Manny Pacquiao beats Floyd Mayweather in Best Athlete list

Eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao was voted second best athlete by the popular Esquire Magazine, beating potential future foe Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who ranked No. 6 in the Esquire search.

Chosen best athlete is Swiss tennis king Roger Federer, a gold medalist in the 2008 Beijng Olympics and a recipient of several sportsman of the year awards. Third best athlete in the Esquire list is NBA superstar LeBron James, who is a three-time MVP and a current NBA champion representing Miami Heat. Another tennis player Rafael Nadal took the fourth slot followed by golfer Tiger Woods who ranked fifth in the list. On June 9, Pacquiao fought unbeaten Palm Spring boxing star Timothy Bradley, losing via a controversial split decision and drawing widespread public protest denouncing the judges for flawed scoring. Two of the judges scored the bout in favor of Bradley, while the third judge gave it to Pacquiao. All three judges came up with an identical score of 115-113, with judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford favoring Bradley, and Jerry Roth giving the nod to Pacquiao. In a poll posted by CSNBayArea.com, among 53 media people who covered or watched the fight, 50 of them said Pacquiao won the fight, while just three said Bradley was the winner. Post-fight statistics also showed Pacquiao winning on both jabs and power-punches scoreboards, as Compubox round-by-round fight tallies display. Meanwhile, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum is reportedly meeting with Pacquiao in Manila over the weekend to finalize plans for the scheduled November 10 fight. Three fighters are in the shortlist which includes a rematch with either Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico is also in the shortlist.