Unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. returns to the top spot in the overall pound-for-pound rankings in this month’s edition of the WBM Pro Boxing Poll.
Mayweather, now in training for his Nov. 4 bout with WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir, overtook September pound-for-pound leader Manny Pacquiao by three points in the worldwide voting, released on Oct. 7.
Pacquiao had been the overall leader for three straight months on the strength of his TKO defeat of veteran Erik Morales in January, which was followed by a 12-round decision over Oscar Larios in July.
Pacquiao and Morales will meet for a third time later in November.
Mayweather, meanwhile, last fought in April, when he defeated former undisputed 147-pound champion Zab Judah by 12-round decision in Las Vegas. Judah had lost his crown, to Baldomir, one fight earlier at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The final voting margin between Mayweather and Pacquaio has been three points or less for four consecutive months. Mayweather led the pound-for-pound voting through the first five installments of the poll, which began in February.
Pound-for-pound spots three through six remained static in October with Winky Wright, Joe Calzaghe, Marco Antonio Barrera and Jermain Taylor.
Bantamweight Rafael Marquez leapfrogs Ricky Hatton to take slot No. 7, while Venezuelan flyweight Lorenzo Parra goes from No. 12 to No. 9.
Miguel Cotto is 10th overall, while newcomers Juan Manuel Marquez and Wladimir Klitschko enter the pound-for-pound rankings at Nos. 11 and 12, respectively.
Elsewhere in the poll, Polish tough guy Tomasz Adamek takes over the No. 1 spot at light heavyweight with the exit of Bernard Hopkins from the voting.
Hopkins, who announced plans to retire following his defeat of Antonio Tarver earlier this year in Atlantic City, has been inactive since.
The objective of the WBM Pro Boxing Poll is to recognize the achievements of deserving professional boxers by giving voice to boxing journalists around the world.
See all of the results at www.worldboxingmedia.com.
