly I personally feel that Williams knocking him out in a round in the rematch takes some of the shine off.

Similarly, I don't rate replicating someone else's feat particularly highly. Many people will no doubt think that Lamon Brewster's stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko should be in the 50, but Purrity had first exposed Wlad's weakness, and Sanders had been the one to butcher WK in a big fight. By the time Brewster got to Wlad, he was perceived as weak, and fought like he believed it himself. Miguel Cotto's win over Shane Mosley is lower than some will think it should be, but Shane had already been outboxed numerous times by then. Cotto achieved nothing new or special.


And my last comment for now is that I have not considered any win by Antonio Margarito. At the time, I thought Margarito-Cotto was definitely one of the best wins of the 2000s, but in light of Margarito attempting to cheat in his next fight, I do believe he cheated vs Cotto, and I can't include it, or any other Margo win because we cannot know if they were wins gained by cheating or not.
OK, so here we go with the main body of the list...
(Quality of Opponent markings are A to D,
Quality of Performance markings are A to D,
but these marks are only indicators, they are not the same as giving a fight an actual score out of 10, which I have not done. The relevant circumstances in each and every case are too important to reduce the evaluation to giving a score for different set categories)

50.Tomasz Adamek SD12 Steve Cunningham / Cruiserweight / 2008
Quality of Opponent: C+
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Cunningham was a natural cruiser, Adamek had moved up from light-heavy. Cunningham was not the most proven or experienced fighter, but he still had wins over Huck and Wlodarczyk, and has since proved to be the IBF champ.
The cynic would say: Cunningham outboxed Adamek for long periods.

49.Diego Corrales TKO10 Acelino Freitas / Lightweight / 2004
Quality of Opponent: C+
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Freitas was 35-0, and Corrales got the stoppage
The cynic would say: Freitas had only one good win in his career (Casamayor), so was not proven at the top level

48.Joe Calzaghe UD12 Jeff Lacy / Super-Middleweight / 2006
Quality of Opponent: D
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Calzaghe was the underdog with the American media, yet won every round
The cynic would say: Lacy arguably lost to Sheika before he fought Calzaghe, the pre-fight media hype cannot change that Lacy was always mediocre

47.Juan Manuel Marquez TKO9 Juan Diaz / Lightweight / 2009
Quality of Opponent: C+
Quality of Performance: B-
What makes it a great win: Marquez was not a natural lightweight, he had real trouble with Diaz's physicality early before his power and accuracy won out
The cynic would say: This was not long after Diaz lost to Campbell and not long before he lost to Malignaggi

46.Paul Williams UD12 Antonio Margarito / Welterweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Margarito was a beast at the time
The cynic would say: Margarito left it too late to get started, by the end of the fight he was firmly in control

45.Miguel Cotto UD12 Shane Mosley / Welterweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Shane Mosley was a force at welterweight, and Cotto outboxed him
The cynic would say: Mosley was past his prime by then, and still managed to make it very close on the cards

44.Oscar De La Hoya TKO11 Fernando Vargas / Light-Middleweight / 2002
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Vargas was bigger, younger, stronger... and Oscar settled the grudge match with a thrilling stoppage
The cynic would say: Vargas was never the same after Trinidad beat him

43.Jose Luis Castillo MD12 Stevie Johnston / Lightweight / 2000
Quality of Opponent: B+
Quality of Performance: B-
What makes it a great win: The Ring Upset Of The Year 2000
The cynic would say: Johnston never won another big fight

42.Andre Ward TD11 Mikkel Kessler / Super-Middleweight / 2009
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Kessler was favourite to win the Super Six, Ward was an outsider, and Ward won almost every minute
The cynic would say: Kessler has always been a very flawed and beatable fighter whose resume is not all that, and he had declined in the last couple of years

41.Joe Calzaghe UD12 Mikkel Kessler / Super-Middleweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Calzaghe showed adaptability to switch up and outbox the undefeated Kessler for a deserved win in a big unification fight
The cynic would say: Kessler has always been a very flawed and beatable fighter whose resume is not all that

40.Kelly Pavlik TKO7 Jermain Taylor / Middleweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Taylor was riding high in the p4p charts at the time, and Pavlik took his zero with a thrilling stoppage, after having to show great heart to get through a bad 2nd round
The cynic would say: Taylor was not an especially good fighter

