The International Boxing Federation (IBF) officially put Manny Pacquiao as its No. 2-ranked featherweight boxer.
In its lastest ratings posted on December 28 on its website, the IBF put the hard-hitting General Santos southpaw behind No. 1 contender Ricardo Juarez in the 126-lb division.
The No. 2 rank was previously vacant and was awarded to the winner of the Pacquiao-Fahsan bout.
Pacquiao, the Sportsman of the Year of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, defeated Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand via fourth-round knockout last December 11 in Taguig City to earn the position. He was previously ranked No. 3.
Pacquiao?s Thai opponent, formerly No. 6, is now ranked No. 9.
Pacquiao?s fight with champion Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico last May was the only other IBF-sanctioned fight Pacquiao participated in. That bout ended in a draw.
The Filipino slugger also made it to the top-12 list of USA Today?s best pound-for-pound fighters. He was bunched together with Marquez and another Mexican champion Erik Morales in the lower six of the renowned newspaper?s list.
Marco Antonio Barrera, another prominent Pacquiao foe, was included in the top six.
According to USA Today writer Dan Rafael, while Barrera ranked higher than Pacquiao, it is ?hard to completely forget the punishment Pacquiao laid on him in 2003.?
In a poll conducted by the website of the HBO pay-per-view asking who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao was ranked third behind two Americans, middleweight king Bernard Hopkins and former light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr.
Pacquiao, the featherweight champion of Ring magazine, is also ranked sixth by the publication in its top-10 pound-for-pound list.
Besides Marquez and Fahsan, two other fighters on the IBF ratings?No. 3 Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym of Thailand and No. 11 Gairy Saint Claire of Australia?have had a connection with the Filipino champion.
Pacquiao stopped Rakkiatgym of Thailand in October 2002 in Davao del Sur in his third successful defense of the IBF superbantamweight belt.
Saint Claire, a Guyana-born fighter, was mentioned as one of the possible opponents of Pacquiao this year before he faced Fahsan.
Rakkiatgym, who took Pacquiao?s place as No. 3, was in eight fights in 2004, while Saint Claire saw action six times. They were both undefeated last year.
Pacquiao is set to fly to the US on January 8 to begin training for his scheduled February 26 rematch with Marquez in Las Vegas. Pacquiao is guaranteed a hefty $900,000 in his next match.
Pacquiao is set to rake nearly double than that when he faces Morales in a match reportedly paying the Filipino fighter $1.75 million.
He will therefore miss the January 13 PSA Awards Night at the Manila Pavilion, where he and golfer Jennifer Rosales will be feted as the country?s best sportspersons of 2003.
This will be the third straight year Pacquiao is chosen for the honor.
Other Filipinos ranked in the top 10 of the IBF ratings were minimumweights No.7 Noel Tunacao, No. 8 Ernesto Rubillar and No. 9 Eriberto Gejon; light-fly No.7 Wyndel Janiola; and superfly No. 9 Malcolm Tunacao.
