Floyd Mayweather Recaptures Pound-for-Pound-King Crown with Fewer Punches

Unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back as the new pound-for-pound king in the latest ranking by The Ring Magazine. 

Before his reinstatement as the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter on The Ring's list, Mayweather shared the No. 2 spot with eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Juan Manuel Marquez helped Mayweather recapture his title with his stunning sixth-round knockout of Manny Pacquiao Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

It appears that Mayweather recaptured his crown with fewer punches, as he fought only once this year, against Puerto Rican challenger Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao's loss to Marquez this year resulted in drastic changes in The Ring's new pound-for-pound ranking, with Marquez moving up to No. 3 and Andre Ward taking the No. 2 spot.

After his sensational performance against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Sergio Martinez climbed to No. 4 in the rankings, while Nonito Donaire, with his four-fight winning streak this year, capped by a knockout win over Jorge Arce of Mexico, took the fifth slot on the list.

Unbeaten Andrien Broner landed at No. 6 after his impressive TKO win over Antonio DeMarco in November.

With his stunning loss to Marquez, Pacquiao has slid far, down to No. 7 in the current list, beating only Vladimir Klistchko, Timothy Bradley and Robert Guerrero, who hold the last three positions.

Pacquiao's controversial loss to Timothy Bradley last year may have also contributed to his sharp dive in The Ring's rankings, in addition to those of other sports-awarding entities.

After his loss to Marquez, Pacquiao is now ranked No. 6 at Yahoo!, No. 6 at Sports Illustrated and No. 7 on ESPN, while Mayweather is now ranked No.1 by each.

Mayweather has failed to comply with his earlier promise to his fans to become more active in the ring.

But Dan Rafael of ESPN reports the following:

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Mayweather plans to fight twice in 2013, which is good for the boxing business. Through adviser Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather announced he plans to fight on May 4 and Sept. 14 (opponents TBA).

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Mayweather has fought only four times since winning over Ricky Hatton via TKO in 2007. Except for the controversial knockout win over Victor Ortiz last year, all his other fights (with Marquez, Mosley and Cotto) ended in unanimous decisions.

Meanwhile, Mayweather is set return to the ring on May 4, possibly against Robert Guerrero, who is coming off an impressive win over Andre Berto last November 24.