NEW YORK, May 4 (UPI) -- Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor were ranked Nos. 1 and 3 among middleweights in the latest boxing writers' poll released Tuesday.
Hopkins and Taylor appeared in New York Tuesday to pitch their July battle for Hopkins' undisputed championship in the division.
The 40-year-old Hopkins said Taylor had the talent to become the next world champ, but insisted he would retire undefeated on his next birthday.
Vitali Klitschko remained atop the heavyweight standings in the monthly Boxing Writers Rankings Poll with Chris Byrd second and John Ruiz No. 3. Ruiz lost to fifth-ranked James Toney on Saturday after the voting had closed for the month.
Other No. 1 selections included Jose Luis Castillo in the lightweights; Marco Antonio Barreras in the junior lightweights, and Glen Johnson in the light heavyweight division.
