Manny Pacquiao was stripped of the IBO junior welterweight title today, which is no big shock. The IBO sent out a short press release stating that it was due to Pacquiao's permanent move to the welterweight division, and that it was an honor to have Pacquiao hold their title.
Pacquiao won that belt along with the Ring Magazine championship when he demolished Ricky Hatton last May. I'm guessing the Ring will follow suit here soon enough on Pacquiao's status as their 140-pound champion, because he's never going to fight at that weight again.
If the Ring does decide to strip Pacquiao, which they should, then guess what fight would make for a new 140-pound king? Timothy Bradley against Amir Khan.
That's right. The Ring has Amir Khan ranked No. 2 contender in the world at 140 pounds, based on such massive victories as Andriy Kotelnik (a good win, to be sure) and Dmitriy Salita (a joke mandatory who had no business there). Ricky Hatton, who reigned as Ring champion for years, is at No. 3, followed by Devon Alexander, Paulie Malignaggi, Juan Urango, Kendall Holt, Marcos Maidana, Kotelnik and -- you guessed it! -- Mike Alvarado.