Superstars Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are all set for a 'pound-for-pound' battle royal next month but in the meantime two more 'P4P' fighters who seem on a collision course to meet each other didn't exactly cover themselves in glory in their latest outings.

Puerto Rican superstar in waiting Juan Manuel Lopez endured a torrid evening against Rogers Mtagwa at Madison Square Garden earlier in the month.

'JuanMa', who has been knocking everyone out since becoming WBO super-bantamweight champion in 2008, was forced to bite down hard on his gumshield and dig deeper than he has ever had to as a pro before taming the courageous Mtagwa on points after a memorable tussle in New York.

As is customary these days when a big name fails to shine questions were immediately asked as to whether Lopez was tight at the weight. It's possible he was but it's equally feasible he struggled for a 'Plan B' when his opponent refused to yield after another typically aggressive start from the Puerto Rican.

Lopez has built up a reputation as one of the most destructive hitters in the game but raw power alone will only take you so far, especially at the very highest level.

His promoters are seemingly not taking any chances with Lopez and have already said he will move up to featherweight for his next outing, which looks like being a WBO title tilt against Steve Luevano in January.

Former WBC super-bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez returned after a long spell out through injury to stop Antonio Priolo in LA.

However Vazquez struggled horribly at times to tame a fighter who had lost six on the spin coming in and who had been campaigning as a flyweight as recently as 2005.

Team Vazquez put the performance down to ring rust but 'El Magnifico' has had a long career and a lot of ring wars. He was involved of course in that stunning trilogy with Rafael Marquez and has been punching for pay now since 1995.

It might be that at 31 he has reached the end of the line and of course if this is the case then the boxer himself will probably be the last to know. The likelihood is that Vazquez will chase a big money showdown with Lopez, probably up at featherweight, or target a clash with WBA featherweight boss Chris John.

Time will tell whether that's a wise move or not but for now 'El Magnifico' drops a couple of places to 10 on out latest list.

It's as you were inside the top five but that looks almost certain to change when the dust settles on Pacquiao v Cotto.

A win for the latter would re-affirm his status as one of the sport's genuine superstars and go a long way to erasing the disappointment of that stoppage loss to the since disgraced Antonio Margarito.

Should Pacquiao win and win well then he could well usurp Floyd Mayweather once again as 'pound-for-pound' top dog.

Mayweather showed he had lost none of his old magic in putting on a boxing clinic last time out against Juan Manuel Marquez, but if the 'Pac Man' gobbles up Cotto in the same spectacular way that he did Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya then few could deny his credentials as 'pound-for-pound' top dog.

Sportinglife.com pound-for-pound world top 10

1 - Floyd Mayweather

2 - Manny Pacquiao

3 - Juan Manuel Marquez

4 - Miguel Cotto

5 - Bernard Hopkins

6 - Shane Mosley

7 - Chad Dawson

8 - Paul Williams

9 - Juan Manuel Lopez

10 - Israel Vazquez

Honourable mentions: Kelly Pavlik, Wladimir Klitschko, Juan Diaz, Mikkel Kessler, Joan Guzman and Ivan Calderon.