The top 10 pound-for-pound boxers pre-Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev II

5. Roman Gonzalez

Boxing is unkind to its smallest fighters, who are maddeningly forced to ply their trade in relative obscurity while succumbing to the realities of athletic mortality sooner as their speed and reflexes diminish. Although four-division champion and Nicaraguan legend Roman Gonzalez is still near the top of the proverbial mountain, he may be commencing his slow descent.

At 29, Gonzalez (46-1, 38 KOs) has a couple of issues to contend with other than his age: he isn’t optimally suited for the super flyweight division (remember, he won his first world title at 105 pounds) and his last two fights — a gruelling win over Carlos Cuadras and a controversial loss where he was dropped versus Srisaket Sor Rungvisai — have both heightened Chocolatito’s greatness and exposed his pugilistic mortality. To get off the canvas and fight back against Sor Rungvisai was sensational and took a rare combination of courage and skill, but it did more to burnish Gonzalez’s overall legacy than help his pound-for-pound standing.

Fortunately, Gonzalez will face Sor Rungvisai in what should be a thrilling rematch in September. A dominant or even clear Gonzalez win keeps him firmly on this list, and a knockout could suggest that rumblings of his pound-for-pound demise were premature. However, it is likely that Gonzalez, who has outgrown his most effective weight, is in the midst of his last handful of fights as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound stars. Just be thankful that major television networks finally started paying attention to the future Hall of Fame member before it was too late.