It's the 4th of July and a new layout for the boxing rankings has been drawn up. The biggest change emanates from Floyd Mayweather Jr. calling it quits (for the time being), thus the need to remove him from the current list of greats. There's no questioning Mayweather's God given talent and accomplishments but what's the sense of keeping him in the list if there's other athletes driving themselves to become the next great. 

Manny Pacquio takes over as the No. 1 pound-4-pound fighter in the world. His exciting beat down of David Diaz has only secured the Filipino’s future for the Hall of Fame, and rightfully so. Without further ado, here's July's list of boxing's greatest competitors.

VegasInsider.com Boxing Power Rankings - Pound for Pound

Rank No. 1 Manny Pacquiao The Skinny Boxer 47-3-2; 36 KOs Manny Pacquiao does the speaking for himself. With a KO win over a tenacious David Diaz on Jun. 28, Pac Man now moves up as the No. 1 fighter in the land. Obviously with the early retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. (how long will this last), Pacquiao becomes the next greatest fighter-boxer in the sport today. Next up; talk about facing 130-pound WBA super featherweight champion Edwin Valero has been proposed or a possible pairing with WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight champ Nate Campbell. If Pacquiao wants to maintain the weight he’s at then Campbell would be the next best opponent. Rank No. 2 Miguel Cotto The Skinny Boxer 32-0-0; 26 KOs Call it an opinion but Miguel Cotto is as dynamite of a fighter you can get in the current era of boxing. He’s got the power and pride to breeze through opponents but a questionable defense at times raises eyebrows. A Jul. 26 showdown with Antonio Margarito should be the fireworks boxing needs this year. His somewhat skinny resume of primetime names causes us to raise questions whether or not he’s earned the position as No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer but at this juncture in his career (27 years old), Cotto is where the action’s at. Rank No. 3 Joe Calzaghe The Skinny Boxer 45-0-0; 32 KOs His April win over Bernard Hopkins surely raises Calzaghe’s stock but the question now is whether or not he’ll go toe-to-toe with Roy Jones Jr. For one thing, Calzaghe has finally graced the U.S. with his presence after fighting his entire career in the UK and the plan to stay in the Unites States looks promising. Basically, he’s no longer an unknown by North American fans. Calzaghe recently vacated the WBO and WBC super middleweight titles when he climbed to light heavyweight in the win over Hopkins. Calzaghe held the WBO super middleweight belt for an astonishing 11 years. If the Jones Jr. bout doesn’t come to fruition then a proper opponent at this time is hard to predict. We can probably toss out Chad Dawson, Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. Rank No. 4 Juan Manual Marquez The Skinny Boxer 48-4-1; 35 KOs Another great to add pounds to his frame in the hopes of conquering numerous weight divisions will see Juan Manual Marquez squaring off against Joel Casamayor on Sept. 13. Casamayor should factor to be a tough fight, especially after suffering his last loss all the way back in 2004. After coming off that heroic loss against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year can “Dinamita” really make the jump into a heavier weight class with success? This writer thinks so. Rank No. 5 Kelly Pavlik The Skinny Boxer 33-0-0;29 KOs Pavlik is still a youthful fighter at only 26 years old, and putting Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda on the canvas where worthy trophies to place on the wall. But the issue with the amount of quality fighters definitely puts Pavlik under scrutiny. It's not that the "Ghost" isn't talented, but prematurely ranking him on top without the track record raises questions. A TKO win over Gary Lockett wasn't the toughest of challenges and now talk about a throw down with "The Contender", Sergio Mora looks to be another slam dunk. Only time will tell.  Rank No. 6 Bernard Hopkins The Skinny Boxer 48-5-1; 32 KOs Alright, so "The Executioner" is a lot closer to retirement then ready to embark on an effective comeback run. While drained of energy in the latter rounds in his last loss against Joe Calzaghe, Hopkins sure didn't embarrass (dropping Calzaghe in the first round). Hopkins should probably be dropped a bit lower in the Power Rankings, but we must give respect where respect is due. This is an athlete who was derailed from the sport only to come back firing with great success. Rank No. 7 Israel Vazquez The Skinny Boxer 43-4-0; 31 KOs The epic trilogy against Rafael Marquez did one of two things. It either further entrenched supporters of the lighter weight classes or brought doubters (that the "little guys" couldn't excite the masses) right on board. With all the blood, sweat and tears poured onto the canvas it was a shame one of these guys had to end up on the losing side. Vazquez emerged from the train wreck with the victory flag and now patience will dictate where this Mexican super fighter will end up next. As many media sources have already repeated, "it's time that Vazquez gets a seven digit pay check because there's no doubt he's already earned it." Rank No. 8 Rafael Marquez The Skinny Boxer 37-5-0; 33 KOs What was Marquez's greatest accomplishment in beating Israel Vazquez in the first chapter of the trilogy was also his downfall after falling in the last two. The future is unknown at the moment for Marquez and after the punishment both fighters endured there's no reason to question the layoff. It's fighters like Marquez and Vazquez who have increased the awareness of the lighter weight classes and the hope is both return to the scene ASAP. Rank No. 9 Wladimir Klitschko The Skinny Boxer 50-3-0; 44 KOs OK, the “better” Klitschko may have moved down drastically in this reworked ranking system, but he’s still hanging around in the top-10. Why? Sure the heavyweight division is in shambles (I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s despicable), but Wladimir has been able to defeat all but three boxers over an 11-year period. The opposition has been far from impressive but this is still a professional sport where plus-200 pound men wail on each other. From a technical point of view, Klitschko probably shouldn’t come close to making a high ranking (compared to the company in this list) but there’s no one else in the heavyweights who can hold a candle to him. Next up is No. 5 world ranked Tony Thompson (who? - if you're not an avid heavyweight fan) in July. Bet you can’t wait for that match (and yes that was supposed to sound sarcastic). Rank No. 10 Oscar De La Hoya The Skinny Boxer 39-5-0; 30 KOs Oscar De La Hoya skirts in at the No. 10 spot based on a stellar career and his ability to continue battling even after getting floored by Bernard Hopkins followed by a tough loss against Mayweather. So where does De La Hoya turn now? With Mayweather out of the race speculation about Miguel Cotto entering the ring has been circulating, but how would an exchange with age old rival, Felix Trinidad sound? It's been just shy of a decade since both fighters met. Trinidad emerged from the bout with the majority decision win, but not without controversy. However, Trinidad is closer to retirement then De La Hoya. How could this pairing even come close to the excitement that both fighters displayed when they were 10 years younger?