Manny Pacquiao dethrones Floyd Mayweather in Ring Magazine ratings
Manny Pacquiao has subsumed Floyd Mayweather Jr. in yet another compartment.
The recently crowned WBC junior middleweight has claimed the top spot in the Ring Magazine’s welterweight category, bumping “Money” Mayweather down to second best 147-pound fighter in the world, ABS-CBNnews.com confirms.
The Ring Magazine, inaugurated in 1922, has long been considered one of the most credible establishments to rate boxers—hence its coined title as the “bible of boxing.”
It awards fighters of each division the prestigious Ring Magazine title on occasion of specially recognized title fights. Currently only six fighters in the world are recognized as Ring Magazine champions.
Pacquiao’s ascension to the top of the welterweight category comes at the heels of his weekend defeat of Antonio Margarito in Arlington, Texas. Margarito, who weighed 17 pounds more than Pacquiao at fight time and had over four inches on him, absorbed lightning
quick punishment for twelve rounds and was unable to find Pacquiao in the ring.
The Ring’s editor-in-chief, Nigel Collins, explained the decision to RingTV.com: “Due to the fact that Manny Pacquiao is more active and weighed in as a welterweight for the Antonio Margarito victory [at 144.6 pounds], he has overtaken Floyd Mayweather.”
Pacquiao is likewise the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, a title he won after defeating a game Miguel Cotto in December 2009.
The Ring Magazine’s editorial board confirmed that Pacquiao’s win over Margarito, though official for the 154-pound WBC championship, was nevertheless a welterweight accomplishment that could enhance his position in the 147-category.
In a further statement, the Ring’s editorial board said that Pacquiao’s victory as a junior middleweight would not affect his ratings in that category because his opponent, Margarito, was not ranked as a junior middleweight at the time of competition.
“The WBC junior middleweight belt at stake will look nice in Manny’s trophy case, but really doesn’t mean very much, especially as Margarito was unranked by The Ring going into the fight,” Collins quipped.
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