39.Rafael Marquez TKO8 Mark Johnson / Bantamweight / 2002
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Johnson hadn't lost for 11 years (his 2nd pro fight), and Marquez got the stoppage after a very close first fight. Johnson went on to record a great win over Montiel after this loss
The cynic would say: Johnson was an underachiever

38.Nate Campbell SD12 Juan Diaz / Lightweight / 2008
Quality of Opponent: C+
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Campbell was the older, smaller man and a bug underdog, yet he took the highly rated Diaz's zero
The cynic would say: Diaz was overrated at the time, his performances since then prove that

37.Floyd Mayweather Jr TKO10 Ricky Hatton / Welterweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: C+
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: A brilliant boxing performance, and a big fight TKO to remove Hatton's zero
The cynic would say: Luis Collazo had already proven that Hatton was not effective at welterweight, that's why Hatton gets a C+ for Quality of Opponent in this fight, he was no welterweight

36.Nonito Donaire TKO5 Vic Darchinyan / Flyweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: A great upset and a great KO
The cynic would say: Darchinyan was a KO waiting to happen. Nonaire did not prove his superiority as a fighter, it was a close fight till he got through with one big shot

35.Corrie Sanders TKO2 Wladimir Klitschko / Heavyweight / 2003
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Much like the last fight on the list, this was a great upset and a great KO
The cynic would say: Ross Purrity had already proven Wladimir could be stopped, and Lamon Brewster later underlined this weakness in Wlad at this stage in his career

34.Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito / Welterweight / 2009
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Mosley was past-prime, and a big underdog, yet he was very dominant and knocked out someone who was perceived to be impervious to punches
The cynic would say: Margarito was shellshocked from being caught cheating before the fight, looked gaunt at the weight, and was overrated on account of past wins that he cheated to achieve

33.Vic Darchinyan KO9 Cristian Mijares / Super-Flyweight / 2008
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Mijares was viewed as a superior boxer and a p4p guy. Darchinyan was still suffering the hangover from the Donaire KO, and was the underdog, yet he produced a fantastic performance
The cynic would say: Mijares was always overrated, and he lost his next two fights after this

32.Kostya Tszyu TKO2 Zab Judah / Light-Welterweight / 2001
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: KOs, especially early KOs, always get some bonus points when it comes to evaluating wins, and for Tszyu to deal Judah a 2nd round TKO defeat when Judah was highly rated and 27-0 is a serious win
The cynic would say: Judah was a mental midget who lost almost all of his big fights

31.Antonio Tarver TKO2 Roy Jones Jr / Light-Heavyweight / 2004
Quality of Opponent: C
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Roy Jones getting stopped was almost unthinkable at the time
The cynic would say: This seemed to be an all-time great win at the time, but now we realize it was just a case of Tarver being the right (lucky) man in the right place at the right time to take a golden opportunity, because Jones was there for the taking. Jones never won another meaningful fight in his career, and Glen Johnson knocked him cold not long after this
30.Floyd Mayweather Jr SD12 Oscar De La Hoya / Light-Middleweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: B-
What makes it a great win: It was a huge fight, Floyd showed skill and adaptability to deservedly edge the decision. He gets extra points for fighting Oscar at light-middle, where he was noticeably the smaller and lighter fighter
The cynic would say: Oscar was well past his sell-by date by then. He never won another meaningful fight after this. Floyd underperformed.

29.Bernard Hopkins UD12 Kelly Pavlik / Light-Heavyweight / 2008
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Hopkins was years past his prime, an old man who registered a loss in his previous fight, had stamina issues, and was a heavy underdog. Pavlik was a young, hungry, undefeated puncher. Hopkins won every round
The cynic would say: Pavlik was always very limited (as shown by the defeat to Martinez), and Pavlik jumped up in weight for this

28.Felix Trinidad TKO12 Fernando Vargas / Light-Middleweight / 2000
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Vargas was the natural lightmiddle, undefeated, and a highly rated young destroyer. Trinidad dropped him numerous times and stopped him
The cynic would say: Vargas was not a great fighter, and Trinidad got dropped himself

27.Floyd Mayweather Jr UD12 Jose Luis Castillo / Lightweight / 2002 (rematch)
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: B-
What makes it a great win: In the eyes of most, Castillo won their 1st fight, so this one was hotly anticipated. In the end, it turned out to be a comfortable win for Floyd
The cynic would say: Mayweather ran for 12 rounds, ran the clock down in a dull and unimpressive fashion. Not a great performance.

