Top three pound-for-pound fighters

By Dan Rafael ESPN.com Updated: April 20, 2011, 3:31 AM ET

Who is the world's best fighter regardless of weight class? See my top 20 below.

And don't forget to check out the divisional rankings, which are updated weekly.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.

Note: Results are through April 19.

1. MANNY PACQUIAO

Welterweight titlist
Record: 52-3-2, 38 KOs
Age: 32

Pacquiao

Hits: As Pacquiao, the only eight-division titleholder in boxing history, prepares for his May 7 Showtime PPV fight against former three-division champ Shane Mosley, training camp has been unusually quiet and, at least publicly, distraction-free. That's a serious departure from his recent training camps and suggests that Pacquiao will be at his absolute best against Mosley. As good as Pacquiao has been in recent fights, that is a scary thought.

Misses: Whomever you want to blame, the bottom line is that Pacquiao is fighting Mosley -- who has looked absolutely abysmal in his last two fights -- instead of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

2. SERGIO MARTINEZ

Middleweight champion
Record: 47-2-2, 26 KOs
Age: 36

Martinez

Hits: Martinez is a breath of fresh air -- a guy who, almost without issue, will fight anybody. Over the past two years, the 2010 consensus fighter of the year has consistently fought the best fighters available, from Kermit Cintron to Paul Williams (twice) to Kelly Pavlik and Sergiy Dzinziruk. And Martinez typically has been impressive when doing so, including his thorough five-knockdown beatdown of Dzinziruk for an eighth-round knockout on March 12. The various alphabet belts mean nothing at middleweight. Martinez is simply the man at 160 pounds.

Misses: HBO doesn't plan to bring Martinez back until at least September, which isn't on him. It is, however, insane.

3. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.

Welterweight
Record: 41-0, 25 KOs
Age: 34

Mayweather

Hits: Maybe, just maybe, after 11 months out of the ring, Mayweather is showing signs that he's interested in fighting again. He did, after all, show up and sit ringside to watch Victor Ortiz win a welterweight belt from Andre Berto on April 16. It happened to be one of the belts that once belonged to Mayweather. If he's not going to fight Pacquiao, wouldn't a fight with Ortiz at least be interesting?

Misses: Rumors continue to swirl that if Mayweather comes back in the fall, he will select Paul Spadafora as his opponent. If it happens, it will be an utter disgrace.

Click here for Nos. 4-20.

Tags: floyd mayweather, manny pacquiao, sergio martinez

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