Jeff Horn’s upset of Manny Pacquiao on Saturday upset the RING welterweight ratings.
Pacquiao was rated No. 4 on the 147-pound list when the relatively unknown Horn roughhoused his way to a unanimous, but controversial decision in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia. One thing that wasn’t in dispute: Pacquiao looked all of his 38 years.
As a result, the Filipino icon was destined to fall in the Top 10. But how far? And is it reasonable to knock him off the list altogether? And what about Horn, who wasn’t rated going into the fight? He beat a badly faded star. Should he enter the Top 10? If so, how high?
These are the questions with which the Ratings Panel and Editorial Board wrestled this week.
In the end, we decided to leave Pacquiao on the list, give Horn credit for his victory and reshuffle the bottom half of the Top 10.
Here is the new list:
- Keith Thurman
- Errol Spence
- Shawn Porter
- Kell Brook
- Danny Garcia
- Lamont Peterson
- Lucas Matthysse
- Jeff Horn
- Manny Pacquiao
- Jessie Vargas
In other divisions:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Alexander Povetkin reenters the Top 10 at No. 7 after shutting out unrated Andriy Rudenko on Saturday in Moscow.
Povetkin was removed from the ratings in June of last year after his “B” sample came back positive for the banned substance meldonium, as per the RING’s drug policy. The Russian’s “A” sample tested positive the previous April, which scuttled a scheduled fight with Deontay Wilder.
Povetkin has been compliant with the drug-testing protocol set up for him by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, according to a reliable source.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT
Brian Castano (unrated last week) defeated Michel Soro (No. 7 last week) by a split decision Saturday in France. Soro drops to No. 10; Castano enters at No. 9. Vanes Martirosyan (No. 10 last week) drops out.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT
Eduard Troyanovsky (No. 7 last week) moves up one notch after stopping Michele Di Rocco (unrated last week) in four rounds Saturday in Moscow.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Robert Easter (No. 3 last week) defeated Denis Shafikov (No. 4 last week) by a decision that many people believe was more baffling than Horn-Pacquiao. Thus, both fighters hold their positions.
JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT
Diego De La Hoya (No. 6 last week) held his spot after he easily outpointed tough Alan Castillo (unrated last week) in Argentina.
JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT
Jerwin Ancajas (No. 8 last week) moves up one place after he stopped Teiru Kinoshita (unrated last week) in seven rounds on the Pacquiao-Horn card.
STRAWWEIGHT
Byron Rojas (No. 3 last week) stayed put after outpointing Carlos Ortega (unrated last week) in an eight-round fight Friday in Nicaragua.
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