What, you expected someone else?
All three of the BoxingWatchers are big Manny fans - and only some of the reason is because we're part Filipino. Pacquiao delivered the goods both times he stepped in the ring in 2009, knocking Ricky Hatton silly with a single second-round punch in May and battering Miguel Cotto into a stoppage in the final round last month.
As you've no doubt read, Pacquiao won a world title in his seventh different weight class. That's an impressive achievement no matter how you slice it, and one we're not likely to see again any time soon, even in an age of many championship belts and fighters who switch weight classes all the time.
On top of that, Pacquiao is simply good for the sport. He fights with the entertainment value of the fans in mind, and he comes across as a humble guy, at least relative to his enormous success over the last few years.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that even though he's on top of the boxing world right now, there are some dark clouds on the horizon for the Pac Man. Assuming they get the wrinkles ironed out, his next (huge) fight will be with Floyd Mayweather, the one man on the planet I'm not sure he can beat.
And what about those steroid allegations? I don't put a lot of stock in the ones made by Floyd Mayweather Sr. or Paulie Malignaggi, but the behavior and requests made by the Pacquiao camp over the drug testing flap have been curious to say the least.
I firmly believe that Manny isn't taking stuff on a regular basis to get an edge. But I would not be stunned if one of his many hangers-on gave him something questionable without him telling Freddie Roach or doing enough research into it on his own.
Despite all that, Pacquiao deserves our Fighter of the Year nod for the second straight year. The difference this time is that I'm fairly confident someone new will take the crown in 2010.
Previous winners:
2008 - Manny Pacquiao
2007 - Kelly Pavlik
Honorable mentions: All hail King Arthur Abraham, who simply did what he always does in 2009: he went 3-0 with two knockouts. The level of his competition prevented him from more serious consideration... Speaking of level of competition, Paul Williams may have defeated two tougher challenges than anyone else, knocking off Winky Wright and Sergio Martinez. His drawback is that many folks think he was lucky to get the decision over Martinez... Vitali Klitschko continued his impressive run after his 2008 comeback, going 3-0 for 2009 with two KOs. Time to take on his little brother, perhaps?
Posted by The Franchise
Showing posts with label fighter of the year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fighter of the year. Show all posts
31.12.08
BoxingWatchers.com 2008 Fighter of the Year: Manny Pacquiao
If you've been reading this site for any length of time, you know that the BoxingWatchers are all part Filipino. Normally, that would make picking Manny Pacquiao for Fighter of the Year smack of being a homer pick, but he had such a phenomenal 2008 that there are simply no worries.
The numbers alone were pretty impressive: three fights, three wins in three different weight classes. He won titles in the first two fights and won by knockout in the last two.
Pac Man's opponents covered the whole spectrum, from one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world (Juan Manuel Marquez) to a game but outgunned lightweight (David Diaz) to a Hall of Famer in the twilight of his career (Oscar De La Hoya). It's worth mentioning one final time that many mainstream sports pundits considered his fight with De La Hoya a joke, that the expected size difference would make it impossible for Pacquiao to win. It only took one round to erase that notion.
Even though Manny turned 30 just a few weeks ago, he continues to improve. The version of Pacquiao from, say, five years ago would not have been able to fight the style that he utilized against the Golden Boy, darting in and out and perplexing his foe with his footwork. Much of the credit for that should go to trainer Freddie Roach, but give Manny some too for realizing that continuing to evolve from one-dimensional (though devastating) attacker to well-rounded boxer would serve him well.
On top of all of that, he remains humble even as he reaches the point where he is going to regularly be involved in the most high profile fights in the sport. He's already lined up Ricky Hatton and the buzz about a fight with a returning Floyd Mayweather won't go away.
Could he repeat as Fighter of the Year in 2009? After this year, you can't count him out.
Reader Picks: The readers also backed Pacquiao by a wide margin, giving him 77 percent of the vote. The only other boxer to gather double-digit support was Arthur Abraham, who knocked out all three of his 2008 opponents and now has to be taken seriously by all but the harshest Euro-critics.
