Top 10 PFP Boxers

1. CANELO ALVEREZ

Saul Canelo Alverez tops my pound for pound list because I believe he has the greatest resume in the sport of boxing.

Alverez has fought from super-welterweight to light-heavyweight. It’s impressive when you consider the fact that he’s only 30-years-old and has more super fights left in the tank.

Although the Mexican star has 55 wins as a professional, with 37 knockouts, and 1 defeat, many of his critics say most of those wins came from non-credible opponents in Mexico during his early years. Alverez turned pro at age 15. His greatest wins came from an all-time middle-weight in Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, Sugar Shane Mosley, and former light-heavyweight great Sergey Kovalev.

His only loss came to one of the pound for pound greatest boxers of all-time Floyd Mayweather.

2. TERENCE CRAWFORD

Terence Crawford is my second pound for pound king. Crawford is the former lightweight champion, undisputed super-lightweight champion, and current WBO welterweight champion of the world. The only reason he isn’t number 1, because in my opinion he hasn’t had that signature victory. His record as a pro is 37 wins, no loses, 28 knockouts.

As a welterweight, Crawford has knocked out all 5 of his opponents, most recently former IBF champion Kell Brook. I believe skill-wise, he’s the best in the world. but has trouble getting champions in the ring.

His greatest wins came from former lightweight star Yuriorkis Gamboa, former super lightweight champion Amir Khan, and Kell Brook. As a pro, he’s beaten 8 undefeated fighters.

3. ERROL SPENCE JR.

My number 3 pound for pound fighter is Errol The Truth Spence Jr.

Spence has a record of 27 wins, no loses, 21 knockouts. Spence began as a middleweight, but has spent most of time as a pro at welterweight. He’s the current unified IBF and WBC welterweight champion. In my opinion, the only thing stopping Spence from being considered the best boxer alive, is the fact that we’re all waiting to see him to fight Terence Crawford or Canelo.

Spence hasn’t really moved around in weight classes, but he’s basically been washing all of his opponents. The only close fight he was in was against Showtime Shawn Porter. Spence has the size and agility, mixed with his pressure style. He’s been a difficult matchup for every fighter he’s faced.

4. TYSON FURY

My number 3 pound for pound fighter in the world in the WBC Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury.

Fury is now standing at 30 wins, no loses, 21 knockouts. His most recent and perhaps greatest victory came from a 7th round technical knockout to deliver Deontay Wilder his first defeat in 42 bouts.

Fury is also the lineal heavyweight champion after a unanimous decision victory over longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko, who held the heavyweight title for 10 years. Fury is ranked as the best heavyweight in boxing, according to Ring Magazine. Fury is also the only top heavyweight who is undefeated.

5. NAOYA INOUE

Nayoya Inoue is my 5th pound for pound fighter. In 20 professional fights, the Japanese star is undefeated with 17 knockouts. He’s currently the WBA and IBF Batamweight world champion.

Inoue has been dominating all of his opponents at Bantamweight since turning pro in 2012, and some whispers are out there of his possibly moving up to fight a Vasyl Lomachenko or a Guillermo Rigondeaux for a super fight.

6. TEOFIMO LOPEZ

At 6, I’m going with Teofimo Lopez.

In 16 fights he’s undefeated with 12 knockouts. At age 23 Lopez cracked many pound for pound lists by beating Vasyl Lomachenko, who was considered by many boxing writers as the pound for pound king. Lopez won by unanimous decision in a dominating fashion. He’s now the unified WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight champion.

He can move higher up if he continues to beat top level talents at 135lbs or 140lbs.

7. OLEKSANDR USYK

Oleksandr Usyk is number 7 on my pound for pound boxing list.

The 34-year-old Ukraine star is undefeated as a pro with 18 wins, 13 of those wins coming by knockout. Usyk fought his first 16 bouts in the Cruiserweight division before campaigning at Heavyweight.

Listed at 6-foot-3 inches, Usyk is a mixture of a power puncher, with great footwork and fundamental skills for his size. The question remains to be answered whether or not his abilities and size is enough to compete with the top Heavyweights who are much bigger in stature compared to him.

8. VASYL LOMACHENKO

The former pound for pound champ Vasyl Lomachenko drops to number 8 on my lists.

