Pacquiao slips to number 2 in ESPN and SI's pound-for-pound rankings, but retains top spot in Ring

Manny Pacquiao’s much-debated win against Juan Manuel Marquez has apparently affected the former’s overall standing in boxing as he moved from the top spot to second place in both ESPN and Sports Illustrated’s (SI) pound-for-pound tally.

The fighting congressman from Sarangani was displaced by Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whom fans dream for his next opponent.

As to what could’ve contributed to Pacquiao’s drop in the ranks, ESPN’s Dan Rafael said, “he looked vulnerable as he has in a long time.”  He likewise observed that the boxer-politician “looked confused” and “lacked snap on his punches in a less-than-stellar outing” during his Nov. 12 fight with Marquez, their third face-off.

“It just wasn't the kind of performance we have come to expect from Pacquiao, especially in light of the fact that Marquez had been wiped out by Mayweather in 2009 in his only other welterweight fight,” Rafael added.

Meanwhile, he noted that Mayweather “showed not the slighted bit of rust” during his match with Shane Mosley in May 2010; that is, “even after 16 months out of the ring.” Rafael also described Mayweather as “still fast and possessing great defense and underrated power.”

Despite these not-so-good reviews from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, The Ring, dubbed as “The Bible of Boxing,” retained Pacquiao, however “barely,” at the top spot of their pound-for-pound list, with Mayweather at second place.

The Ring’s Michael Rosenthal enumerated several reasons for Pacquiao keeping the pound-for-pound king title, one of which is, “A great fighter shouldn’t necessarily be demoted because another great fighter has his number. We didn’t think less of Muhammad Ali because he had trouble with Ken Norton three times…”

He likewise deemed that “a fighter shouldn’t necessarily be demoted because he has an off night, if that’s what it was on Saturday.”

Pacquiao has also outweighed Mayweather in recent years in terms of accomplishments, according to Rosenthal. “The Filipino is 9-0 up against big-name opponents since the beginning of 2008. Mayweather is 3-0 that time.”

“And you can’t say that Mayweather should supplant Pacquiao because he defeated Marquez more easily. That doesn’t take into account styles and strengths. Plus, Pacquiao beat Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya more easily than Mayweather did,” he added.

By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ
mb.com.ph

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