Pacman tumbles to seventh spot

HOUSTON, Texas—Following his devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last Saturday, Manny Pacquiao tumbled from joint No. 2 to seventh in boxing’s  pound-for-pound list.

It was the lowest spot ever for Pacquiao, who reigned as No. 1 for a long time,  since he barged into the elite fighter’s circle with a string of stirring wins in the United States.

Pacquiao dropped into a share of No. 2 with Floyd Mayweather Jr. after an anomalous split decision loss to Timothy Bradley in June.

The Ring magazine put back Mayweather at No. 1 with super middleweight  Andre Ward climbing a rung higher to second spot.

Recognizing the merits of Marquez’s sixth round conquest of his two-time tormentor, Ring’s editorial board and rating’s panel of boxing writers from around the world lifted Marquez to No. 3 from No. 6.

Middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez kept fourth spot while Adrien Broner crashed into the roster for the first time  at No. 5.

Given strong chances of climbing from the sixth spot is Nonito Donaire Jr., who’ll do battle with Mexican Jorge Arce for the WBO super bantamweight title Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at Toyota Center here.

It was the first time that Donaire supplanted Pacquiao in the pound-for-pound list.

Pacquiao, Fighter of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2009, was cleared to fight again by doctors at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in the Philippines, after an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of his head and cervical spine Thursday afternoon.

The eight-division world champion, however, will have to wait a little longer as he drew an automatic four-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission owing to the severity of Marquez’s  one-punch knockout that saw him land face first on the canvas, motionless.

Promoter Bob Arum is  trying to arrange Pacquiao-Marquez 5 in September.