This comes after a unanimous decision defeat to Teofimo Lopez to lose his WBA and WBO Lightweight titles. Lomachenko 14 and 2, with 10 knockouts as a pro. He is regarded by most as one of the greatest amateur boxers of all-time.

The former 3 division world champion won his first world title in his third fight, being one of the quickest to accomplish that feature. At age 33, the Ukraine star still has many fights left in the tank, and he’s still regarded by many as one of greatest boxers alive today.

9. MANNY PACQUIAO

The legend, Manny Pacquiao is my opinion is the 9th greatest fighter pound for pound in the sport of boxing.

The 42-year-old, 8 division world champion is still competing, with a record of 62 wins, 7 loses, 39 knockouts. He’s won of the greatest fighters of all-time, and when last seen in the ring, he defeated the undefeated fighter Keith Thurman for the WBA Welterweight title.

Pacquiao has indicated that he doesn’t plan to fighter much longer, but he made this list because he’s still competing at a high level at this stage in his career.

10. MIKEY GARCIA

The 33-year-old 4 division world champion Mikey Garcia edges out the top 10 pound for pound rankings.

Garcia as a pro has a record of 40 wins, 1 loss with 30 knockouts. His only loss came after moving up 2 weight classes to fight one of the best Welterweights in the world in Errol Spence Jr. Garcia has signature wins over former champions like Adrien Broner and Robert Easter Jr. He dominates just about every opponent he fights.

His loss to Errol Spence Jr. was the only fight he was in as a pro where he didn’t either knockout his opponent or win a unanimous decision.

The Black Person in Media

According to a 2019 diversity survey released by the Newsroom Leaders Association, about 30 percent of colored people represented newsrooms across the U.S during the previous year.

The Black person is a minority in the newsroom.

Some of the modern nationally recognized journalists includes; the late Stuart Scott of CNN, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, Lester Holt of NBC, Cari Champion, Jemele Hill, Chris Broussard, Rob Parker, and the list goes on. The journalists that paved the way for these people includes; Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, and the list also continues.

But what’s the journey truly like?

Many young black journalists start off the same way their white colleagues did, with an internship at a local newspaper or television station, that’ll eventually lead to a job offer. Being a minority experiencing systemic racism has been an uphill battle for centuries for the Black American. In newsrooms across the U.S., these challenges still exists. All White Americans aren’t racists. Actually as time develops, many Black and White journalists have and are becoming life-long friends after developing relationships in the business. But, the White American will never truly understand what the blacks have gone through and or are still experiencing.

Many Blacks are held to a higher standard, are told they have to work harder than whites, have little room for mistakes, while fighting to keep these jobs. And at any given moment, the Blacks are usually the ones sacrificed when layoffs are part of the company’s plans.

The path to success for a Black or minority is more difficult than their counter-parts.

The media industry is slowly but surely integrating more Black professionals, but at the end of the day, what matters is equal opportunity and equal standards. That’s the biggest hurdle to climb.

https://www.newsleaders.org/2019-diversity-survey-results

Brandon Smith

This year’s winner for Best Barista, Cody Cox, has been in the coffee business for what will be 16 years in May.

The Holmes County native received a bachelor’s degree in English from 
Mississippi College in 2001. His first barista job was at Gravity Coffee shop in Clinton during his college days. He began working at Cups Espresso Cafe in 2009 and became the general manager in 2011.

“I’ve always loved the atmosphere of coffee shops, not to mention I’m a coffee fanatic,” he says. Ever since he started working in the industry, coffee became more than just a drink for him.

“I think it’s very typical that a English major ended majoring in the coffee business,” Cox jokes.

In October 2018, he stepped down as the GM to open his own bakery and coffee shop, Urban Foxes. He and his wife, Molly West, plan to open the business in Belhaven some time this year.

“I love the creativity and connectivity that coffee allows,” he says.

For more information, find Urban Foxes on Instagram. —Armani T. Fryer

Derek Augustus

Derek Augustus, who co-owns local recycling company Environmentality with Karissa Bowley, has always been interested in finding his creative eye, and designing and building things by hand, he says.

