CALZAGHE TO PRESENT PACQUIAO WITH ‘FIGHTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 21 May 2007
Reigning WBO and IBF super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe of Britain, the longest reigning world champion at present, will present the Boxing Writers Association of America “Fighter of the Year” award to Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao on June 8 at the Copacabana in New York.
Calzaghe who has 20 successful title defenses so far, won the WBO super middleweight crown in a twelve round unanimous decision over Chris Eubank on October 11, 1997 and added the IBF title with another twelve round unanimous decision over Jeff Lacy on March 4, 2006. Lacy is handled by Pacquiao’s former manager Shelly Finkel.
Calzaghe was quoted by East Side Boxing as saying ”it is an honor to be selected to present this award to boxing’s most exciting fighter. I look forward to a great night at one of boxing’s most cherished events.” Pacquiao will receive the Edward J. Neil Trophy for going 3-0 including two knockout victories over legendary Mexican Erik “El Terrible” Morales in their last two fights of an epic trilogy.
The award was named after the Associated Press sportswriter and war correspondent who died of shrapnel wounds in 1938 while covering the Spanish Civil War. Among the previous winners were such tremendous fighters as Muhanmad Ali, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya. Last year’s winner was IBF light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton of Britain.
Pacquiao’s celebrated trainer Freddie Roach who was in Pacquiao’s corner for all three fights will receive the award for “Trainer of the Year” which he last won in 2003, the year Pacquiao demolished Marco Antonio Barrera.while former heavyweight great Muhammad Ali will receive the Pat Putnam award for “Perseverance.” The BWAA said that while Ali’s recent years have been spent coping with Parkinson’s syndrome, “his indefatigable charisma has only solidified his status as one of the most inspiration athletes ever.”
Other awardees include boxing writer Kevin Iole, formerly a columnist of the Las Vegas Review Journal for “Career Achievement in Boxing Journalism” while the “Fight of the Year” went to Somsak Sithchatchawal vs Mahyar Monshipour which was not even telecast in the US but became what the boxing writers association called “a cult classic among boxing fans thanks to Internet video site YouTube.. Steve Albert won an award for “Excellence in Broadcast Journalism” and HBO veteran commentator L:arry Merchant for “Long and Meritorious Service.”
Top Rank’s public relations tandem Lee Samuels and Ricardo Jimenez won the “Good Guy” award while New York State Athletic Commission chairman Ron Scott Stevens was cited for “Honesty and Integrity.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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