The RING Magazine ranks Floyd Mayweather above Manny Pacquiao in all-time list

The bible of boxing, also known as The RING Magazine, has ranked Floyd Mayweather Jr. above eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao in its list of greatest fighters of all time.

Unlike many lists made in the past, The RING generated its own formula to determine the top 100 greatest boxers of all time. In the end, Manny Pacquiao made it to the top 9 while the five-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. landed in landed at 6.

“Pacquiao couldn’t solve the riddle of Mayweather in the richest fight of all time, but several multi-fight rivalries magnified the greatness of Pacquiao. He topped Tim Bradley in two of their three fights,” The RING wrote.

“In nine fights against the Mexican trio of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao was an impressive 6-2-1 and rebounded from a devastating knockout loss to Marquez in the last of those fights to add seven more wins over ranked opponents before what appears to be his farewell loss to Yordenis Ugas,” it added.

“Pacquiao is one of the most decorated fighters in history and the highest-finishing southpaw in this study. Combining sanctioning body and lineal and/or Ring championships, Pacquiao is the only fighter with title claims in eight weight classes.”

Meanwhile, The RING complimented Mayweather for being the biggest pay-per-view attraction of his generation. Though often criticized for cherry-picking his opponents, the brash American was praised for his exploits in the lower weights early in his career.

“The biggest box-office attraction of his time, Mayweather won major titles in five weight classes, partially unifying welterweight and junior middleweight, without a defeat over nearly 20 years as a pro. A bronze medalist at the 1996 Olympics, Mayweather’s first win over a Ring-ranked opponent was also his first for a title,” The RING noted.

“Mayweather’s most impressive run may have come in his first weight class with five wins over ranked opposition in title fights at junior lightweight. Mayweather was nearly untouchable in the class,” The RING continued.

“His success continued well after he moved up the scale. Mayweather was 8-0 against ranked welterweights, including a feud-settling decision over his most prominent contemporary in Manny Pacquiao to unify the WBA, WBC and WBO belts.”

The RING’s top 10 greatest of all time:

1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Joe Louis
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Tony Canzoneri
5. Emile Griffith
6. Floyd Mayweather
7. Willie Pep
8. Ezzard Charles
9. Manny Pacquiao
10. Archie Moore

—JMB, GMA News