Chad Dawson’s loss to Jean Pascal cost him more than his undefeated record and recognition as the light heavyweight champion of the world, the 11-round technical decision he dropped to the Canadian in Montreal on Saturday also cost him his spot in THE RING’s Pound-for-Pound rankings.

Dawson (29-1, 17 knockouts) was rated No. 6 in the magazine’s pound-for-pound top 10 prior to being out-hustled by Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs) in the new RING champ’s adopted hometown.

However, the manner in which the talented American lost to Pascal convinced THE RING’s editorial board and the magazine’s ratings panel that there are elite boxers who are more deserving of the pound-for-pound ranking.

Pascal, who scored the biggest victory of his five-year career when he beat Dawson, failed to make the cut for the magazine’s elite top 10 ratings.

“Despite his undeniable ability and impressive performances in the past, Chad Dawson simply didn’t fight like one of the best 10 fighters in the world against Jean Pascal,” said Nigel Collins, Editor-in-Chief of THE RING. “We also think Pascal needs more quality wins before cracking THE RING’s pound-for-pound ratings. A number of other candidates, including Ivan Calderon and Tim Bradley, were considered to fill the vacancy at No. 10, but in the end, Wladimir Klitschko’s domination of the heavyweight division, plus his considerable boxing skills and ability to stop his opponents earned him the slot.”

All the pound-for-pound rated fighters ranked No. 7 and below last week advanced one spot each, creating the opening at No. 10 that was filled by Kitschko (54-3, 48 KOs).

The 34-year-old world heavyweight champion has won 12 consecutive bouts since his last loss, which took place in April of 2004. During that stretch, Klitschko defeated seven RING-rated heavyweight contenders.

Dawson has defeated three RING-rated fighters (Tomasz Adamek, Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver) since he first broke into the magazine’s light heavyweight rankings, which was taken into consideration when the editorial board considered his 175-pound placement.

RING RATINGS UPDATE

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

Pascal (No. 2 last week) wins the vacant RING world championship with a technical decision victory over Dawson, who retains his No. 1 rating. Pascal’s ascension means that everybody rated No. 3 through No. 10 last week climbs one rung each and makes room for Gabriel Campillo to enter at No. 10.

“There was some consideration given to elevating Tavoris Cloud (No. 3 last week) to the No. 1 spot, but as his recent decision over Glen Johnson (currently No. 3) was not as definitive as Dawson’s victory over Johnson in their second match, we decided to keep Dawson at No. 1,” said Collins. “Moreover, when you factor in Dawson’s wins over Tomasz Adamek and Antonio Tarver, his resume at 175-pounds is more impressive than Cloud’s.”

LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Miguel Vazquez replaces Brandon Rios at No. 10 on the strength of his decision victory over Ji Hoon Kim for a vacant title belt.