SPORTS ILLUSTRATED NAMES PACQUIAO ?BOXER OF THE YEAR?
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 20 Dec 2008
The prestigious Sports Illustrated Magazine has named Filipino ring icon and national treasure Manny Pacquiao as ?Boxer of the Year.?
Writer Chris Mannix, in his article on the awards says ?in boxing, greatness is measired in moments. And in 2008 Manny Pacquiao had a whole lot of them.?
The well-deserved recognition comes one day after the world?s leading boxing organization, the World Boxing Council, unanimously acclaimed Pacquiao as ?The World Boxer of the Year.?
In his gripping piece on the SI Awards, Mannix referred to what he said was ?the brutal, 36 minute war Pacquuao waged? with Juan Manuel Marquez last March in a fight that ended, he noted, ?with a bloodied and battered Pacquiao raising his hands and an even bloodier and more battered Marquez sulking in his corner.?
The WBC lightweight battle was referred to as ?nine rounds of torture Pacquiao inflicted on David Diaz? in June which Mannix recalls ?came to a merciful conclusion only when a broken Diaz could not rise after a whirlwind Pacquiao attack? in the ninth round.
Finally, last December 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and millions more watching on television around the world and pay-per-view buys that have been tagged at 1.4 million there was what SI refers to as the ?bell-to-bell, post-to-post beating of Oscar De La Hoya, boxing?s franchise player whose career may have ended at Pacquiao?s furious fists.?
Sports Illustrated announced that ?for these reasons and more, Manny Pacquiao is SI.com?s Fighter of the Year.?
It said Pacquiao accomplished so much and he ?did it with style and grace that befits a true champion. Whether he was passing out tnurkeys to the underprivileged in Los Angeles or cold cash to his adoring fans in the Philippines , Pacquiao became the best ambassador boxing could ever hope for in 2008, as dangerous in the ring as benevolent out of it.?
Sports Illustrated said this could only be just the beginning as a potentially electrifying 2009 schedule which could feature Pacquiao taking on the equally entertaining Ricky Hatton before a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr to determine, once and for all, who is this generation?s pound-for-pound king.?
SI?s Mannix concludes by saying the magazine could be handing Pacquiao this same award next year and ?if we do, like this year, I have no doubt it will be well-deserved.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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