AVILA’S POUND FOR POUND LIST, UPDATED

Let’s cut to the root. Floyd Mayweather is the best boxer out there pound-for-pound. Before meeting fellow pound-for-pound fighter Robert Guerrero, this writer felt “Money” had lost his legs. Apparently that is not the case.

Some other changes in the list have taken place but nothing drastic. Some have dropped down since the last pound for pound posting.

Here’s the list for May 2013:

1.) Floyd Mayweather (44-0, 26 Kos) – After showing signs of slowing down in his previous fight against Miguel Cotto over a year ago, Mayweather had his father prepare him for Robert Guerrero. Suddenly, the legs returned and the more mobile and harder-to-hit Mayweather appeared. Had he fought Guerrero the way he fought Cotto there would have been a different outcome. Instead, it was Mayweather in May.

2.) Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 Kos) – Mexico’s master boxer ignored offers to fight Manny Pacquiao in Macao. But now we get to see Marquez fight another pound for pound fighter in Palm Springs boxer Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley. It should be an interesting matchup. Can the Mexican maestro contend with Bradley’s speed? Can Bradley match skills with the man who vanquished Pacman?

3.) Timothy Bradley (30-0, 12 Kos) – The Palm Springs prizefighter showed another side of his talent that only fans in Southern California had seen; he will fight toe-to-toe just to prove a point. Bradley didn’t have to stand in front of Ruslan Provodnikov and allow the powerful Russian opportunities to hit him, but he did. It could have been a relatively easy fight but “The Desert Storm” wanted to prove to the fans and especially HBO that he indeed is an exciting fighter. Now he gets Marquez. Watch out.

4.) Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 Kos) – Argentina’s “Maravilla” Martinez may not have fought at his best several weeks ago, but still the middleweight world champion showed why he belongs on this list. Despite breaking his hand Martinez managed to defeat United Kingdom’s Martin Murray by decision and give him his first loss as a pro. Martinez, 38, seems to be breaking down physically but does have a fight or two left. Will he ever fight Gennady Golovkin? A world wants to know.

5.) Andre Ward (26-0, 14 Kos) – Oakland’s Ward, 29, can no longer be defined as a speedy boxer with good power. He’s the complete package and a card carrying member of the hard-nosed prizefighter club. If you don’t believe it just ask Chad Dawson. Ward can fight inside or outside and has cleaned out a talent-heavy super middleweight division. The only thing remaining for Ward is to move up to the light heavyweight division and pick on them. Suddenly Ward is on the avoid-at-all-cost list.

6.) Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 Kos) – Ukraine’s Klitschko has been dominating so long that despite his size he gets overlooked. Another reason he gets overlooked is that he primarily fights in Europe. Two weeks ago his knockout win over Francesco Planeta seemed ho hum. A quick three-punch combination by the six-foot, six-inch Klitschko ended the fight swiftly. Klitschko is a huge success in Europe but relatively unknown to American audiences. Maybe one day he’ll return to show fans in the U.S. just how good he really is.

7.) Robert Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 Kos) – After fighting 12 rounds with Floyd Mayweather “the Ghost” looked relatively unmarked compared to his fight with Andre Berto last year. The southpaw from Gilroy, Calif. was hoping to engage more with Mayweather but encountered the fleet-footed Floyd, not the shoulder roll defense guy that Cotto engaged a year ago. Still, it’s going to be very interesting to see who Guerrero fights next in the welterweight division. Winning three or four rounds against Mayweather is not something you see every day. Guerrero has the tools to be a force in the welterweight division.

8.) Roman Gonzalez (33-0, 28 Kos) – Known as “Chocolatito,” the Nicaraguan mighty mite has shown he can box or exchange bombs with most anyone. The junior flyweight has a fight set against Mexico’s Gerardo Verde on May 25. It’s difficult to remain among the top in the smaller weight divisions. They all have speed. Gonzalez has speed and strength. Chocolatito has amassed a strong following in the Southern California area and needs more television exposure.

9.) Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 Kos) – If his chin holds up the Philadelphia junior welterweight could eventually move into the welterweight division. But there are plenty of scraps left in the junior welterweight bar room crowd with the likes of Lamont Peterson, Lucas Matthysse and others waiting to be tested. He’s only 25 but Garcia seems to be in the kind of wars that can end a career quickly. A recent win over veteran Zab Judah showed that Garcia can box, bang or beat you in a variety of ways.

10.) Abner Mares (26-0-1, 14 Kos) – Mares captured a third world title in a third weight division by knocking out two-time world champion Daniel Ponce de Leon. Two incredible feats that have suddenly placed him on this list. When he first signed a pro contract after performing in the Olympics for Mexico, not many noticed his steady rise from bantamweight to the current featherweight division. He’s been tutored by various trainers who all left their imprints on his fighting style. There was Floyd Mayweather Sr., Joel Diaz, Nacho Beristain and a few others. Now Mares has Clemente Medina in his corner and has proven with wins over Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko and others that he’s among the best.

11.) Nonito Donaire (30-2, 19 Kos) – The Filipino Flash had a very bad night against the talented Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba. But one loss doesn’t mean Donaire should be dropped entirely from the list. He still packs big time wallop and dazzling speed that can enable a return to the win column in a hurry. A rematch against Rigondeaux is in order and makes sense for Donaire. It could be bigger money for both fighters. If Donaire wins, then it’s a trilogy a la Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez. Don’t count out Donaire.

12.) Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 Kos) – After losing back-to-back fights Pacman has taken a little time off. The loss to rival Juan Manuel Marquez was crushing and could mean the beginning of the end for the Filipino superstar. We shall see. Pacquiao will be fighting in Asia and it looks like Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios gets the call. We said last year that these two would be colliding and it’s finally going to happen. Rios will test Pacquiao’s chin and resolve.

Honorable mention:

Guillermo Rigondeaux, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Carl Froch, Gennady Golovkin, Bernard Hopkins, Vitali Klitschko, Amir Khan, Brandon Rios, Yuri Gamboa, Takashi Uchiyama.