26.Bernard Hopkins UD12 Antonio Tarver / Light-Heavyweight / 2006
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: B
What makes it a great win: Hopkins had dropped two decisions to Jermain Taylor, was 40 years old, and jumped 2 divisions for this one. He was dominant
The cynic would say: This was not the best Antonio Tarver

25.Winky Wright UD12 Shane Mosley / Light-Middleweight / 2004
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Winky was unheralded, Mosley had been given the decision in his previous fight with Oscar De La Hoya, and Winky produced a superb boxing performance
The cynic would say: Mosley was never effective at light-middleweight

24.Roy Jones Jr UD12 John Ruiz / Heavyweight / 2003
Quality of Opponent: C
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Jones weighed 193lbs, Ruiz weighed 226lbs. Jones won easily and became the only middleweight champion to legitimately win a heavyweight title in a very long time
The cynic would say: He beat John Ruiz

23.Vernon Forrest UD12 Shane Mosley / Welterweight / 2002 (rematch)
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: A win over Mosley at welterweight is always a great win
The cynic would say: This proved nothing new

22.James Toney UD12 Vassily Jirov / Cruiserweight / 2003
Quality of Opponent: B-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Toney was a former middleweight champion, and was fighting 30lbs north of that. Jirov was younger, taller, fresher, faster, and he was the natural cruiserweight. Toney produced some wonderful boxing to offset all of that
The cynic would say: This was not a dominant win at all, it was a very close fight and Jirov was not a stellar opponent

21.Israel Vazquez TKO6 Rafael Marquez / Super-Bantamweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: B+
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: A loss avenged by stoppage in an epic fight
The cynic would say: Vazquez was the bigger man, and the stoppage was premature

20.Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton / Light-Welterweight / 2009
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: A+
What makes it a great win: Hatton was undefeated at his prime weight, and Pacquiao was the lower-weight fighter. Pacquiao produced one of the most dominant wins and spectacular KOs of the decade, stunningly one-sided win with 3 KD's
The cynic would say: Collazo, Mayweather and Lazcano had already proved that Hatton's chin was a weakness

19.Winky Wright UD12 Felix Trinidad / Middleweight / 2005
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: One of the best boxing performances of the decade, Winky won every minute of every round against a dangerous power-puncher who was coming off a big KO win over Mayorga
The cynic would say: Trinidad was not a great middleweight

18.Ricky Hatton RTD11 Kostya Tszyu / Light-Welterweight / 2005
Quality of Opponent: B+
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Tszyu was p4p#3, hadn't lost since 1997, dominated Sharmba Mitchell in his last fight, and was favourite to beat Hatton. After an epic struggle, Tszyu quit. It was the best Hatton ever looked.
The cynic would say: Tszyu was past-prime, and hadn't been fighting all that regularly over the last few years

17.Ricardo Mayorga TKO3 Vernon Forrest / Welterweight / 2003
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Forrest was 35-0, coming off 2 huge wins over Shane Mosley, and was The Ring Fighter of the Year. Mayorga was a huge underdog, and pulled off a sensational early stoppage
The cynic would say: Forrest's stylistic advantage over Mosley was the only reason he was viewed as a top fighter, he was actually not great at all

16.Daisuke Naito UD12 Pongsaklek Wonjongkam / Flyweight / 2007
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Wonjongkam's 1st loss since 1996, he was 65-2 at the time, and he had already beaten Naito twice
The cynic would say: Who??

15.Marco Antonio Barrera UD12 Naseem Hamed / Featherweight / 2001
Quality of Opponent: B+
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Hamed was 35-0, p4p ranked, whereas Barrera had lost twice to Junior Jones and dropped a decision to Morales the previous year. Hamed was perceived to be the guy on the way up and Barrera the guy on the way down, but Barrera displayed some superb boxing skills to win convincingly and completely reverse both mens' career trajectories
The cynic would say: Hamed was both overrated and very flawed, any top fighter like Morales or Marquez would have exposed his technical deficiencies just as clearly as Barrera did

14.Manny Pacquiao TKO10 Erik Morales / Super-Featherweight / 2006
Quality of Opponent: B+
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Morales had beaten Pacquiao the previous year. Both men brung it and produced a cracking fight once again, but Pacquiao was the better man on the night, and gets some extra points for becoming the 1st man to properly KD Morales, and the 1st and only man to stop Morales
The cynic would say: Morales was never the same fighter after beating Pacquiao

