Olden but golden

Glenn McCrory gives his P4P Top 10 - and includes some familiar faces we may have overlooked.

Don't forget the Golden Boy when it comes to game's greats

We've all been having some fun here on skysports.com and in the Sky Sports boxing team with our pound-for-pount top 10's, and I have been watching along with the rest of you. But having seen some of the efforts from my colleagues I can sit back no longer! So here it is, my top 10 pound-for-pound fighters on the planet today. It is a bit of fun, but I could not believe that most people left of Oscar de la Hoya and our mate, Ricky Hatton! The pound-for-pound is something I get asked about all the time but this is the first time in a while I've actually sat down and considered it properly. There are a few more little guys on my list than I might have thought but what it does prove is that there are some good fighters out there, still. Too much is made of the names that have retired recently, but there are plenty of superstars and plenty of talented fighters still going strong. Here's my top 10. Including Oscar and Ricky... 1) JOE CALZAGHE
How can you possibly ignore a guy who has never tasted defeat? How can a guy who has not been beaten for 20-odd years not be anything other than everyone's pound-for-pound number one? Well he can't - and that is why Joe Calzaghe is top of my list. People always say he's fought guys that are a bit young, or a bit too old, but it doesn't matter how well-matched you are, in 45 opponents someone usually has your number! And don't forget Bernard Hopkins is still a big name, yet Joe went to the States and beat him. You have to give credit where's it's due and nobody else's record comes close. 2) MANNY PACQUIAO
Four world titles at different weights and he has done it with tremendous ease. OK, David Diaz was not the best but he was a strong lightweight world champion and Pacquiao beat him easily. He still doesn't look heavy at 135lbs either, still looks mean and surely he can make the extra five pounds to face Ricky Hatton. That said, there's plenty of cracking fights for him at lightweight and he can still get better. Has those blisteringly fast hands of course, but now keeps a cool head and nice rhythm when before he tended to charge in like a crazy man and at times, came unstuck. 3) KELLY PAVLIK
There's only one Kelly Pavlik! It's me old mate from Youngstown, Ohio, a real breath of fresh air, a throwback to the old type who'd give anyone a fight - and I include Joe Calzaghe in that. That would be better for Joe than old man Jones I think, a young, hungry upcoming fighter as opposed to one that's over the hill. Pavlik would give him a fight too. He might not be the most flamboyant, but he does the basics very well, has a good defence and is a solid, upright fighter who punches very, very hard. He's always superbly fit and well-conditioned and above all, he has a great mental attitude; he's in yer face and boy does he want to fight! 4) MIGUEL COTTO
From day one he has looked a smooth, tough operator, although we have never had the chance to gauge his personality a great deal because he has a stoney face and doesn't say much, a bit like Marvin Hagler. But what he does is get in there and get the job done in excellent fashion. He is now emerging as a top, top fighter and the fact that he's number one in the best division in boxing (welterweight) ahead of Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Paul Williams et al, shows just what a good fighter he is. He has had to take some shots, but you cannot take a bath without getting wet and when you are in that zone, going for the finish, it's possible you will get hurt yourself. But Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali have hit the floor and it's not how hard you go down, it's how quick you get up. And when he does, Cotto comes back twice as ferocious. 5) OSCAR DE LA HOYA
Sometimes in boxing there is a tendency to look at the new before the old has gone and how anyone can overlook a six-weight world champion is beyond me. Oscar also took far and away the best pound-for-pounder to a knife-edge decision that many, including me, thought he won. After a year off he then came back with an almost punch-perfect display against Stevie Forbes and is still very much in there when it comes to the best around. Don't forget when guys fight someone like Oscar they are going to be hungry, they are going to be up for it and they are going to give it everything, which makes his achievements all the more admirable. He's a massive scalp and a legend and always will be. 6) RICKY HATTON
A lot of people have also looked another one of our friends here on Sky Sports, the Fatman himself. I have got him in at six because he still rules the roost at 140lbs and has done since beating Kostya Tszyu. Since then he's had some tough fights, taken some knocks but only the greatest fighter in recent history has beaten him and the fact that Ricky and Joe are in the top 10 shows just how British boxing is booming right now. He was very, very nervous for his last fight with Juan Lazcano and it was hard for a kid that is used to winning everything to come back after such a devastating loss. But he got straight back into it and beaten a very good fighter. No boxer out there puts himself under the same pressure as our Ricky. 7) JOAN GUZMAN
Not one of the best-known in the sport but I love this guy. He's got a really ferocious nature, he's a real little rocket who is always coming forward. He's undefeated, exciting, rugged and boy can he punch, even if the knockouts have dried up of late. There are some mouthwatering fights out there for him like Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and maybe even Manny Pacquiao. I have seen him fight a few times and he is willing to take a shot to get one in, which always makes for great entertainment. He's only had 28 fights so you'd think there is more to come and certainly the potential is there for him to become a real one to watch over the next couple of years. I am sure he'll prove me right. 8) EDWIN VALERO
You've all heard about this guy's record and that in itself is good enough to get in my top 10. When you've knocked out 24 out of 24 opponents I don't care what level it's at, you've got to be worth a mention. That is just a phenomenal record. He's thin and rangy and reminds me a little of Carlos Monzon - and clearly punches like him as well! So often in boxing it is those tall and skinny fighters who punch hardest and Valero's timing is exceptional. The thing that hurts you most is getting hit when you least expect it and he does that perfectly. I think I'm right in saying he has now been licensed to fight in America, so we should be seeing a lot more of him very soon. 9) CHRIS JOHN
When you get down to the lower end of any pound-for-pound lost I do think records have to come into consideration and that is where Chris John comes in. His only blemish in 42 fights is a draw against Jose Rosas, which he has since avenged and he has been a world champion for a while now, so deserves some recognition. People always say he never fights outside of Indonesia but I watched him beat Juan Manuel Marquez - a very, very good fighter of course - and although there were a few conspiracy theories floating about, I thought he won it fairly and squarely, and well. The little guys don't always tend to get a look in if only because we don't see them enough to judge them, but this guy is undefeated in 10 years as a pro and has beaten some names along the way. 10) IVAN CALDERON
At little more than 105lbs this guy weighs less than the WBO junior flyweight belt he holds, but when you've been a world champion for five years, you should be respected, whatever your weight. Another one we don't see that much of because most of the other little guys come from Mexica or Thailand or the Far East, but again, his record speakes for itself. Calderon is undefeated in 31 fights although he is not a really big puncher as only six knockouts tell you. But he is a pretty good boxer and if an undefeated slate is enough to get Joe Calzaghe up to number one then so it should get the little Puerto Rican on to my list. Want to see who the rest of the Sky Sports team have in their top 10's. Or want to join in the great debate. Well click here to find out more!