Online Polls show Pacquiao still No. 1

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao remains the world’s pound-for-pound king in an online survey of a popular sports website despite Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s impressive win in his comeback fight over the weekend. Poll results posted by Yahoo! Sports had Pacquiao comfortably ahead of Mayweather as boxing’s current pound-for-pound king. The survey was made just after Mayweather’s domination of Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez last Saturday in Las Vegas. In Yahoo! Sports’ poll – which fielded the question “Who is boxing’s pound-for-pound king?” – 66 percent voted for Pacquiao, while only 31 percent went for Mayweather. Three percent, meanwhile, opted for other boxers.

Over 82,000 votes were cast at presstime. Pacquiao inherited the mythical pound-for-pound title from Mayweather after the latter retired in 2008.

Mayweather, however, came back from a 21-month layoff to face Marquez in an attempt to reclaim the pound-for-pound throne from Pacquiao. The Filipino soutpaw, on the other hand, has done his part in firming up his No. 1 status with impressive wins over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. “Pacquiao solidified his claim on the top spot after stopping David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in spectacular fashions. Mayweather couldn’t simply return to boxing after 21 months and overthrow the true king – no matter what happened on Saturday night,” The Ring, a partner of Yahoo! Sports, said in a brief commentary. “Mayweather might very well be the best fighter in the world. The pound-for-pound title must be earned, though. And, hopefully, Mayweather will get his chance or chances to do that,” it said.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, has started training in Baguio City for his megafight with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas. A victory over the Puerto Rican will likely set up the General Santos City-based fighter against Mayweather early or midway next year.         – STAR contributor Dino Maragay

Source:
          The Philippine Star
.