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Pacquiao tops WBC list of fighters for vacant title


MANILA, Philippines – The World Boxing Council (WBC) listed undisputed pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao as the top contender for the vacant super lightweight crown. Timothy Bradley was the former king of the 140-lb weight division but the WBC stripped him of the title after failing to defend it. Instead Bradley chose to challenge Kendall Holt for the WBO light welterweight belt. Bradley won the title via unanimous decision beating Holt in their 12-rounder last month. He defeated Junior Witter of Great Britain via split decision to wrest the WBC super lightweight crown on May 10, 2008. Pacquiao earned the top ranking after his second-round demolition job of Briton Ricky Hatton last week in their 12-round bout dubbed “Battle of East and West" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The win earned the Filipino ring icon Hatton’s International Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine 140-lb belts. The Pacquiao-Hatton match failed to live up to the hype brought by the Hitman’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., who before the fight predicted a second-round loss for the power-punching Filipino. The only thing long enough was the pre-fight introductions made by legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer. The scheduled 12-round bout only lasted six minutes and two rounds as Hatton failed to dodge the speed and power of Pacquiao’s fists. Coming in second to Pacquiao in the WBC rankings is American Devon Alexander while former holder Witter placed third. Nate Campbell of the USA and Romania’s Ionut Dan Ion landed at fourth and fifth respectively. Rounding up the Top 10 are Ajose Olusegun (Nigeria), Jungbum Kim (South Korea), Cesar Cuenca (Argentina), Ali Chebah (France) and Demetrius Hopkins (USA) Pedro Adigue of the Philippines was a former holder of the WBC 140-lb crown when he won the vacant belt in 1968 when he beat Adolph Pruitt. Other holders of the WBC super lightweight crown are Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. of Mexico, whose son is eyeing to challenge Pacquiao; future Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya, whom Pacquiao brought to submission last year; and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who came out of retirement hoping to arrange a megabuck fight against the Pacman. Pacquiao previously won the WBC lightweight (135lbs) and super-featherweight (130lbs), IBF super bantamweight (118lbs), WBC flyweight (112lbs) and Ring Magazine featherweight crowns (125lbs). – GMANews.TV
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