Pound-for-pound rankings

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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 Aug. 28.

1. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.

Junior middleweight and welterweight titlist Record: 43-0, 26 KOs Age: 35 Mayweather Hits: Not only did Mayweather outpoint Miguel Cotto on May 5 to win a junior middleweight belt for the second time, he also made it an exciting and fan-friendly fight, something we haven't seen much of from him because he usually wins his bouts so easily. After that fight, Mayweather served his punishment for domestic abuse of the mother of his children by spending two months in jail. Now that he has been released, he's free to resume his career by, hopefully, bringing fans more big fights. Misses: A fight with the one opponent the world wants to see Mayweather face -- Manny Pacquiao -- continues to go unmade, and Mayweather must shoulder his share of the blame. Even though Mayweather said before the Cotto fight that he planned to fight again before the end of the year -- after his jail sentence was up -- if you read the tea leaves, it just doesn't seem likely that we will see him in the ring again in 2012.

2. MANNY PACQUIAO

Welterweight Record: 54-4-2, 38 KOs Age: 33 Pacquiao Hits: Although the boxing world was outraged by the horrible decision rendered by judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross on June 9, when Pacquiao lost his welterweight title by split decision to Timothy Bradley Jr., Pacquiao acted with nothing but class in defeat. Now he's working out his plans to return to action in the fall -- be it Nov. 10 or Dec. 1, and it keeps going back and forth -- with possible opponents being Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth fight or rematches with Bradley or Miguel Cotto. Nothing wrong with any of those fights, even if they're not all that fresh and we all pine to see him in the ultimate (and long overdue) showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Misses: Problems over which date he will fight on in the fall, picking an opponent and murmurs of issues between him and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum give the impression that perhaps Pacquiao's heart is no longer in the fight game as intensely as it once was. It seems as though Pacquiao's boxing endgame is here.

3. SERGIO MARTINEZ

Middleweight champion Record: 49-2-2, 28 KOs Age: 37 Martinez Hits: Martinez has always been respectful toward his opponents and let his fists do the talking in the ring. But it has been a nice change of pace to see him get his dander up and talk a little smack (not too much, mind you) during the buildup to his showdown with paper titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Their showing on HBO's "Face Off" was tremendous. Martinez and Chavez meet on Sept. 15 -- Mexican Independence Day weekend -- at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on HBO PPV in the biggest fight of the year not involving Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. It's a classic match of the older Martinez's speed, power and experience against the much younger Chavez's energy, determination and physicality. This should be a terrific fight. Misses: This isn't an issue with Martinez, but what a shame that there are folks out there who have resorted to trying to intimidate him. He has been threatened, and a car at his house was vandalized, which forced a public workout to promote the fight with Chavez to be canceled while his team set up a security detail for him. Is that what society has come to? It's only a boxing match, people.

4. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ

Junior welterweight titlist Record: 54-6-1, 39 KOs Age: 39 Marquez Hits: Marquez, a four-division titleholder who turned 39 on Aug. 23, continues to campaign for a fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao, believing he was robbed in their first three fights -- two close Pacquiao decision wins and a draw. Every time Marquez and Pacquiao have met, they have produced a fan-friendly and memorable fight. If the fourth fight does come off, you can count on another excellent scrap between two future Hall of Famers. Misses: The veracity of Marquez's fourth title, a 140-pound belt, must be questioned. He claimed a silly interim title with a walkover decision win against a poor opponent, Sergey Fedchenko, in April, and then was handed the full title when Timothy Bradley Jr. elected to remain at welterweight after his controversial decision win against Manny Pacquiao in June.

5. ANDRE WARD

Super middleweight champion Record: 25-0, 13 KOs Age: 28 Ward Hits: Although Ward has been out of action since rolling past Carl Froch in December to unify 168-pound titles and win the Super Six World Boxing Classic, he isn't looking to rest on his tournament win. Ward is back and taking on easily the most dangerous opponent he could find in light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who is coming down from the 175-pound division to challenge for Ward's title. It's a meeting of perhaps the two best American fighters this side of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Always great to see the best fighting the best. Misses: Admittedly, Ward and Dawson, with their technical styles and strong skill sets, aren't the kind of fighters who routinely are in thrilling brawls. That leads many to believe that they won't produce an exciting fight.

6. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO

Heavyweight champion Record: 58-3, 51 KOs Age: 36 W.Klitschko Hits: Only after he is retired will Klitschko truly get the credit he deserves for his historic heavyweight championship reign. Meanwhile, he continues to destroy opponents -- including on July 7 when he smashed mandatory challenger and legitimate top-10 contender Tony Thompson in the sixth round of a fight that wasn't remotely competitive. Thompson had given Klitschko at least a little trouble in 2008 before the champ registered an 11th-round knockout . Now Klitschko is set to return for his 13th title defense against Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KOs) on Nov. 10. And although Wach may be an unknown -- Klitschko has erased most of the division already -- at least the champ is staying busy. This will be Klitschko's third fight of the year. He hasn't fought three times in a year since 2008, and he'll be doing so for only the second time since 2003. Misses: It's not Klitschko's fault that he has no big fights on the horizon. Who is he supposed to fight? He obviously isn't going to fight his brother, fellow champion Vitali Klitschko. Alexander Povetkin has avoided him like the plague. Tyson Fury and other rising contenders admit -- and rightly so -- that they aren't ready for him yet. Cristobal Arreola's camp stopped pursuing a bout with him. There doesn't seem to be a single legitimate opponent out there for Klitschko to make a big fight with.

7. NONITO DONAIRE

Unified junior featherweight titlist Record: 29-1, 18 KOs Age: 29 Donaire Hits: Donaire, a former flyweight, bantamweight and interim junior bantamweight titleholder, has big plans and is following through on them without looking for any soft touches. When he moved up to junior featherweight in February, he immediately faced former titlist and legit contender Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and outpointed him to win a vacant belt. Then came an excellent performance in a unification fight victory against Jeffrey Mathebula on July 7. And now Donaire is fighting yet another excellent opponent in former titlist Toshiaki Nishioka, who was forced to vacate his title. That HBO main event should be a very good fight. Misses: Donaire and Abner Mares both were at the top of the bantamweight rankings and held world titles but didn't fight, even though it would have been a very attractive match that the networks surely would have paid premium money for. Now Donaire and Mares both owns titles at junior featherweight and still are nowhere near fighting each other. Blame the ridiculous Top Rank/Golden Boy feud for depriving boxing fans one of the best fights in the smaller weight classes that can be made in the sport.

8. TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR.

Welterweight titlist Record: 29-0, 12 KOs Age: 29 Bradley Hits: Although most observers believe the split decision victory Bradley was awarded against Manny Pacquiao on June 9 was one of the worst and most controversial scores in memory, Bradley, who turned 29 on Aug. 29, did get the official victory and ended Pacquiao's seven-year, 15-fight winning streak. Whatever you think of the decision, Bradley deserves credit for persevering through foot and ankle injuries that hampered him throughout the bout. Misses: Even though most folks thought Pacquiao clearly won, there remains a possibility that Bradley will be granted a fall rematch because Pacquiao has the option in his contract and has said he will pick it up. But Bradley might be out of luck because the fight fell short of expectations in terms of pay-per-view sales. And after such a one-sided fight, who really wants to see it again?

9. VITALI KLITSCHKO

Heavyweight titlist Record: 44-2, 40 KOs Age: 41 V.Klitschko Hits: Klitschko has talked about retirement looming in the near future, so if his title defense against Manuel Charr (21-0, 11 KOs) on Sept. 8 turns out to be his swan song, he can go out knowing that he never ducked a single contender, he dominated virtually every fight he entered, he registered one of the greatest knockout percentages in heavyweight history, and he behaved like a classy sportsman. He'll go down in history as one-half of the greatest boxing brother combination ever. Misses: Instead of selecting one of the better-known up-and-coming contenders to make his ninth title defense against, Klitschko picked the unknown Charr, who has faced weak opposition, to fight on Sept. 8. Given Klitschko's dominance, massive size, outstanding power and all-time great chin, this has "mismatch" written all over it.

10. MIGUEL COTTO

Junior middleweight Record: 37-3, 30 KOs Age: 31 Cotto Hits: Although many believed Cotto was a spent fighter after so many tough fights, he proved that wasn't an accurate assessment of his ability when he gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. perhaps the toughest fight of his career on May 5. The Puerto Rican star was more competitive against Mayweather than just about anybody else has been, and it was a terrific fight that lived up to the hype. Even though Cotto lost a unanimous decision, he put on a great show. Misses: Cotto has said he would like to make his return by fighting on Dec. 1 at New York's Madison Square Garden. But a battle may be brewing because the date has also been discussed for Pacquiao's return. Of course, it could all be settled if Pacquiao and Cotto fight in a rematch, which also has been discussed by their handlers.

The next 10

11. Chad Dawson
12. Carl Froch
13. Abner Mares
14. Anselmo Moreno
15. Yuriorkis Gamboa
16. Mikkel Kessler
17. Bernard Hopkins
18. Chris John
19. Toshiaki Nishioka
20. Brian Viloria

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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