Pacquiao picked world No. 1 pound-for-pound

Even before he climbs the ring against David Diaz on June 28 in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao has reached the top of the world’s pound-for-pound list.

As far as fightfan.com is concerned, the 29-year-old Filipino has taken over the top spot from welterweight king Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had just retired.

“With Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s announced retirement, fightfan.com has elevated former No. 2 ranked Manny Pacquiao to the number one pound-for-pound fighter in all of boxing,” the website announced yesterday.

Pacquiao, who has fought and defeated some of the greatest Mexican fighters in his division, has trailed Mayweather in the coveted list for quite sometime.

And the sudden retirement of one of the world’s most talented boxers ever just opened the door for Pacquiao who shoots for the WBC lightweight crown against Diaz.

“He has dominated from super bantamweight to super featherweight. Pacquiao’s lengthy path through the best fighters in three different divisions coupled with his emphatic stoppage victories over legendary fighters like Marco Antonio Barrera and Eric Morales have solidified the Filipino terror’s place atop of fightfan.com’s pound-for-pound list.

“While other top choice Joe Calzaghe has had quite a run in the last two years, he simply does not stack up to boxing’s most electrifying sensation in Manny ‘The Pacman’ Pacquiao,” the popular website said.

Ring Magazine, considered as the Bible of boxing, also came up with its latest Top 10 list. But as of June 9, 2008, Mayweather remained on top, followed by Pacquiao and Calzaghe.

In the fightfan.com list, Calzaghe, the reigning and undefeated super-middleweight champion, is No. 2, followed by Juan Manuel Marquez, Israel Vasquez, Miguel Cotto, Ivan Calderon, Bernard Hopkins, Kelly Pavlik, Winky Wright and Rafael Marquez.

For Ring Magazine, it’s Mayweather, Pacquiao, Calzaghe, Juan Manuel Marquez, Hopkins, Vasquez, Cotto, Pavlik, Christian Mijares and Rafael Marquez,

It’s just a matter of time, probably, before Ring Magazine elevates Pacquiao to the No. 1 position. 

“It will depend on the outcome of this fight. A big win, a sensational win by Manny over Diaz should provide the answer. Besides, I don’t see any other fighter coming close to Pacquiao who is number two on the list,” said one of Pacquiao’s advisers, Wakee Salud.