Pacquiao overtakes Mayweather as top boxer in Yahoo! poll

Posted at 8:11 pm August 13, 2010

Tags: Boxing

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By Joel Pinaroc

QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA- Filipino ring icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao has topped American Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. as boxing top pound for pound fighter, according to a recent poll by Yahoo!

Yahoo! Sports blogger Kevin Lole wrote that Pacquiao regained the top spot in the voting from Mayweather Jr., “the clear result of voters’ disappointment with Mayweather’s reluctance to fight his Filipino rival.”

The poll was conducted in June, when a showdown between boxing two best fighters when negotiations were said to be taking place for match late this year.

But Mayweather opted to let go the opportunity to fight Pacquiao on November 13, when one of Mayweather’s advisor denied that negotiations had ever taken place between the two camps, Lole wrote.

According to Lole, voters clearly were unhappy with Mayweather’s decision which seems to indicate that the flashy boxer is “ducking” the Filipino slugger.

Pacquiao, now a Philippine congressman, eventually decided to still fight late this year against feared Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito. Mayweather meanwhile said he plans to fight next year.

These developments impacted the voting, Lole said.

In June, Mayweather garnered 22 of the 40 first-place votes cast, with Pacquiao taking the other 18, but in the August balloting, there were 36 votes cast with Pacquiao gettingt 21 first-place votes and Mayweather 15.

In Yahoo! Sports’ previous poll in May, Mayweather edged Pacquiao after Mayweather’s victory over fellow American “Sugar” Shane Mosley that same month.