Pacquiao bumabandera sa Ring Magazine P4P Ratings

MANILA, Philippines - Sa kabila ng pagkatalo kay American Floyd Mayweather, Jr. para sa ‘pound-for-pound (P4P) No. 1 spot sa Yahoo! Sports noong Mayo, napanatili naman ni Manny Pacquiao ang pangunguna sa Ring Magazine P4P Ratings.

Sa inilabas na edisyon nitong Hunyo 13, patuloy pa ring kinilala ng Ring Magazine ang Filipino world seven-division champion bilang ‘best pound-for-pound fighter’ sa buong mundo.

Kasalukuyang ibinabandera ng Sarangani province congressman-elect ang kanyang 51-3-2 win-loss-draw ring record kasama ang 38 knockouts.

Nasa ilalim pa rin ng 31-anyos na si Pacquiao ang 33-anyos na si Mayweather, isang dating ‘pound-for-pound king’, at nagdadala ng malinis na s 41-0-0 (25 KOs) card.

Kamakailan ay ibinunyag ni Oscar Dela Hoya ng Golden Boy Promotions ang nalalapit na pagplantsa sa inaabangang megafight nina Pacquiao at Mayweather na nauna nang itinakda ni Bob Arum ng Top Rank Promotions sa Nobyembre 13 sa Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kung hindi naman ito muling matutuloy, handa si dating world welterweight titlist Miguel Angel Cotto 35-2 (28 KO) sa isang rematch kay Pacquiao.

“It would be very different if they fight again now that [Cotto] has his team put together just the way he wants it. He’s just a better balanced fighter now,” sabi ni Emanuel Steward, trainer ni Cotto na bagong World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight king.

Kumpiyansa rin si Steward na mananalo si Cotto sa kanilang rematch ni Pacquiao.

“He will be able to utilize his boxing talents a lot more than the last fight where he fought with his head down too low. Manny was actually the taller fighter in the fight and he’s only 5’6”. Miguel has a lot more mental confidence now than he did before,” ani Steward.

Inagawan ni Pacquiao si Cotto ng World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt via 12th-round TKO noong Nobyembre ng 2009.