I think it was also due to the fact that Juan Diaz held 3 alphabet belts (and - Ring belt or not - was generally considered the MAN) in one of the most prestigious divisions in boxing. That on paper should be enough to qualify you for p4p consideration, especially given he was undefeated to boot.
Personally I never had him in the top 10 (probably top 20 though), and I agree today's hindsight proves he never belonged there, but to laugh at the very notion of him being p4p seems a bit over the top.
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