Pacquiao rises in pound-for-pound lists after beating Bradley
Filipino legend Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao rose in the pound-for-pound lists after regaining the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title by beating American Timothy Bradley Jr. last weekend in Las Vegas.
RingTV.com http://ringtv.craveonline.com/ratings/welterweight]%20[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mma-boxing/photos/1309/boxing-pound-for-pound-ranking/3/ elevated Pacquiao to the fourth spot, while Sports Illustrated placed the "Pacman" at No. 3.
Pacquiao had fought off Bradley over 12 rounds to avenge a controversial June 2012 loss and become a world champion again, while also giving the American the first loss of his professional career.
"Call him Pacquiao 2.0," Sports Illustrated said of the Filipino icon. "This version of Pacquiao doesn't apply the same relentless pressure, doesn't intimidate opponents with crushing power, doesn't win many fights by knockout."
"But this Pacquiao can still overwhelm with his activity and is difficult to outpoint," SI added.
"In beating Tim Bradley, Pacquiao proved that –a year and a half removed from a devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez – he is still an elite fighter."
American superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains No. 1 in Sports Illustrated's list, followed by unbeaten super middleweight champion Andre Ward. Bradley dropped all the way to No. 10 in Sports Illustrated's list.
"Despite the loss to Pacquiao, Bradley didn't diminish his brand," Sports Illustrated said. "He abandoned his counterpunching class in search of a decisive win, and probably won some new fans with the effort."
Sports Illustrated noted that a third fight against Pacquiao is unlikely to happen, but Bradley still has options, including a potential rematch against Russian brawler Ruslan Provodnikov or even against Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios.
"Expect Bradley back sometime in the fall and expect HBO to happily pick up his next fight," said SI.
Bradley did not fall so far in RingTV's ratings, as he only dropped to No. 5 from No. 3.
Pacquiao also overtook Bradley in RingTV's welterweight rankings, with the “Pacman” now at No. 1, while Bradley is at No. 2. Mayweather remains the champion in the welterweight division.
As in the Sports Illustrated rankings, the unbeaten Mayweather also remains No. 1 on RingTV's pound-for-pound list.