The boxing rankings are continuing to get tossed about, and making a top 10 pound for pound list can get tricky. There are retirements, upcoming fights and of course style points. A devastating KO win absolutely is worth more than a questionable split decision victory when it comes down to a boxing top 10 pound for pound list.

So what does pound for pound even mean? For the non-boxing fan out there, it means disregard weight class, who is the best fighter in the business, paying no mind to his size or stature. Pound for pound is not about who would beat everybody else in a fight, it’s if everybody was the same size, who would win in a fight. Who has the most skills? The most all-around game? The pound for pound champion is a guy who can climb weight classes and beat guys bigger than he is, because he is more talented.

The pound for pound king for several years was Floyd Mayweather, Jr. However, Mayweather has placed himself into an early retirement, turning down an extremely lucrative offer to once again fight Oscar De La Hoya. Whether or not the retirement of Mayweather is permanent, until he fights again and stays active, he has to be off of the pound for pound list. Without his addition, here’s the top 10 pound for pound boxers in the game right now.

1. Joe Calzaghe – 45 (32) - 0

Joe Calzaghe is coming off a clear decision victory over Bernard Hopkins and prior to that, a clear victory over undefeated challenger Mikkel Kessler. He didn’t truly make his name with the American public until his trouncing of Jeff Lacy, but he has been an undefeated champion for a decade. While less spectacular than Manny Pacquiao, the recent big names on his resume and the ease of his victories places him in the number one spot. A bout with former pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. is on the schedule next.

2. Manny Pacquiao – 47 (35) - 3 - 1
Manny Pacquiao may seem like the obvious choice for pound for pound king. He has climbed (and is continuing to climb) multiple weight classes, taking on almost all challengers along the way. He knocks people out and is an explosive athletic specimen. However, his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez left more questions than answers. In a rematch over a previous draw, a large majority of fans and observers had Marquez winning the bout, while Manny Pacquiao left with the official judges’ verdict. Next, Manny Pacquiao might move up to welterweight to challenge Oscar De La Hoya.

3. Juan Manuel Marquez – 48 (35) - 4 - 1
Marquez gets this high on the list for his handling of Manny Pacquiao. In their first encounter he survived three knockdowns in the first round to get a draw, while many feel that he won. In the second bout, years later, nearly everybody thought Marquez bested Pacquiao. He has moved up to lightweight, following Pacquiao’s ascension and hopes to meet him for a third time. Next up for Juan Manuel is a shot at lightweight champion Joel Casamayor.

4. Israel Vazquez – 43 (31) - 4
Israel Vazquez is coming off the thrilling trilogy he had against Rafael Marquez. Willing the bout in his direction with raging and climactic 12th round against his rival, Vazquez won two of the three fights. The two have forever cemented their legacies in boxing lore with their performances in those encounters. A possible fourth bout between the two warriors looms ahead, while Vazquez may take on upstart Juan Manuel Lopez in a battle between future star and current champion.

5. Rafael Marquez – 37 (33) - 5
Marquez lost two of the three fights against Israel Vazquez, however in all three he proved himself to be a superior technician and a diehard warrior. It was Marquez who moved up in weight to challenge Vazquez and with everything else so close to equal between the two, the extra size and strength was ultimately what enabled Vazquez to prevail in their epic struggles.

6. Antonio Margarito – 37 (27) - 5
Coming off an emphatic destruction of presumed number one welterweight Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito now has finally earned his way to the top spot in his division. While he is clamoring for the financial windfall that accompanies any fight with Oscar De La Hoya, he has unfinished business to take care of in the form of a 6’2” welterweight named Paul Williams who defeated him just last summer. You get what you expect from Margarito, an iron chin, a high work rate and a come forward, the winner is the last man standing mentality.

7. Kelly Pavlik – 34 (30) - 0
The undefeated middleweight champion (who happens to rarely fight at middleweight these days), Kelly Pavlik might not look like much. Pavlik is lanky and balding, and doesn’t appear to have much speed or creativity in the ring. What he does have is a tower of power and punches in bunches (doing my best Clyde Frazier impersonation). Pavlik is extremely heavy handed, and his speed and form are quicker and sharper, respectively, than they usually appear. He knocked out undefeated and undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor – after earning the right to face him by destroying challenger Edison Miranda – then won the rematch with a decision. Next up is Bernard Hopkins and hopefully a showdown with Arthur Abraham.

8. Paul Williams – 34 (25) -1
To be the man, you have to beat the man, but unfortunately for Paul Williams his timing is all wrong. He won a hard fought showdown against Antonio Margarito last summer however he then lost his title in a lackluster performance in his first defense. He avenged his loss to Carlos Quintana via 1st round knockout, but has been vaulted over in the welterweight standings by Margarito. That’s because Miguel Cotto was the man when Margarito knocked him out, but when Williams beat Margarito, Margarito was not yet the top dog in the division. Paul Williams will have to wait for a rematch against Margarito for a chance to earn himself the number one welterweight spot.

9. Miguel Cotto – 32 (26) - 1
Miguel Cotto didn’t suffer too much in his loss to Antonio Margarito (at least not in the pound for pound rankings, inside the ring, Miguel Cotto suffered a great deal from Margarito’s thudding attack). Miguel Cotto had everything going for him in that fight, he was the quicker man, arguably the heavier puncher, he had better boxing technique and he was riding sky high with an undefeated record. But in Margarito he found a behemoth of a welterweight who could take his shots and dish it back out. Ultimately, Cotto crumbled to Margarito’s pressure and the question that remains is how he will recover both physically and mentally from that fight.

10. Chad Dawson – 26 (17) - 0
Chad Dawson has all of the tools of a pound for pound champion in the making. He has the speed, the power and the explosive athleticism. The only question is if his chin will stay together long enough to get him there, or if his defense can improve enough to keep that chin out of the line of fire. His victory over champion Tomasz Adamek came easily, but his title defense against Glen Johnson proved extremely difficult. Next up is Roy Jones Jr. conqueror Antonio Tarver in another fight that should test Dawson’s mettle—and chin.

Rounding out the rest of the top 25 after the top 10 pound for pound boxers (alphabetical order) – Arthur Abraham, Ivan Calderon, Nate Campbell, Steve Cunningham, Oscar De La Hoya, Joan Guzman, David Haye, Bernard Hopkins, Chris John, Mikkel Kessler, Christian Mijares, Fernando Montiel, Shane Mosley, Jermain Taylor, Winky Wright

Boxing fans stay tuned, an updated pound for pound list is coming your way soon! Following the loss of Kelly Pavlik, the return of Bernard Hopkins to glory, a dominating Chad Dawson performance and more, the list will certainly be shaken up!