“I’ve done so many different jobs over the years and I just have an obsession with efficiency,” he says. “I spend a great deal of my mental energy thinking of ways to do jobs in more efficient ways and I’ve invented quite a number of tools 
over the years.”

He specifically loves to turn trash into usable products. One of the first things he ever built out of recyclables was a solar heater out of mostly beer bottles and a small 
computer fan.nullADVERTISINGnull

“Some tools didn’t actually work out well, but I have a strong desire for trying to simplify things,” he says.

Augustus, 36, a Kentucky native, graduated from Murrah High School in 2000. He attended Hinds Community College in Raymond, Miss., and received his associates degree in general studies in 2002.

In 2017, he and Bowley turned their shared passion for recycling into Environmentality, a company that tries to make recycling more accessible to Jacksonians.

He also gets to use his love for upcycling products in the business. He rents a processing warehouse, where he builds recycling-processing machines such as glass breakers, forklifts and warehouse belts out of products such as old ovens, microwaves and treadmills.

“… I find it amazing how I’m able to go to the side of the road and find unwanted exercise machines and build usable machines to help my company out of them,” he says.

The business’ services include recycling glass, paper, cardboard, plastic and metal. Residents pay $5 to $10 per pickup, while commercial businesses pay $20 to $60 depending how far the drive is, how much waste they have and how 
well it’s sorted.

The company has more than 100 residential customers and about 15 to 20 commercial business customers, including Cups Espresso Cafe in Fondren, Cathead Distillery and Davaine Lighting.

He also owns Jackson Jumpers LLC, an inflatables company that allows people to rent out space jumps for parties 
for 10 years.

For more information, find the business on Facebook.

Does Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball Make Pelicans Playoff Bound?

Zion Williamson, the number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft has garnered the most attention entering the draft arguably since LeBron James did back in 2003.

Many people try to find comparisons, but it’s hard to nail a player that’s comparable to what Williamson brings to the table. At 6’7, 285lbs, he’s the second heaviest player in the league to Boban Marjanovic, and has a vertical of 45-inches. LeBron James’ had a vertical of 40 entering the draft in 2003. Williamson coming into the league will already be one of the strongest and athletically gifted players in the NBA.

The Charles Barkley comparisons don’t match-up because Barkley didn’t have the conditioning and defensive presence Williamson has, although Barkley is one of the greatest of all-time. The Blake Griffin comparisons hold some weight, but not in its’ entirety. Griffin came into the league in 2009 as one of the premier dunkers and athletes in the NBA, and he also made the all-star team during his first year. Williamson is a better ball-handler and a faster sprinter. Williamson also is a great shot-blocker already.

Lonzo Ball will make Williamson better because Ball is probably the most unselfish point guard in the league and is always looking to get his teammates involved. A fast-break with Zion and Lonzo is a match made in heaven.

The Western Conference is wide opened, but it’s still tough. Teams like Golden State, Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver, Portland, San Antonio, and the Lakers will probably be in the playoffs due to their star power, and if Kawhi Leonard joins the Clippers they’ll be there as well. It’s hard for me to imagine New Orleans beating out anyone of those teams, but they’re certainly a team that’s going to be tough to play night in night out, and they’ll be there in the future. It’s all part of growing pains.

Errol Spence v. Shawn Porter September- Who Wins?

The welterweight unification fight between Errol “The Truth” Spence and “ShowTime” Shawn Porter is set for Sept. 2019, but the exact date has yet to be announced. Spence at 25-0, 21 knockouts is ranked at #4 pound for pound in the world, while Porter at 30-2, 17 knockouts isn’t top 10 on anybody’s list. Porter is the current WBC Welterweight champion, while Spence holds the IBF title.

Spence is the naturally bigger man at 5-foot-9, while Porter is listed at 5’7. Spence’s physical statue and athleticism gives him the nod over Porter in my opinion, but it’s going to be a slug-fest. Although Mikey Garcia did go up 2-weight classes to fight Spence in April, 2019, Spence completely dominated Garcia. The only thing that stopped Garcia from getting stopped was his championship pedigree. At the time he was 39-0 with 31-knockouts. This is why Spence is favored in this fight.

