Quijano: Pound for pound update
-A A +ALast Round
Saturday, June 30, 2012
INDEED, time flies really fast. Half of the year is gone and we saw numerous meaningful matchups that affected our rankings. Manny’s loss no matter how dubious it was, reflects on the positioning.
But already, that farce of a decision has engendered several efforts at revising the scoring system. Time will tell if that would be Manny’s supreme sacrifice for the good of the sport.
In the meantime, let’s update our pound for pound rankings for mid-year 2012.
1.) Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26KOs)
2.) Manny Pacquiao (54-4, 38KOs)
My scorecard will forever read 117-111 for Manny in that Timothy Bradley fight, but we have to abide by the official results. So Floyd Mayweather ascends to the top spot.
To his credit, he doesn’t assume the apex by mere default. He had to beat a top-tier fighter in Miguel Cotto convincingly last month.
3.) Nonito Donaire (28-1, 18KOs)
Last February, “The Filipino Flash” repulsed the formidable challenge of hotshot Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in 12 rounds. He knocked down Vasquez in the ninth round and battered his game opponent throughout the match with sizzling left hooks and uppercuts.
The fly in the ointment? Somehow, judge Ruben Garcia saw Vasquez winning, 115-112.
He is scheduled to do battle next week against South African Jeffrey Mathebula (26-4, 14KOs), for the WBO and IBF super-bantamweight diadems.
4.) Sergio Gabriel Martinez (49-2, 28KOs) Last March, Martinez had a tougher than expected test against Mathew Macklin as he was decked in round seven, but “Maravilla” always had things under control with his superior hand speed and superior boxing skills. He stopped Macklin in 11 rounds.
A super-fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is reportedly sealed but no date has been set yet.
5.) Andre Ward (25-0, 13KOs) – Due to a hand injury, “SOG” hasn’t fought since beating Carl Froch at the finale of the Super Six Super-middleweight championship.
A blockbuster match-up with light heavyweight king Chad Dawson is in the works.
6.) Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6, 39KOs)- Marquez kept busy with a tune up against Serhiy Fedchenko last month and is reportedly set to do battle with Filipino southpaw Al Sabaupan;
7.) Chad Dawson (31-1, 17KOS)- “Bad” Chad finally scored a clear, convincing victory over the immortal Bernard Hopkins last month, which perhaps signals a changing of the guard at the light heavyweight division.
The super fight with Ward should be one of the finest matchups in this division in recent years.
8.) Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50KOs)- Dr. Steelhammer defended his four titles at the heavyweight division against undersized Jean Paul Mormeck last March.
9.) Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 40KOs)—Big brother defeated loquacious challenger Derek Chisora last February, extending the dominance of the brothers over their division.
A decade ago, we were all looking for the “great white hope” in the heavyweight division. Now, the search continues for the “next black savior” to topple the brothers.
10. Timothy Bradley (29-0, 12KOs)- Desert Storm’s victory over Pacquiao may be tainted, but a win is a win. A rematch with Manny is not a certainty and he may have to deal with the challenge of Pacquiao’s stable-mate Amir Khan.
VERBATIM. -It’s just the number that I chose. I’m really not sure, could be earlier, could be later, but that’s just a reasonable number that I chose.- Floyd Mawyeather Jr. on retiring at the age of 37 (www.tribune.ng)
LAST ROUNDS. Are on Yvette Jeline Yntig-Dapat of the Blessed Trinity Achievers Academy and Irene Batistil who recently celebrated their birthdays.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 01, 2012.
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