While talks continue to swirl about who is the rightful holder of the title of pound-for-pound king, which is boxing’s most coveted accolade, an esteemed staffer of The Ring magazine on Sunday said the only way Manny Pacquiao is knocked off that throne is for him to lose a fight on top of the ring.

Michael Rosenthal wrote in the publication’s blog that Pacquiao’s string of impressive wins over top-of-the-line foes makes him deserving of being called the pound-for-pound king.

Rosenthal, The Ring’s associate editor, presented 10 key questions going into the May 1 slugfest between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley and he shrugged off claims that the winner of that bout will shove Pacquiao out of the top spot.

“No. An argument can be made that Mayweather should be ranked above Pacquiao now,” said Rosenthal.

“Thus, one could say with some legitimacy that Mosley should be No. 1 if he beats him. However, Pacquiao earned the top spot with a series of spectacular victories and has done nothing to lose it.”

Rosenthal continued: “The only way either Mayweather or Mosley can supplant Pacquiao is to beat him. That could be problematic for Mayweather because he and the Filipino star might never be able to agree on a contract. However, should Mosley win on May 1, a profoundly compelling matchup with Pacquiao would determine the best fighter on the planet.”

Owing to the massive differences in opinion involving Pacquiao and Mayweather, they might not get to face each other but if Mosley upsets Mayweather, it would be a lot easier for Pacquiao’s people to reach a deal with him.

And should that take place, Rosenthal said it would end up breaking “all pay-per-view and money-generating records.”

Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in Sarangani province.