I've lost all respect for The Ring's ratings.
Ring Ratings Update
Pound-for-pound rankings: There was some discussion
by the Panel regarding Rigondeaux’s pound-for-pound
placement following his victory over Donaire, who was No.
5 in the mythical ratings going into their showdown.
Some felt that Rigondeaux should enter the pound-for-pound rankings based on his strong performance against
Donaire, and the fact that he beat an elite fighter in only
his 12th pro bout. These Panelists looked at the pound-for-pound rankings of Adrien Broner, Robert Guerrero and
Timothy Bradley, and suggested that Rigondeaux could
replace either one, entering the list anywhere from No. 8 to
No. 10.
However, the Editorial Board decided against ranking
Rigondeaux in the pound-for-pound top 10 at the present
time, which in no way is meant to dismiss the Cuban
amateur legend. Rigondeaux has proven to be the best
122-pound boxer in the world, however, the other fighters
in the pound-for-pound top 10 have proven themselves in
multiple weight classes.
Both Broner and Guerrero have fights scheduled with
pound-for-pound implications. Guerrero faces pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather next month. Broner, the
magazine's No. 1-rated lightweight, challenges
welterweight titleholder Paul Malignaggi in June.
Bradley is coming off a tough fight against a fighter most
expected him to dominate, but the two-division titleholder
is undefeated and he does own a victory over Manny
Pacquiao, however controversial it may have been.
The Editorial Board and the Panel will revisit the argument
to rate Rigondeaux in THE RING’s pound-for-pound
rankings after Mayweather-Guerrero, and if need be after
Malignaggi-Broner or after Rigondeaux’s next fight.
If the class he exhibited during the Donaire fight is any
indication of his potential it’s only a matter of time before
the savvy southpaw breaks into the mythical rankings.
In the meantime, Donaire, who performed poorly against
Rigondeaux, drops to the No. 10 spot on the pound-for-pound list.
There was a discussion among the Editorial Board to
replace Donaire with Rigondeaux – or perhaps another
accomplished ultra-talent, such as undefeated WBA junior
flyweight titleholder Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez – but
it was decided to keep the 30-year-old veteran, who had a
banner year iin 2012, on the list.
The loss to Rigondeaux was Donaire’s first in 12 years. In
that time, he’s won major titles at flyweight (by knocking
out then-undefeated and pound-for-pound-rated Vic
Darchinyan), bantamweight (by knocking out then-pound-for-pound-rated Fernando Montiel) and junior
featherweight, where he unified two major belts and
earned THE RING title.
