Top three pound-for-pound fighters

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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 June 26.

1. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.

Junior middleweight and welterweight titlist Record: 43-0, 26 KOs Age: 35 Mayweather Hits: Mayweather had promised fans an exciting fight when he faced Miguel Cotto on May 5, and that is exactly what we got. Whether it was by design or because Mayweather's age is beginning to show isn't important. All the people who forked over the pay-per-view cash had to have come away from the fight satisfied that they got their money's worth. For Mayweather, a clear decision generated a gargantuan 1.5 million buys and gave him his eighth world title covering five divisions, from junior lightweight to junior middleweight. Misses: Since June 1, Mayweather has been locked up in jail for domestic abuse against his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his children. Although Mayweather boasted during the Cotto promotion that going to jail was no big deal and that he would just do his time, barely a few days into his sentence he was already complaining because he had to drink tap water instead of bottled water and grumbling that he didn't like the food. As the prosecutor in the case said, "Where did he think he was going, the Four Seasons?"

2. MANNY PACQUIAO

Welterweight Record: 54-4-2, 38 KOs Age: 33 Pacquiao Hits: Despite the absolutely horrific split decision that Pacquiao lost to Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9, which cost him his welterweight title, virtually everybody on the planet saw Pacquiao as the clear winner -- except judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross, who had the worst nights in their judging careers. It goes down as one of the worst decisions in boxing history, so bad that senators John McCain and Harry Reid are again putting forth legislation that would create a federal boxing commission aimed, in part, at doing a better job of training judges. The official decision shouldn't in any way harm Pacquiao's reputation because he mostly had his way with Bradley, whom he hurt multiple times during the fight. Misses: Officially, at least, Pacquiao suffered his first defeat since losing a decision to surefire future Hall of Famer Erik Morales in 2005, a span of 15 fights.

3. SERGIO MARTINEZ

Middleweight champion Record: 49-2-2, 28 KOs Age: 37 Martinez Hits: Martinez, the 2010 fighter of the year, has taken on top opponents such as Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams (twice), but -- even with big wins, exciting fights and highlight-reel knockouts -- he had been unable to land a truly big fight until now. On Sept. 15, he will face titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in an HBO PPV main event in Las Vegas. It's the fight Martinez has sought for more than a year, and now he has it -- which is great for him and all boxing fans. Misses: It's not Martinez's fault, but plans are being finalized for junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, Mexico's major boxing star (along with Chavez), to defend his belt against an opponent to be determined on the same night as Martinez-Chavez. It might take some of the attention away from Martinez's (and Chavez's) biggest fight.

Click here for Nos. 4-20.

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Dan Rafael

Boxing

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• ESPN.com boxing writer since 2005
• Writes pound-for-pound rankings
• Five years at USA Today