13.Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo / Lightweight / 2005
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: B+
What makes it a great win: Castillo was on a great run of form, beating Lazcano, Casamayor and Julio Diaz in his last 3 fights. He had proved the most difficult opponent of Floyd Mayweather's career, he was p4p ranked, and was favourite to win. Corrales had to overcome some incredible punishment to triumph in a magnificent fight
The cynic would say: Corrales would have got stopped if he hadn't cheated by spitting out his mouthpiece to buy recovery time when he was in dire trouble

12.Israel Vazquez SD12 Rafael Marquez / Super-Bantamweight / 2008
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: The definitive win in one of the greatest rivalries in boxing history. Vazquez needed to produce something big in the latter stages to pull out a win after a horribly hard-fought contest, and he managed it with a KD and beatdown in the last 3, unforgettable minutes
The cynic would say: Vazquez was the naturally bigger man, and many believe Marquez should have got the decision

11.Erik Morales SD12 Marco Antonio Barrera / Super-Bantamweight / 2000
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Barrera showed that night and later in his career that he was a tnruly great fighter, and he fought brilliantly. Morales showed some excellent boxing skills to edge a win in a very important fight
The cynic would say: Morales was the heavy favourite and only just scraped a win in a fight he was supposed to dominate. Many feel Barrera won it

10.Zahir Raheem UD12 Erik Morales / Lightweight / 2005
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: Morales was coming off the best win of his career vs Pacquiao, and Raheem was a massive, massive underdog. Raheem's boxing was excellent as he won comfortably, creating a huge shock
The cynic would say: Morales was not a lightweight
9.Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis / Heavyweight / 2001
Quality of Opponent: A+
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: This was another titanic upset. Lewis was on the best run of form of his career, and Rahman was viewed as a routine defence of the undisputed title. Mucho bonus points for a clean one-shot KO of a great champion
The cynic would say: It was a lucky punch landed on a complacent but vastly superior boxer. McCall had already shown Lewis could be stopped. Rahman did not demonstrate a superior performance in the rounds leading up to the KO

8.Floyd Mayweather Jr TKO10 Diego Corrales / Super-Featherweight / 2001
Quality of Opponent: B
Quality of Performance: A+
What makes it a great win: The quality of the performance. Corrales was p4p#5, Mayweather was p4p#7, this was a much-anticipated clash between two undefeated rising stars, and Floyd turned in a near-flawless performance to win every round and register 5 KD's before the towel came in
The cynic would say: Corrales was weight-drained, he fought like a zombie, hardly throwing any punches, not even jabbing. Even a peak Corrales was not an A-class fighter.

7.Marco Antonio Barrera MD12 Erik Morales / Super-Featherweight / 2004
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A-
What makes it a great win: The definitive win of a historic trilogy. Both were comfortable at the weight, both were at a similar stage in their careers, and it was the clearest win of the trilogy. Barrera had been dominated and stopped by Pacquiao not long before this, Morales beat Pacquiao the following year, all the circumstances point to this being one of the landmark wins of the 2000s
The cynic would say: A very close fight. Neither man performed as well as they had at their respective fighting peaks.

6.Manny Pacquiao TKO12 Miguel Cotto / Welterweight / 2009
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Pacquiao is a former flyweight at world title level, and he was fighting at super-featherweight 18 months earlier. He took on one of the top 3 welterweights in the world who was coming off a morale-boosting win over Joshua Clottey, and just destroyed him. No-one has beaten Cotto like that. Guys like Mosley, Judah and Clottey failed to beat Cotto, and even Margarito who did get a win over him (possibly/probably by cheating) did not come close to dominating him throughout and scoring two good KDs
The cynic would say: Cotto was still suffering the hangover of the Margarito fight

5.Erik Morales UD12 Manny Pacquiao / Super-Featherweight / 2005
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Pacquiao had demolished Morales's great rival Barrera, and had dropped the other great Mexican JM Marquez three times the previous year, but it was Morales who was the man to get a win over him. Pacquiao fought like a tiger and it was a scintillating fight, but Morales jabbed and boxed brilliantly in the eye of the storm and he was a deserving winner
The cynic would say: Morales picked up easy rounds when Pacquiao was affected by a bad cut

4.Vernon Forrest UD12 Shane Mosley / Welterweight / 2002
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A
What makes it a great win: Shane Mosley won a superfight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2000, became the p4p#1, then made 3 successful defences of the ww title all by KO. Vernon Forrest hadn't done anything to come close to matching Mosley's status. Accordingly, Mosley was a red-hot favourite, but Forrest stunned the boxing world with a magnificent boxing performance to take a wide UD.
The cynic would say: Forrest was never a great fighter, he was just Shane Mosley's Kryptonite who would always beat Shane.

