The last time I took a list at the top 10 pound for pound boxers in the world was in December. Manny Pacquiao was fresh off of his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins was enjoying his extended reemergence as a dominant fighter after thoroughly dominating Kelly Pavlik.

Since then a lot has changed. Joe Calzaghe has announced his retirement, joining the likes of Floyd Mayweather as fighters who retired at the top of the game with an undefeated record but are likely to be drawn back to the sport for the right fight. Antonio Margarito was suspended for using illegal hand wraps, and Shane Mosley emerged as the best welterweight in the world. Let's take a look at the current top 10 pound for pound boxers.

1A. Manny Pacquiao - 48 (36) - 3 - 2 - After jumping up to welterweight and trouncing Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao's next fight is scheduled for May against junior welterweight Ricky Hatton. Hatton fought the last pound for pound king, Floyd Mayweather, in December of 2007 and suffered his only defeat. He faces an entirely different beast in Manny Pacquiao, but perhaps one he is better suited to. Will Pacquiao's speed and power enable him to avoid Hatton's inside mauling tactics?

1B. Juan Manuel Marquez - 50 (37) - 4 - 1 - Marquez established himself as the best lightweight on the planet when he knocked out Juan Diaz. After which he called out the retired Mayweather, while still clamoring for another shot at Manny Pacquiao. Marquez, like Pacquiao, has been able to take both his speed and his power up to higher weight classes. As one of the most technically sound fighters in the game he has a chance to pull out any fight that he enters. The Diaz performance was a dynamic one, and Marquez needs big fights at this stage of his career. He's following Pacquiao and the money to the junior welterweight ranks.

3. Bernard Hopkins - 49 (32) - 5 - 1 - After Hopkins embarrassed the middleweight champion, he has taken some time to survey the scene. With Calzaghe retiring, and the prospects of facing the quick and powerful Chad Dawson in a Jermain-Taylor-nightmare-redux scenario (younger, physically gifted fighter in his prime) awaiting him, Hopkins instead may be opting to jump to cruiserweight to challenge champion Tomasz Adamek. Dawson was able to outbox Adamek, so one would have to give the crafty Hopkins a solid chance at out pointing the best cruiserweight on the planet.

4. Israel Vazquez - 43 (31) - 4 - Now inactive for a year, Vazquez has been eyeing several return bouts. The possibilities include a fourth fight with Marquez and battles with young stars such as Juan Manuel Lopez. However, if he doesn't return to the ring soon, he risks losing his status as one of the best warriors in the game. One has to wonder how much the Marquez fights took out of him at this point.

5. Rafael Marquez - 37 (33) - 5 - Ditto for Marquez.

6. Paul Williams - 36 (27) - 1 - Williams finally has his next fight scheduled. After not being able to secure a bout with any of the top welterweights, Williams will be taking on veteran tactician Winky Wright. Wright hasn't fought since he jumped to 170 and looked out of shape in a losing effort to Bernard Hopkins a year and a half ago. Williams, who has been jumping around weight classes from welterweight to middleweight, would make a statement by beating Wright, who is returning to a more natural weight.

7. Shane Mosley - 46 (39) - 5 - Antonio Margarito and his hand wraps didn't phase Shane Mosley. The former welterweight champ made a long awaited return to the top of the welterweight division. He showed why he is still a fan favorite, a head first style, power in both hands and a willingness to take on seemingly all comers, which has in the past cost him his perch atop the boxing world. Mosley was narrowly out pointed by Miguel Cotto, and now that Margarito is suspended and Cotto has returned from his loss via the possibly tainted hands of Margarito, a rematch between the two seems the logical decision.

8. Chad Dawson - 27 (17) - 0 - Dawson's rematch with Antonio Tarver was postponed after he suffered an injury in training. It would be much better if the rematch was cancelled. In its place could be a rematch of a fight that was actually close and disputed, with Glen Johnson. Dawson could also jump to cruiserweight to fight a man he has also already beaten (a win that looks more impressive in each passing day), Tomasz Adamek. Of course fights against Hopkins and Calzaghe would be interesting, but both seem to want to go in another direction.

