The latest edition of the Yahoo pound for pound rankings caused quite a stir by ranking Floyd Mayweather above Manny Pacquiao in the pound for pound stakes.
In his latest article, Yahoo boxing and MMA correspondent Kevin Iole responded to some of the many comments he got from fans who didn’t agree with his rankings.
The validity of the panel itself was called into question by some, as well as the reasoning behind the votes. Some even opined that the panel was intentionally pro-American or racist, or that they had some kind of agenda against Manny Pacquiao.
While the panel was made up from an all American cast, the writers who contributed were all accomplished and surely above trying to inflate Mayweather’s already illustrious accomplishments and record. Including a more global panel of writers though would go a long way towards stopping the cries of racism and bias towards American fighters.
Obviously pound for pound rankings are an inexact science, and all other things being equal, many places on the list are open to opinion rather than having clear entrants across the board. In the cases of Floyd and Manny though, most people tend to feel strongly one way or another which is the better.
Was the widespread criticism of Kevin Iole and co valid?
Pacquiao fans are also known to be fiercely protective of their fighter, much the same as Floyd fans are, which is why the rivalry between the pair of them is so hotly debated. In this case though, I have yet to hear any good reason for Mayweather to jump Pacquiao in the rankings.
The most that can be said of Mayweather is that he took on and dominated a top welterweight more recently than Pacquiao has. With Pacquiao’s next fight date booked, and the opponent likely being either Mayweather or Margarito, the rankings will shift again decisively soon anyway.
Here are a sample of some of the many responses I got regarding the Yahoo rankings, including a letter from my good friend and certified Pac fan Raye:
Raye Pogi Santiago, Philippines: “I am baffled by the assessments of Yahoo Sports/Boxing analysts in coming up with the decision of choosing Floyd Mayweather as the Number One Pound for pound Boxer over Manny Pacquiao!!! Why?? Was the victory of Mayweather over a slow lightweight juan manuel marquez and the ageing Shane Mosley sufficient to elevate Mayweather to the Number one spot??
Even the Ring Magazine which is owned by the Golden Boy Promotion that promotes Mayweather still maintains, in its latest ranking, that Manny Pacquiao is the number one Pound-for-pound boxer. Is it because they are pro-Mayweather and are therefore afraid of Manny Pacquiao? Because of the Yahoo Sports Writers ranking, they’re just making mayweather’s head grow largely and give him the advantage of making such baseless demands which manny really don’t want to comply….and because of that inconsistent ranking made by yahoo sports, promoters of both Pacquiao and Mayweather camps find it difficult to arrange a bout which the whole world awaits. Are the Yahoo sports writers protecting the clean record of Mayweather because of their apprehension that Pacquiao has the best chance of giving Mayweather his own first defeat as professional boxer??”
Hopefully the rankings won’t affect the negotiations, although I think the testing issues as well as the amount of money Floyd apparently made from beating Mosley will be bigger factors than rankings. While Yahoo now has Mayweather at the top, many other rankings such as Ring magazine’s still have Pacquiao at the top.
Devin Hartnett, Pittsburgh: “The only reason Mayweather should be ranked higher than Pacquiao is because he fought more recently. Either way though he will soon be back down to number two when Pacquiao beats him or he doesn’t fight again for a year”
Sam Stephens, Pittsburgh: “Mayweather is going to dominate Pacquiao if the fight ever gets made anyway, so the rankings don’t matter. Whatever happens, Pacquiao isn’t going to stay above Floyd. Either he will retire soon anyway, or he will fight Floyd and lose”
Although Pacquiao has only guaranteed one more fight, something tells me he will have at least a few more than that. Even if he fights Mayweather next, there will almost certainly be a rematch which will generate huge money for both fighters. If the Mayweather fight doesn’t happen, then there are still a few more opponents Bob Arum has lined up for Pacquiao to fight.