Emerging star Chad Dawson received several votes and was name-dropped by Money Mayweather himself as the finest in the game. Last but not least, one reader (maybe the fighter himself!) was impressed enough by Joe Calzaghe in his decision victories over certain Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones to give him the nod.
The numbers alone were pretty impressive: three fights, three wins in three different weight classes. He won titles in the first two fights and won by knockout in the last two.
Pac Man's opponents covered the whole spectrum, from one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world (Juan Manuel Marquez) to a game but outgunned lightweight (David Diaz) to a Hall of Famer in the twilight of his career (Oscar De La Hoya). It's worth mentioning one final time that many mainstream sports pundits considered his fight with De La Hoya a joke, that the expected size difference would make it impossible for Pacquiao to win. It only took one round to erase that notion.
Even though Manny turned 30 just a few weeks ago, he continues to improve. The version of Pacquiao from, say, five years ago would not have been able to fight the style that he utilized against the Golden Boy, darting in and out and perplexing his foe with his footwork. Much of the credit for that should go to trainer Freddie Roach, but give Manny some too for realizing that continuing to evolve from one-dimensional (though devastating) attacker to well-rounded boxer would serve him well.
On top of all of that, he remains humble even as he reaches the point where he is going to regularly be involved in the most high profile fights in the sport. He's already lined up Ricky Hatton and the buzz about a fight with a returning Floyd Mayweather won't go away.
Could he repeat as Fighter of the Year in 2009? After this year, you can't count him out.
Reader Picks: The readers also backed Pacquiao by a wide margin, giving him 77 percent of the vote. The only other boxer to gather double-digit support was Arthur Abraham, who knocked out all three of his 2008 opponents and now has to be taken seriously by all but the harshest Euro-critics.
Emerging star Chad Dawson received several votes and was name-dropped by Money Mayweather himself as the finest in the game. Last but not least, one reader (maybe the fighter himself!) was impressed enough by Joe Calzaghe in his decision victories over certain Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones to give him the nod.
23.12.08
Vote in the BoxingWatchers.com Year-End Polls: 2008 Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year
The boxing year may have finished with a whimper instead of a bang, but that doesn't mean 2008 wasn't a very good year for fans of the fight game. There were numerous big name fights and more than a handful of dramatic, action-packed bouts, and as an added bonus, some even fell in both categories.
Of course, the BoxingWatchers will hit you with our picks for Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year, but we'd like to hear what you think as well. Be sure to vote in our polls on the right side of the page. Heck, vote early and often if the software doesn't recognize your IP address!
We'll match up the picks and give our reasons for ours on Dec. 31. Have a great holiday season!
Of course, the BoxingWatchers will hit you with our picks for Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year, but we'd like to hear what you think as well. Be sure to vote in our polls on the right side of the page. Heck, vote early and often if the software doesn't recognize your IP address!
We'll match up the picks and give our reasons for ours on Dec. 31. Have a great holiday season!
29.12.07
BoxingWatchers.com 2007 Fighter of the Year: Kelly Pavlik
In a year that turned out to be good for a lot of people associated with the sport of boxing, it was especially sweet for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, Kelly Pavlik.
Three trips to the ring, three KO victories. It doesn't get much better than that, especially when his second fight (versus Edison Miranda) was an action-packed fight of the year candidate. Except maybe for his third fight, which was even better and saw him get up off the canvas to take the middleweight crown from Jermain Taylor - who just so happened to be undefeated and survived three total fights against Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright without a loss.
That's impressive stuff any way you look at it. Even better, the success doesn't seem to have gone to his head. He still comes across as thoughtful and likable, with a work ethic that is a true reflection of his hometown. So while Ricky Hatton's followers take the crown for pure fanaticism,
Pavlik's growing throng of fans may be just as loyal. Just ask anyone who saw the ridiculous number of Team Pavlik shirts walking around Atlantic City the day of the Taylor fight.
