Filipino ring icon Manny ?PacMan? Pacquiao received the unanimous vote of 30 respected boxing writers to solidify his hold as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer of the world.
It was yet another fitting birthday gift for the humble Filipino sports hero, who marked his 30th birthday on Wednesday with an elaborate reception in his hometown of General Santos City in the Philippines? Mindanao region. (See related story A6.)
Pacquiao got the nod of Yahoo Sports? blue-ribbon panel composed of some of the most revered names in boxing journalism for his devastating stoppage of former 10-time world champion Oscar de la Hoya on December 6 in Las Vegas.
Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports? foremost boxing scribe, said Pacquiao is likely to fight just twice in 2009?against British superstar Ricky Hatton in May and possibly against American Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is widely expected to come out of his one-year ring hiatus for a mega-buck match with PacMan.
?There were few changes in the monthly Yahoo Sports pound-for-pound rankings, as Manny Pacquiao solidified his hold on the top spot with his shocking rout of Oscar de la Hoya on December 6.
?Pacquiao is a unanimous No. 1, garnering all 30 first-place votes from the blue-ribbon panel. The only other change in the Top 10 is a swap at numbers 8 and 9 between Miguel Cotto and Paul Williams.
?Williams moved up to eighth after his impressive stoppage of Verno Phillips on November 29, which capped a year in which he fought at welterweight, super welterweight and middleweight,? Iole said.
Rankings to change
He predicted that the rankings could be ?dramatically different? in 2009 with the expected retirement of at least three fighters on the elite list.
They are No. 2 Joe Calzaghe also of Britain, No. 4 Israel Vazquez of Mexico and No. 5 Bernard Hopkins of the United States.
Iole said Calzaghe is leaning toward retirement after his November 8 win over Roy Jones Jr.
The unbeaten British middleweight champion said that he is going to consider his options after the holidays and will make his mind up whether to fight by February.
?Calzaghe is expected to retire, which will have the domino effect of pushing Hopkins into retirement. Hopkins will be 44 in January and isn?t eager to fight just for the sake of fighting. He desperately wants a rematch with Calzaghe, but conceded there are no other attractive bouts for him on the horizon,? Iole said.
He added that if Calzaghe goes, Hopkins would likely follow.
?Vazquez?s retirement may be forced by a medical condition,? Iole said. ?He had eye surgery to repair a detached retina and wants to fight again. However, he?ll follow his doctor?s advice and won?t fight if he is advised not to.?
Iole surmised that Pacquiao may also retire at the end of 2009, after a likely fight against Hatton in the spring and a potential bout in the fall with former pound-for-pound king Mayweather Jr., if he defeats Hatton and if Mayweather, as expected, opts to return to boxing.
Voting for Pacquiao
Voters in the December poll were Raul Alzaga, Primera Hora, Puerto Rico; Ron Borges, Boston Herald; Steve Cofield, Yahoo! Sports; Dave Cokin, ESPN Radio 1100, Las Vegas; Brian Doogan, London Sunday Times; Andrew Eisele, About.com; Scott Fyfe, Sunday Post, Scotland; Tom Gerbasi, MaxBoxing.com;
Lee Groves, MaxBoxing.com; Thomas Hauser, SecondsOut.com; Keith Idec, Herald News, New Jersey; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Michael Katz, MaxBoxing.com; Scott Mallon, SweetScience.com; Rich Marotta, XTRA Sports 570, Los Angeles; Franklin McNeil, Newark Star-Ledger; Gunnar Meinhardt, Die Welt, Germany; Roman Modrowski, Chicago Sun-Times; Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News; Marty Mulcahey, MaxBoxing.com; Kieran Mulvaney, Reuters; Santos Perez, Miami Herald; Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports; Michael Rosenthal, Ring Magazine; Tim Smith, New York Daily News; T.K. Stewart, BoxingScene.com; Paul Upham, SecondsOut.com; John Whisler, San Antonio Express News; and George Willis, New York Post.