3.Bernard Hopkins TKO12 Felix Trinidad / Middleweight / 2001
Quality of Opponent: A-
Quality of Performance: A+
What makes it a great win: Going into the fight, Trinidad was p4p#2, 40-0(34) and a 3-weight world champion. In his last 2 fights, Tito had dismantled the feared and undefeated lmw champion Fernando Vargas, then blown away WBA middleweight champion William Joppy to prove he was an effective fighter at 160. Trinidad was a strong favourite to win, the pre-fight talk was of matching him with Roy Jones after he beat Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins's performance was sensational, winning every round, and stopping Trinidad in the last round.
The cynic would say: Trinidad was not a natural middleweight

2.Manny Pacquiao TKO11 Marco Antonio Barrera / Featherweight / 2003
Quality of Opponent: A
Quality of Performance: A+
What makes it a great win: Barrera was on the best run of form of his career at the time, having beaten Naseem Hamed and Erik Morales within the last couple of years - and after this fight Barrera would go on to stop Paulie Ayala then beat Erik Morales again. Barrera was p4p#3 and The Ring featherweight champion, Pacquiao was relatively unknown and unheard of in the West, a former flyweight champion who jumped to feather from super-bantam for this fight. Pacquiao won every round, and got the stoppage. Sublime.
The cynic would say: Barrera had problems in the build-up to the fight, involving revelations of brain surgery and interruptions to his preparations

1.Shane Mosley SD12 Oscar De La Hoya / Welterweight / 2000
Quality of Opponent: A+
Quality of Performance: A+
What makes it a great win: This was the Leonard-Hearns of the 2000s. Mosley was undefeated, had been a fearsome lightweight champion, and was in only his 3rd fight at 147. Oscar was effectively undefeated as well, having outboxed Felix Trinidad despite not being given the decision, and was already a multi-weight world champion, a HOF calibre fighter, and favourite to win. Both men were in top condition, both men fought like lions, but Mosley edged the fight, and turned it on in the last round to seal the victory. It was an upset, it was a tremendous fight, and the winner found himself elevated to the p4p#1 throne. This was as good as it got for boxing in the 2000s.
The cynic would say: Flip the cynic.



Here are the Honourable Mentions that didn't quite make the cut... (in no order)

Zab Judah TKO9 Cory Spinks / Welterweight / 2005
Cristian Mijares UD12 Jorge Arce / Super-Flyweight / 2007
Carlos Quintana UD12 Paul Williams / Welterweight / 2008
Micky Ward MD10 Arturo Gatti / Welterweight / 2002
David Haye TKO7 Jean-Marc Mormeck / Cruiserweight / 2007
Ricardo Mayorga MD12 Vernon Forrest / Welterweight / 2003
Sergio Mora MD12 Vernon Forrest / Light-Middleweight / 2008
Lamon Brewster TKO5 Wladimir Klitschko / Heavyweight / 2004
Glen Johnson KO9 Roy Jones Jr / Light-Heavyweight / 2004
Winky Wright MD12 Shane Mosley / Light-Middleweight / 2004 (rematch)
Carlos Baldomir UD12 Zab Judah / Welterweight / 2006
Vitali Klitschko RTD8 Samuel Peter / Heavyweight / 2008
Wladimir Klitschko RTD9 Ruslan Chagaev / Heavyweight / 2009
Manny Pacquiao RTD8 Oscar De La Hoya / Welterweight / 2008
Chad Dawson UD12 Tomasz Adamek / Light-Heavyweight / 2007
Jose Luis Castillo SD12 Joel Casamayor / Lightweight / 2005
Acelino Freitas UD12 Joel Casamayor / Super-Featherweight / 2002


And to finish, here are some stats from the list:

- 2007 was the year that produced most wins in the top 50, with 9

- Welterweight was the division that produced most wins in the top 50, with 9

- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather had the most wins in the top 50, with 4 each

- Shane Mosley was involved in most fights in the top 50, with 6 (2 wins, 4 losses)

One thing looking through these lists has really brought home is just how many top drawer fights there have been, and just what a fantastic sport boxing can be.

Don't quite agree with the number 1. Read it all, really brilliant, clearly a lot of time went into that!! Thanks for sharing it Scott.