Except for an appropriate nickname (The Ghost makes him sound like he should be a defensive wizard), Pavlik has everything you like to see in a champion: skill, power, heart and a down-to-earth personality. For all of those qualities and his success in the ring, he's BoxingWatchers.com's 2007 Fighter of the Year.
Honorable Mention: From a financial standpoint, Floyd Mayweather Jr. had 2007 locked down. The owner of the most natural talent in the sport handled his business in his mega-fight with Oscar De La Hoya, then proved he could serve as the marquee name and still do big business when he KO'ed Hatton.
Mayweather has always been a stellar boxer, but only recently has he put thw whole package together. He's come a long way from whining about his lack of fame, and he's learned how to sell himself and his fights. He can turn on the charm when necessary or fall back into the villain role he seems to relish.
Sure we'd love to see him challenge himself more, but he doesn't have to do that thanks to his newfound understanding of what really drives the big-time fight game. Here's a hint: it's the same word as his new nickname.
Fans who like their fighters to have more warrior in them than showman got to witness the continuing rise of Miguel Cotto. The man in the top spot in this site's power rankings had almost as nice a year as Pavlik, knocking out Oktay Urkal and Zab Judah and earning a tight but unanimous decision over Shane Mosley.
Though always known to have power and toughness, critics seemed to doubt his overall skill level before this year. The Mosley fight dismissed most of those questions, bringing out the full range of Cotto's impressive skills.
Undefeated and seemingly in his prime, Cotto doesn't have a big fight lined up yet for 2008. When it does come, he'll be riding a wave of momentum from his excellent year in 2007.
Three trips to the ring, three KO victories. It doesn't get much better than that, especially when his second fight (versus Edison Miranda) was an action-packed fight of the year candidate. Except maybe for his third fight, which was even better and saw him get up off the canvas to take the middleweight crown from Jermain Taylor - who just so happened to be undefeated and survived three total fights against Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright without a loss.
That's impressive stuff any way you look at it. Even better, the success doesn't seem to have gone to his head. He still comes across as thoughtful and likable, with a work ethic that is a true reflection of his hometown. So while Ricky Hatton's followers take the crown for pure fanaticism,
Pavlik's growing throng of fans may be just as loyal. Just ask anyone who saw the ridiculous number of Team Pavlik shirts walking around Atlantic City the day of the Taylor fight.
Except for an appropriate nickname (The Ghost makes him sound like he should be a defensive wizard), Pavlik has everything you like to see in a champion: skill, power, heart and a down-to-earth personality. For all of those qualities and his success in the ring, he's BoxingWatchers.com's 2007 Fighter of the Year.
Honorable Mention: From a financial standpoint, Floyd Mayweather Jr. had 2007 locked down. The owner of the most natural talent in the sport handled his business in his mega-fight with Oscar De La Hoya, then proved he could serve as the marquee name and still do big business when he KO'ed Hatton.
Mayweather has always been a stellar boxer, but only recently has he put thw whole package together. He's come a long way from whining about his lack of fame, and he's learned how to sell himself and his fights. He can turn on the charm when necessary or fall back into the villain role he seems to relish.
Sure we'd love to see him challenge himself more, but he doesn't have to do that thanks to his newfound understanding of what really drives the big-time fight game. Here's a hint: it's the same word as his new nickname.
Fans who like their fighters to have more warrior in them than showman got to witness the continuing rise of Miguel Cotto. The man in the top spot in this site's power rankings had almost as nice a year as Pavlik, knocking out Oktay Urkal and Zab Judah and earning a tight but unanimous decision over Shane Mosley.
Though always known to have power and toughness, critics seemed to doubt his overall skill level before this year. The Mosley fight dismissed most of those questions, bringing out the full range of Cotto's impressive skills.
Undefeated and seemingly in his prime, Cotto doesn't have a big fight lined up yet for 2008. When it does come, he'll be riding a wave of momentum from his excellent year in 2007.
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