Manny Pacquiao proved once again how much of a force he truly is in the sport with an amazing display at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In front of a packed 15,000 fans at the famous Las Vegas venue, Pacquiao raised the roof with victory over Keith Thurman.
Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight champion in history when taking Thurman’s WBA strap.
Dropping Thurman early, Pacquiao was too quick, strong and experienced for the American, who fought his heart out and was gracious in defeat.
Every punch thrown by Pacquiao was greeted by an almighty wail from the crowd, made up by a large portion of the Filipino contingent.
There remains no doubt that Pacquiao transcends the sport.
The win sees him enter the top three in the World Boxing News Pound for Pound list, overtaking Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk in the process.
Talk of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather obviously raised it’s head again after a brilliant win, but Pacquiao may be more inclined to share the ring with Shawn Porter or Errol Spence in a 2020 encounter for three versions of the 147 title.
Brushing off the advances of Amir Khan for now, Pacquiao could have a mandatory pushed by the WBA. Alexander Besputin is the current number one ranked contender.
Pacquiao v Besputin doesn’t immediately roll off the tongue and is unlikely to interest the eight-weight legend for the fall.
Khan would make the most sense, although the final say on the matter lies with Pacquiao and his team.
A voluntary period remains another option as Pacquiao was the regular champion to Thurman’s ‘super’ version.
It means Pacquiao can pick and choose from the following options. Khan is not one of them.
WBA WELTERWEIGHT RANKINGS
1. Alexander Besputin
2. Danny Garcia
3. Mikey Garcia
4. Jessie Vargas
5. Jamal James
6. Radzhab Butaev
7. Cody Crowley
8. Conor Benn
9. Josh Kelly
10. Nursultan Zhangabayen
11. Sergey Lipinets
12. David Avanesyan
13. Derrieck Cuevas
14. Sergey Lubkovich
15. Custio Clayton
WBN POUND FOR POUND TOP 30
1 Canelo Alvarez
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Manny Pacquiao
4 Naoya Inoue
5 Terence Crawford
6 Oleksandr Usyk
7 Gennady Golovkin
8 Errol Spence
9 Tyson Fury
10 Mikey Garcia
11 Juan Estrada
12 Deontay Wilder
13 Donnie Nietes
14 Kosei Tanaka
15 Wanheng Menayothin
16 Kazuto Ioka
17 Leo Santa Cruz
18 Nonito Donaire
19 Miguel Berchelt
20 Shawn Porter
21 Andy Ruiz Jr.
22 Sergey Kovalev
23 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
24 Gary Russell Jr.
25 Gervonta Davis
26 Daniel Jacobs
27 Keith Thurman
28 Roman Gonzalez
29 Guillermo Rigondeaux
30 Oleksandr Gvozdyk