Even though the odds aren’t in Porter’s favor, he can’t be counted out. His two loses came to former champions Keith “One Time” Thurman and Kell Brook, so obviously he’s not a bad fighter and stands a punchers’ chance. Porter does have some impressive victories over Adrien Broner and Danny Garcia.

The winner of this fight will most likely face the winner of the Keith Thurman v. Manny Pacquiao fight for another unification, then fight Terence “Bud” Crawford for that number one spot in the welterweight division.

Regardless of a persons’ personal bias or favorite fighter, it’s hard to dispute the fact that this is an exciting time in the welterweight division.

The Life of Trey Johnson

It’s not often a JSU Tiger lives the extraordinary life of a professional athlete. Unless you’re a notable name like the legendary Walter Payton, Lindsey Hunter or Mo Williams, your name will probably disappear in history. Not for this guy. He may not have had the success on the professional level like the notable names, but his story is unique, and he’s one of the greatest basketball players to come from Mississippi.

Clinton Trey Johnson is a senior mass communications major at Jackson State University in his native hometown Jackson, Miss. He attended Murrah High School. His education includes; Alcorn State University, Northeast Mississippi Community College, and now Jackson State University. Trey is 34 years old and has had quite an interesting life starting at an early age, but now he’s a normal American citizen assisting in basketball player development at JSU.

Trey Johnson was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. His parents are Wilbur Johnson and Shellie Johnson. His older brother Will, played college baseball for Jackson State University. He followed his father footsteps and started playing baseball since he was little. He then started to play basketball during his teenage years. However, he only played basketball intermittently through middle school and high school. He attended Murrah High School and played both basketball and baseball there. He excelled at the pitcher position during high school and after graduating, he was drafted in the 30th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the Kansas City Royals. He decided to remain in college and play college sports.

Johnson started his collegiate career at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Miss. He played both baseball and basketball there for one season. As a basketball player, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. The following year, he enrolled at Alcorn State University and continued to play both sports. During his first appearance as a pitcher for Alcorn State, he suffered a ligament injury on his elbow that required a Tommy John surgery. He needed to sit out a year in order to fully recover from the injury, forcing him to become a full-time basketball player. He averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 41.5% from three-point range. During his junior season, he decided to take his talents back home to Jackson State University.

Due to the National Collegiate Athletic Association transfer rules, Johnson sat out the 2004–05 season. The following season, he led the Jackson State Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Semifinal but the Tigers was defeated by the eventual champion, the Southern Jaguars, 66–59. He averaged 23.5 points on 45.5 percent shooting, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32 games. With 23.5 points per game, he became the 10th leading scorer in the country and second in the SWAC. He scored a season-high 40 points during a game against Texas Southern. After his junior season, he declared himself eligible for the 2006 NBA draft but later withdrew his name and decided to return to Jackson State for his senior year.

In his senior year, Johnson led the Tigers to the SWAC Final. He scored a game-high 33 points in the final as JSU defeated MVSU. Jackson State also earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years. However, their NCAA trip was cut short when the Tigers was beaten 112–69 by the eventual champion, the Florida Gators. Johnson became one of the season’s best performers by averaging 27.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 35 games. He ranked second in scoring, after Reggie Williams who averaged 28.1 points per game. He was also named as the SWAC Player of the Year. He scored a career-high 49 points during a game against UTEP. He finished his college career with 1,698 points in only two seasons with Jackson State and became the school’s eighth all-time leading scorer.

In an interview with a former classmate of his, Chris Johnson, a native of Jackson, Miss said, “man it was seeing a super hero on the basketball court. I been in Jackson all of my life, and never in person seen a guy dominate athletically like Trey. There were so many people at every basketball game he played. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted on the court. Not to mention the guy was also great at baseball. I can count on one hand, probably 4 or 5 guys who were that good at basketball in this city, but none of them played multiple sports well the way Trey did.”

