Ryan Maquinana of CSN Bay Area puts together a monthly pound-for-pound list breaking down the best fighters in Northern California. There is some considerable boxing talent in Northern California. When the best super middleweight in the world is tied with somebody at number one, that tells you a little something about the caliber of top level talent in NorCal.
Maquinana has super middleweight Andre Ward tied with junior featherweight Nonito Donaire at the top of his rankings. Ward won the Super Six World Boxing Classic last month, but he suffered a broken hand that is only now coming out of a cast. His next bout is still to be determined as the super middleweight class tries to figure out what to do with IBF champion Lucian Bute. Ward-Bute remains the most significant fight given the fact that Bute was not in the Super Six.
Donaire is moving up the scales and making his debut at junior featherweight on February 4 when he meets Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for the WBO's title. Donaire has steadily climbed the ranks from flyweight and will look to continue his strong at 122 pounds. A win over Vazquez could place Donaire in position to cement his number one spot in Northern California until Ward figures out his next move.
Robert Guerrero rounds out the top three and has been doing everything he can to secure a top-name for his next fight. He has been calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr. and some rumors surfaced but those eventually fizzled. He also has tried to get something with Shane Mosley, but that would appear unlikely as well.
Head over to CSN Bay Area to check out Maquinana's comments about all the top fighters in Northern California. His top five are:
1. Nonito Donaire, junior featherweight, San Leandro
2. Andre Ward, super middleweight, Oakland
3. Robert Guerrero, lightweight, Gilroy
4. Eloy Perez, junior lightweight, Salinas
5. Karim Mayfield, junior welterweight, San Francisco