9. Tomasz Adamek - 37 (25) - 1 - Perhaps the fighter on the best streak in boxing is Tomasz Adamek. After suffering his lone loss to Chad Dawson, Adamek jumped up to cruiserweight and emerged as an unstoppable wrecking ball. He dispatched former unified champion O'Neil Bell and then dispatched champion Steve Cunningham. Since, he knocked out Johnathon Banks seemingly out of nowhere, and a rematch with Cunningham awaits, as long as he accepts the challenge.

10. Vic Darchinyan - 32 (26) - 1 - 1 - After being knocked out against Nonito Donaire, the cocky Armenian went back to the gym and honed his craft. He returned with a crisp jab and enough head movement that the word "defense" can now be counted as being included in his vocabulary. A three fight win steak over Dmitri Kirillov, Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce is as good as any active fighter's not named Tomasz Adamek. However, continuing to move up in weight and challenging the fighters at 122 lbs could be a case study in fatal hubris.

Bubble Fighters: Arthur Abraham, Ivan Calderon, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Lopez

In the third round it looked as if we were going to have a real brawl on our hands. The two fighters traded hard shots and Arce actually got the better of it. But it would be the only round that he clearly won, despite several relatively close rounds that followed.

Soon it would become apparent that Arce was feeling the effects of the punishing assault of The Raging Bull. Arce began to slow down as the rounds continued, as Vic landed brutal punches to both his face and his body. Arce though showed his typical grit, heart and will. While at times he had the look of a beaten man, he never stopped moving forward or fighting until the ringside doctor stopped the fight after the 11th round.

It was a testament to Jorge Arce that he was even able to remain standing to that point in the fight. Darchinyan is known for his power and his ferocity. Every single punch he throws, he throws with the intention of hurting his opponent. On Saturday night, as his straight left continually found the mark, his left uppercut was even more devastating.

Time and time again, Darchinyan would unleash a perfectly placed uppercut onto Arce's chin that should have dropped him. And there were a few moments when Arce had to hold on to keep from falling down. Darchinyan also had Arce retreating backwards at times, a style of movement that must have been a fairly new experience for the popular Mexcian fighter. But Arce never went down or gave up.

One of the storylines of the fight ended up being how easily Darchinyan was able to manhandle Arce. While Arce appeared to be slightly larger than Darchinyan, it was Darchinyan who could throw Arce around the ring at will. And he did just that, pushing him away to help setup combinations and flinging him off from clinches. If Arce was expecting to have a strength advantage in the fight that could help counteract Darchinyan's clear advantage in punching power, he was mistaken.

As we saw against Chrisian Mijares, Darchinyan also displayed his improved all-around boxing game. At times he snapped Arce's head back with crisp jabs, and he was able to confuse Arce and make him miss with head movement and footwork. He mixed up his punches, occasionally leading with a right hook or leading with two or three uppercuts. He used both hands well, and was able to dictate the pace and distance of the fight throughout its entirety.

After the fight, Darchinyan's promoter Gary Shaw mentioned Fernando Montiel, Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez as future opponents for the unified super flyweight champion. All three would be extremely dangerous opponents for Vic Darchinyan. While he is furthering his case as a pound for pound fighter, against all of these opponents he would be at a size, strength and power disadvantage. All three fights though would certainly be exciting while they lasted, and it's never a smart idea to count out anyone with the sensational power that Vic Darchinyan carries in both hands.

From the opening bell it was clear that this was a different Vic Darchinyan than we've been used to seeing. After suffering a knockout loss against Nonito Donaire, Vic definitely got back into the gym and put his work in. It's a testament to his ability and his work ethic that he was able to retool himself and incorporate better form, more effort, crisper shots and sounder fundamentals.

Darchinyan floored Mijares in the first round and it looked as if it might not last much longer. After never seeing it in Vic's style before, he had a fast jab that he followed with his super-strong straight left and left hook. He also incorporated some head movement and defense into his all around game. And one of the most devastating shots he landed was a perfectly planted uppercut.

Mijares was able to survive and win a round or two against Darchinyan for half the fight. But it looked as if he was ill-prepared for this challenge and perhaps took Darchinyan a bit too lighly heading into the fight. He got what he paid for, as he was knocked out just as the bell ending the 8th round was sounding.

Great performance by Darchinyan and terribly disappointing one for Mijares. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between the two of them if both were focused as Vic was tonight.