Johnson was automatically eligible for the 2007 NBA draft after finishing his four-year college eligibility, but he went undrafted. He then played for the Miami Heat in the 2007 Orlando Summer League. On October 1, 2007, he was signed by the New Orleans Hornets for their training camp and preseason roster. He played in five games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.8 assists in 13.8 minutes per game. Before the season started, Johnson was waived by the Hornets and became a free agent. Johnson started his professional career in Serbia. He later returned to the U.S. to sign with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League on Jan. 25, 2008. He played 24 games with the Jam and averaged 11.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 27.2 minutes per game. On July 2008, Johnson played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2008 NBA Summer League. He played in five games, averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game. On Sept. 26, 2008, he was signed by the Phoenix Suns for their training camp and pre-season roster. However, he did not appear in any preseason game for the Suns and was waived on October 13. He returned to the Bakersfield Jam for the 2008–09 season. On Feb. 3, 2009, after playing 25 games while averaging 20.1 points with the Jam, Johnson was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers on a 10-day contract. On the same day, he was selected to the D-League All-Star Game roster. In the game, he scored a team-high 15 points as his team, the Red Team, defeated the Blue Team 113–103. After the All-Star break, he rejoined the Cavaliers on second 10-day contract. He played four games with the Cavaliers, scoring four points from four free throw attempts. He only played a total of 14 minutes in those four games while failed to make a field goal. After his second 10-day contract expired, he returned to the D-League with the Jam. He ended the season with the Jam, playing 39 games, all of them as a starter, and averaging 20.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 40.1 minutes per game. He was also named to the All NBA D-League Second Team.

In an interview with Trey, he was asked at what age he believed he would be able to play professional sports, he said, “honestly, it has always been a dream of mine. Especially being raised in an athletic household, you’re practicing and training to be the best you can be at your sport. I wasn’t normal like the rest of the kids who were able to play and eat a lot of sweets. My passion was for baseball, but I was a well-rounded athlete.”

LeBron James Agrees To Sign With Lakers, 4-Year Deal

14 time NBA all-star/3 time MVP, and 3 time NBA champion agrees to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the western conference on a 4-year deal worth $157-million(according to Klutch Sports).

Only a day after free agency began, perhaps the biggest free agent signing in over a decade happened as LeBron, the ESPN ranked best player just made the western conference much more difficult.

Pistons Release Stan Van-Gundy As Head Coach

After four seasons and one playoff appearance, the Detroit Pistons have decided to release Coach Stan Van-Gundy from all coaching duties, but his current position as general manager is unknown as of now.

Many experts and fans believe that due to his resume as a coach who has led a team to the NBA Finals, he should have only had the coaching role instead of handling GM operations.

Since arriving in Detroit during the 2014-2015 NBA campaign, the Pistons have a record of 152-176 with only one playoff appearance in 2016, which ended in a sweep to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pistons’ failures during his tenure isn’t all his fault. Although one of his first acquisitions was signing Reggie Jackson to 80-million dollars worth 5-years, the Pistons have dealt with multiple injuries from key players throughout the years. During the only year that the team was fully healthy, the Pistons made the playoffs and played well in all four games against the eventual champs Cleveland Cavaliers.

Van-Gundy’s 4-year tenure with the Pistons marked the longest tenture by a Pistons head coach since Chuck Daly from 1983-1992.

Local Superstar Rapper Lil Lonnie Murdered In Hometown

On April 29, 2018 around 10:00 in Jackson, Miss, Jackson Police Department responded to a shooting in West Jackson. The body would soon be revealed as 22-year-old, local rap artist, and Jackson State student Lonnie Montrel Taylor.

Lil Lonnie was beloved by the city of Jackson, where he was born, raised, and regarded as one of the rising rap artists in the state of Mississippi. Taylor loved his family and friends. In an interview in December, Taylor was asked what he would do with his first mega check. Taylor responded, “I’d buy a house for my family.”

Taylor’s 2015 song “colors” put him on the map nationally. When asked who influenced him, he said Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie. Taylor also said that 50 cent gave similar advice which was to stay consistent with his music. Lil Lonnie wasn’t only a local figure, he was a national figure in the hip hop game, gaining attention by some of the legendary rappers. After finding out about his death, LL Cool J tweeted, “Rest in power Lil Lonnie.. may your music live on…. may the almighty lift up and bless your family.”

Lil Lonnie gained the attention by many, and even more are devastated by his death. Now the question is, how far could he have gone if his career had continued for 15-plus years. He might have been one of the greatest of all-time.