Manny slips to 8th in pound-for-pound list

MANILA, Philippines - His absence inside the ring, four months and counting, has brought Manny Pacquiao down the ladder and to No. 8 spot in Ring Magazine’s coveted pound-for-pound list.

Pacquiao has not fought since his May 2 defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and will not return to action until the first months of 2016.

But it will still depend on how doctors will assess his recovery from a right shoulder injury. Days after the Mayweather fight, he underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, recently told The STAR that Pacquiao has to do an MRI on his shoulder, and a positive result will fully open the doors to negotiations regarding his next fight.

“We have to work on that MRI before we can even talk about his next fight,” said the Top Rank chief.

Meanwhile, the 36-year-old Pacquiao and his fans will have to accept the fact that his ring absence will keep him away from the top of the standings.

The latest Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list showed the Filipino superstar in eighth spot. It’s the lowest ranking he’s had since he occupied the top spot years back.

On top of the list is Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua, the reigning WBC flyweight champion who is scheduled to put his 43-0 record on the line against Filipino-American Brian Viloria on Oct.17 in New York.

Mayweather is no longer in the list after announcing his retirement from boxing before and after his one-sided win over Andre Berto last week in Las Vegas.

Running second behind Gonzalez is Andre Ward, followed by Sergey Kovalev, Gennady Golovkin, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Wladimir Klitschko, Terence Crawford, then Pacquiao, Shinsuke Yamanaka and Kell Brook.

Crawford and Brook are being mentioned as possible opponents for Pacquiao next year although reports show that Amir Khan has the inside track in the race to Pacquiao.

Crawford, an American, is undefeated in 26 fights with 18 knockouts while Brook, from England, is 35-0 with 24 knockouts. They are champions in the light-welterweight class.

Ring Magazine, the bible of boxing, has Brook as No. 1 in the welterweight division, followed by Pacquiao, Khan, Tim Bradley, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Diego Chavez, Sadam Ali and Danny Garcia.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said he wants Garcia next for Pacquiao because “it’s the easiest fight” out there for the Filipino superstar.

But Arum doesn’t like Garcia in the picture.

“No, not Danny Garcia,” Arum told The STAR a few days ago.

Pacquiao, the only boxer to win world titles in eight different weight classes, sure won’t mind being at No. 8 in the pound-for-pound list.

“What’s important,” he says, “is for me to recover from my injury.”