Fans decry Pacquiao's dethronement from Yahoo! P4P rankings
MANILA, Philippines – Throngs of Manny Pacquiao’s fans were up in arms after they learned that their idol was dethroned from the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings by undefeated American Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
This was reported by Yahoo! Sports boxing writer Kevin Iole.
He wrote in his latest article: “When 20 of 33 boxing writers voted for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and not Manny Pacquiao as No. 1 in the May Yahoo! Sports boxing rankings, it created quite a firestorm among Pacquiao supporters.”
Iole said that Pacquiao fans questioned the change in Yahoo! Sports’ pound-for-pound hierarchy while others brought up the issue of racism.
“Cries of racism abounded. Many questioned the validity of the panel, though their logic is somewhat lost given that Pacquiao held the top spot even after Mayweather returned in 2009 from a brief retirement,” he said.
He also pointed out that the same panel voted for Pacquiao as the top pound-for-pound fighter from October 2009 to April 2010.
Mayweather was ‘slightly better’
While Iole welcomed feedback from the readers, he remarked: “Very few, though, actually made a point. Most – more than 95 percent, I’d estimate – resorted to ranting, name-calling and race-baiting.”
He then cleared his name from accusations of being a racist and a pro-Mayweather journalist.
“For the record, I’m neither anti-Asian nor anti-Pacquiao. Nor do I believe Mayweather can walk on water,” he said. “I do happen to believe that, right now, he’s ever so slightly better than Pacquiao.”
Iole, meantime, suggested an alternative to a voting panel for deciding who the best pound-for-pound fighter is—the much-anticipated Pacquiao vs Mayweather showdown.
“This will be debated endlessly, but let’s hope that the promoters do the right thing and get the fight made so Pacquiao and Mayweather and not a voting panel decides who’s best,” noted Iole.
The bout failed to take off on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada because the fighters disagreed on the drug testing protocol.
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The P4P ranking does not
The P4P ranking does not matter as long as we know who the real #1 welterweight is... and we know it's Manny P.
Rolling my eyes...
Manny Pacquiao has some of the most stupidest fans out there. P4P is nothing but a mythical list. A list compiled based on opinions of writers who put the list together. The P4P list is an opinion. It's not official, there's no belt for it, it's not recognized by any sanctioning organization, there's no money in it, nothing. You can say being on top of that list commands respect. No! Fighters get respect by fighting and beating the best, not by their rankings on that stupid P4P list.
I'm a Pacquiao "the boxer" fan but I'm not shook up about him getting dethroned from that stupid list. Who cares about that list. Manny sure is hell doesn't care about it.
Whoever those fans are b!tching about Manny getting slid to no. 2 need to get a life. What a bunch of moronic fans pulling out the race card. So they put Mayweather on top because he is black? Are you kidding me? Blacks get discriminated more than any other race on the planet. Mayweather is on the top of the list not because of race or whatever, it's because that's what the writers who put the list together think. The same writers who put Manny on the top of the list before.
People it's a damn list. It's a damn opinion of writers. They made their opinion so move on with your lives.
I think Manny is no. 1. But if other people think otherwise and put in a list of the who's the best, so be it. It's their opinion and they're entitled to one, just like I'm entitled to mine.