Pacquiao tops HBO poll as best fighter of the decade

According to an HBO poll Manny Pacquiao tops the list as the best fighter of the past 10 years. Seventy-nine percent of respondents picked Pacquiao.

Pacquiao has just come off the biggest win of his career, his stoppage of Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao has lost in the past decade. In 2005 he lost to Erik Morales by a unanimous decision, but Pacquiao came back and knocked out Morales twice in 2006.

In the previous decade, Pacquiao was knocked out twice. Rustico Terrecampo knocked out Pacquiao in Manila in 1996. Medgoen Singsurat knocked out Pacquiao in the 3rd round in a fight that occurred in Thailand.

Second on the list is Floyd Mayweather, who is undefeated. He has 40 wins, 25 by knockout. Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Mayweather next year in what is expected to be boxing's biggest payday.

Third on the list is Joe Calzaghe, who is also undefeated, with 46 wins, 32 by knockout. Calzaghe beat the man who is fourth on the list, Bernard Hopkins, in a fight that went 12 rounds in 2008.

The HBO Poll results are as follows:

79 percent Manny Pacquiao
15 percent Floyd Mayweather Jr.
4 percent Joe Calzaghe
2 percent Bernard Hopkins
[As of 2 p.m. Saturday]